The Arab Publishers Association has announced that the Lebanese publishing house Dar Al-Saqi won the Abdelaziz Al Mansour Award for Children Stories 2020 in its second edition. The $10,000 award will be entirely given to the winning publishing house.
In a press release by the Arab Publishers Association, Dr. Tarek al-Bakri, head of the award's jury said: "Dar Al-Saqi won the award for its story entitled ‘My Wondrous Picnic with My Uncle Salem,’ written by Emirati writer Nadia al-Najjar, and designed by Syrian artist Gulnar Hajo."
Bakri said the jury was composed of Dr. Wafa' Al-Shamsi (Oman), Dr. Ashraf Kadous (Egypt), poet Mohammed Jamal Amro (Jordan), and Novelist Saleh al-Ghazi (Egypt).
According to the jury, "My Wondrous Picnic with My Uncle Salem" bested other titles with its subtle writing style, richness of elements, exciting narrative, and use of easy words, in addition to its beautiful design, creative graphics, and fancy printing. It also helps introduce children to some life details and boosts the spirit of hard work, will, and compassion.
Bakri thanked the jury of Abdelaziz Al Mansour Award, which was named after the Kuwaiti prominent publisher Abdelaziz Al Mansour. He founded "That Al Salasil" library 50 years ago, one of the best Arabic publishing houses known for its constant contribution to publishing and distributing thousands of books in all fields."
Mohammed Rashad, head of the Publishing Association, said "Although it's relatively novel, and despite the impact of the pandemic on Arab publishers, this award represents a true example of solidarity and brotherhood among Arab publishers."
