The Arab Book Award announced that it has received 1,043 nominations from 41 Arab and foreign countries in various categories for the third edition (2025-2026).

The award aims to support the Arabic-language writing and scientific research movement and enhance the status of the Arabic book in the fields of qualitative knowledge production.

Prof. Dr. Hanan Al-Fayyad, Media Advisor of the Arab Book Award, explained that the jury received 960 nominations in the single book category, in addition to 83 nominations in the achievement category, stressing that the wide participation reflects the growing interest in the award and its increasing status in the academic and cultural circles in Arab and international circles, as the works nominated from 41 countries reflect the success of the award in reaching creative researchers and writers in different parts of the world.

The media advisor for the Arab Book Award pointed out that the nominated works amounted to 32% in the field of social and philosophical studies, 27% in the field of linguistic studies, 16% for historical studies, 16% for legal studies, and 9% in the category of dictionaries, encyclopedias and textual realization.

Dr. Hanan Al-Fayyad said that the jury committees formed from different parts of the Arab world work impartially and orally to select the best works. The nominated works will be subjected to accurate and varied stages of judging to achieve the honor of winning and the integrity of the procedure … which is expected to be completed next December, while the achievement category is dedicated to honoring individuals with outstanding production results in one of the award’s knowledge fields and institutions and publishing houses, with the final sorting and announcement of the winners in a special ceremony in early 2026.

She explained that the importance of the prize, which has a total value of $1 million, goes beyond the material aspect, to embody a civilizational message that aims to restore the book as a tool for critical thinking, creativity and change.

The Arabic Book Prize is awarded in two main categories: “Single Book”, which includes books written in Arabic and belonging to the fields of knowledge specified within the award, provided that they have been published in paper and provided with an international deposit number during the last four years, and that their size is not less than 30,000 words, with adherence to scientific controls in terms of methodology and documentation. It is also required that the work constitutes a qualitative addition to Arab culture, and that its author should not be deceased at the time of submitting the nomination.

Nominations for the Single Book category must be submitted by the author himself, as other parties cannot be nominated on his behalf, and it is not allowed to submit more than one work or nominate in both categories. Joint books are accepted if they are not the result of collective seminars or conferences, and all participants in the work must agree.

The “Achievement” category honors individuals or institutions that have presented long-term knowledge projects, provided that their work is distinguished by originality and novelty, and that it constitutes a tangible contribution to human knowledge. Nominees must adhere to intellectual property rights and submit supporting documentation via the award’s website.

It is noteworthy that the five areas of knowledge allocated this year are: Literary and critical studies of the Arab heritage until the end of the tenth century AH, social and philosophical studies, where this course is dedicated to intellectual studies and economic studies, historical studies, where this course is dedicated to Arab and Islamic history from the end of the sixth century AH to the end of the twelfth century, legal sciences and Islamic studies, where this course is dedicated to the biography of the Prophet and Hadith studies, after the previous course was dedicated to jurisprudence, dictionaries, encyclopedias and textual investigation, where this course is dedicated to the investigation of linguistic texts.