Arab Book Award draws 835 nominations from 44 countries in fourth edition

The Arab Book Award announced it had received 835 nominations from 44 countries for its fourth edition in 2026, indicating the award's expanding scope and diversity of advanced scholarly and intellectual output. Launched by the State of Qatar in March 2023, the award honors researchers, publishing houses, and institutions contributing to the Arab book industry.

The single-book category led with 682 nominations, while the achievement category received 153. Linguistic, literary, and critical studies comprised 33% of all nominations, followed by historical studies at 27%, and Islamic studies and Sharia sciences at 19%. Social and philosophical studies accounted for 15%, while dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textual scholarship ranked last at 6%.

Dr. Naji Al Sharif, Executive Director of the award, stated that the 835 nominations demonstrate the broadening participation and growing presence of Arab knowledge production. Egypt led with 145 submissions, followed by Morocco (92), Saudi Arabia (76), Qatar (50), Algeria (37), and Jordan (32). The dominance of authored books in the single-book category and the diversity of the achievement category reflect the range of entities and stakeholders contributing to the Arab book industry.

Professor Dr. Hanan Al Fayyad, Media Advisor for the award, emphasized that the submissions provide insight into trends in authorship and research across the Arab world, highlighting the significance of the diversity in fields of study and the award's role in enriching the Arab cultural and intellectual landscape.