Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity

The Twenty-Seventh Edition 2023/2024

Based on the instuctions of His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and in harmony with his efforts to support talented writers in the United Arab Emirates and across the Arab world, the Sharjah Department of Culture, Cultural Affairs Department, is pleased to announce the twenty-seventh edition of the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity - First Edition. This edition is dedicated to manuscripts prepared for the author's or author's first publication, not previously published, in the following fields:

Eloquent Poetry (no less than 15 poems).
Short Story (a collection of no less than 12 stories).
Novel.
Theatrical Script.
Children's Literature, with this edition dedicated to (a collection of stories for children - ages 6 to 8), and the specialization changes each year.
Literary Criticism, designated this year for the study of (narrative techniques in postmodern novels), and the specialization changes each year.

Term and Condition

Participation in the competition is open to both genders, from the United Arab Emirates, other Arab countries, and Arabized writers, under the following condition:

The participant's age should not be less than 18 years old and should not exceed 40 years old.
Submissions must be in Classical Arabic.
Submitted works should not have won in a similar competition, been submitted for an academic degree, published in newspapers, journals, or online platforms, and should not be simultaneously entered into another competition.
The submitted work should be the author's original creation in this field.
A participant is not allowed to enter more than one category of the competition.
The submitted work should respect religious and ethical values.
The department is not obligated to return the texts, whether they win or not.
In case of violation of the terms and regulations of the award, the prize will be withdrawn immediately, and necessary legal actions will be taken.
The submission deadline is October 31, 2023.
Results will be announced in January 2024, and prizes will be distributed during the Creativity Workshop in April 2024.
The top three winners in each category are invited to attend the awards ceremony and participate in a scientific creative workshop.
The Sharjah Department of Culture will handle the printing of all winning works and retains the rights to the first edition of these works.
Any work that violates the conditions and lacks required attachments will be excluded from the judging process.
Winners are not allowed to participate again until two cycles after winning.
Winners in any category are not permitted to make any modifications to the winning text after the results are announced.

The Judging Mechanism

After ensuring that the texts meet the conditions stated in this announcement, the Award Secretariat commits to a committee of experts in each category of the competition to conduct an initial screening of the texts. This screening aims to narrow down the selection to no more than fifty texts in each category, worthy of competing for the prize.
The selected texts are then entrusted to two arbitrators to choose the winning texts for the top three positions based on agreed-upon critical criteria. In case of their inability to agree on these texts, the texts chosen by each of them are referred to a third, weighted arbitrator to select three winning texts from them. The decision of the weighted arbitrator is final.
The judging committees justify their selection of the winning texts, providing winners with feedback on their texts, if available, to make necessary adjustments before the printing of these texts

Required Documents

Résumé (in Arabic), detailing the most significant literary achievements and publications. Completion of the disclaimer form confirming no other publication in the same field, whether in print or electronically, and that the manuscript has not been published or won another award. Additionally, the winning participation will be published according to the standards of the Sharjah Department of Culture. Completion of the participation form for the award.

You can obtain these forms from the Department's website or the Cultural Awards Department.
The participant must send a copy of their passport (clearly showing the issuance and expiration dates), and any participation not complying with this requirement will not be accepted.
A passport-sized photo for official use.
A CD containing the submitted material in Windows/Word format, along with three original printed copies on A4 paper. Please refrain from writing the participant's name on the printed work sent by mail.

Prizes

• 6 thousand dollars for the first winner.

• 4 thousand dollars to the winner of the second.

• 3 thousand dollars for the third winner.

Contact Name

Alya Al-Ghazaal

Phone / Fax: +97165123287 / +97165123333 / +97165123279

Contact Email: shjibdaa@sdc.gov.ae