ABU DHABI, 17th May, 2023 (WAM) — The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), part of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, has announced the members of the higher committee of its new Golden Narrative (Sard Al Thahab) Award, launched in December 2022 to honour notable works by local and international creative minds in the genre of Arab prose.
The Golden Narrative (Sard Al Thahab) Award aims to shed light on Emirati folk tales and narratives, highlight inspiring works in this field, and celebrate the talented narrators who, through this art form, have helped to preserve the UAE’s history, lifestyle, and popular heritage over the decades.
The Higher Committee brings together experts from a range of fields including literary criticism and cultural narratives, libraries and archiving, short stories, popular culture, and Arabic language and literature.
Folklore heritage, cultural vision
The group is headed by Abdullah Majid Al Ali, Director-General of the National Library and Archives. Members are Bahraini academic and critic Dr. Dheya Al Kaabi; Egyptian writer Dr. Miral al-Tahawy; Emirati director, writer, and producer Nasser Al Dhaheri; and Dr. Saïd Yaktine, Moroccan narratologist and critic.
Dr. Khalil Al Sheikh, a researcher, scholar, and literary critic, serves as the committee’s rapporteur.
“The Golden Narrative Award is an exciting addition to the UAE’s cultural landscape, enriching the field of storytelling and reflecting our nation’s unique identity by highlighting local values, customs, and heritage,” said Al Ali.
“The award recognises and supports creative minds, and will help enable their important work in preserving and passing down to future generations the folk heritage of the UAE, in line with both the Centre’s mission and Abu Dhabi’s overarching cultural vision. We hope it will establish a productive environment for creativity and innovation that encourages talent across all literary disciplines.”
Nomination procedure
The Higher Committee recently held its first meeting, where it discussed the nomination procedure and the criteria for selecting the winners, as well as reviewing the internal processes and function of the Award.
The Award’s six categories are the Short Story Prize, where talented writers’ unpublished creations are evaluated, honoured, and published, as well as the Short Story Collection Prize, which recognises published Emirati or Arab stories that draw inspiration from heritage.
The Popular Narratives Prize honours collections of popular folktales that build shared memory and contribute to the formation of a cultural identity, or notable studies that analyse these tales, while the Narrators and Biographers Prize celebrates narrators of popular literature and biographies from the UAE and the wider Arab world.
The Illustrated Story Prize selects a narrative that relies on images in its structure, blending narration and graphic arts, while the Emirati Storytelling Prize honours literary works that explore Emirati identity and are inspired by the UAE’s history, geography, and symbols.