The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) longlist for the ‘Translation’ category, which welcomed 175 entries this year. The Translation longlist for 2020/2021 contains nine titles translated from Arabic, English, French and Italian, representing the works of translators based in Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Italy and the USA.
The English language has the highest number of selections, with five books in total – one translated from Arabic into English and four translated from English into Arabic:
Maqamat al-Hariri (Impostures) by Al-Hariri and translated to English by Michael Cooperson from the USA, published by Library of Arabic Literature in 2020
Al-Fikr Al-Arabi baad Al-Asr Al-Librari: Nahwa Tareekh Fikri Lelnahda (Arabic Thought Beyond the Liberal Age: Towards an Intellectual History of the Nahda) by Jens Hanssen and Max Weiss, and translated by Dr. Fuad Abdulmuttaleb from Syria, published by Mominoun Without Borders in 2019
Aser Elmany (A Secular Age) by Charles Taylor and translated by Naoufel Haj Ltaief from Tunisia, published by Jadawel Publishing, Translation & Distribution in 2019
Noor men el-Sharq: Kaif Saadat Eloom El-Hadarah Al-Islamiah ala Tashkeel Al-Al-Alam Al-Gharbi (Light from the East: How the Science of Medieval Islam helped to shape the Western World) by John Freely and translated by Ahmed Fouad Basha from Egypt, published by National Center for Translation in 2018
Qeyamat Athakaa Al-Istenaai fee Al-Taaleem: Hal yajeb ann tahel Al-Robotat mahal Al-Moaalmeen (Should Robots Replace Teachers? A.I. and the Future of Education) by Neil Selwyn and translated by Faisal Hakem Al-Shammari from Saudi Arabia, published by Editions Ibn Nadim Publishing & Distribution with Dar Al Rawafed in 2020
The longlist features two books translated from French into Arabic:
Al-Fann Al-Islami – Sysologia Al-Fanan Al-Ghafl (L’Art Islamique Approche sociologique de l’anonymat de l’artiste) by Shakir Luaybi and translated by Abdenbi Dakir from Morocco, published by the Arab Institute for Research & Publishing in 2020
Al-Falasefah wa Al-Elem (Les philosophes et la science) by Pierre Wagner and translated by Dr. Youssef Tibesse from Morocco, published by the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities in 2019
The longlist also includes a book translated from Italian into Arabic, and an Arabic book that was translated into Italian:
Mostawtanat lowsherah wa Soqotoha 1220-1300 (La Colonia saracena di Lucera: e La sua distruzione) by Pietro Egidi and translated to Arabic by Ahmed Somai from Tunisia, published by Dar Al Madar Al Islami in 2019
Ibn Khaldun bain Al-Iskandar wa Qaiser bilad Al-Eghreeq wa Roma men khilal Kitab Al-Ebar (Ibn Haldun tra Alessandro e Cesare La Grecia e Roma nel Libro degli esempi) by Ibn Khaldun and translated to Italian by Marco Di Branco from Italy, published by Il Poligrafo in 2020
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award will be revealing the longlists of the remaining categories over the coming weeks, commencing the second phase, when the panel of judges will evaluate the longlisted books. The panel will then share its reports with the Scientific Committee, which will review the books and announce the shortlists to be evaluated by the Board of Trustees in order to select the winners.
