SHARJAH — The Arab Children's Book Publisher Forum has opened registration for the tenth edition of the ‘Best Children's Book Award’, which is aimed at making substantial improvements in children's literature throughout the Arab region, and encouraging publishers and authors to focus on the Arabic language as well as innovating new topics that strengthen the new generations' values.

Submissions for the AED 75,000 award's three categories, including Early Childhood Books (under 6 years), Middle Childhood Books (7-11 years), and Young People Books (12-16 years), will close on February 28. The winner of each category will receive AED 25,000.

The award also aims to shine light on works and experiences by the Arab Children's Book Publisher Forum members, in addition to highlighting their role in enriching Arab children's libraries with rich content that encourages the young generations to adopt reading as a daily habit.

To apply, the applicant must be an Arab Children's Book Publisher Forum member and the submitted works should be a physical book written in Arabic and published between 2021 – 2023. Furthermore, the publisher should not be a previous recipient of the award in the past year. Complete information can be found on www.acbpub.gov.ae

To introduce the award to publishers and highlight its achievements in previous editions, the Arab Children's Book Publisher Forum will be organising a series of seminars and discussions as part of its participation in upcoming book fairs around the Arab world. The first session will be held during the Cairo International Book Fair from January 24 to February 6.

The 100-member-strong Arab Children's Book Publisher Forum was established in 2013 to forge partnerships with Arab publishers and expand cooperation to reinforce their mission to advance the children's book industry and its output.