Bodour Al Qasimi honours the winners of the SIBF 2025 Award

Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, honoured the winners of the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair Awards (SIBF 2025) during a ceremony held on the opening day of the fair at Expo Centre Sharjah.

Held under the theme “Between You and a Book”, SIBF 2025 runs until November 16 and received a record 2,076 submissions from Emirati, Arab, and international writers, including 99 for the Turjuman Award.

In her keynote, Khoula Al Mujaini, General Coordinator of SIBF, highlighted the cultural vision launched by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, and praised Sheikha Bodour’s role in sustaining this legacy that connects language, creativity, and readers.

Among the winners, Nadia Al Najjar received Best Emirati Book (Novel) for “The Texture of Light”, while Trends Research & Advisory won Best Emirati Academic Book for “The Age of Pearls.. From Poverty to Prosperity.” Dr. Abdul Hakim Al Zubaidi earned Best Emirati Creative Literature (Theatre) for “Texts From Nights In Cordoba”, and Asmaa Al Hamli won Best Emirati Book (First Novel) for “The Sand Tribe.”

In the Arabic category, Abdelaziz Ait Bensalah won Best Arabic Novel for “House of Life.” The Best Foreign Book (Fiction) went to Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu for “The Creation of Half-Broken People”, while Sunita Krishnan took Best Foreign Non-Fiction for “I Am What I Am.”

Publishing awards went to Nabti Publishing House (Local), Dar Al Ahlia Bookstore (Arabic), and Penguin Random House (International).