Sharjah Children’s Book and Sharjah Children’s Book Illustration Exhibition awards’ winners announced

Sharjah,  UAE

Sallam Sallam

HE Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), honoured winners of the Sharjah Children’s Book Award and the 9^th Sharjah Children’s Book Illustration Exhibition Awards, at an awarding ceremony hosted yesterday (Wednesday 19 May) at the ongoing 12^th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).

Sharjah Children’s Book Award

Mohammed Al Hamwi’s Jana and the Valley Village, published by Turkish publisher Roya for Publishing and Creative Production, won the Arabic Children’s Book category (4-12 years), while Rania Badda’s Shiamila, published by Nahdet Publishing Group in Egypt, won the Arabic Young Adult books category
(13-17 years).

The English Children’s book category, which targets literature designed for readers aged 7-13 was won by Emirati author Hanadi Al Fahim for her book The Little Ghaf Tree, while SCRF Visually Impaired Book Award was scooped by the Sharjah Police Science Academy, which was received by HE Brigadier General Khamis Al Othmani, Director General of the Academy.

Sharjah Children’s Book Illustration Exhibition

Slovenian artist, Andreja Biklar, has won first place in the 9^th edition Sharjah Children’s Book Illustration Exhibition, while Italian Alicia Bravo has been announced the second-place winner. Third place was taken Esmeralda Ríos from Mexico. Korean artist Kyoung-Mi Ahn, Lithuanian Inja Dagel and Claudia Legnazzi from Argentina, received honorary prizes for their high-quality submissions.

The 11-day festival open to visitors from 4pm – 10pm, barring Saturdays when SCRF will welcome visitors from 10am – 8pm. The 9^th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Book Illustration Exhibition is part of SCRF’s cultural offerings along with publications of 172 participating publishers and 537 fun and educational activities and workshops all designed to ignite young imaginations.