Arab American Book Award
The Arab American Book Award was established in 2006 to celebrate and support the research of, and the written work of, Arab Americans and their culture. The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The purpose of the Award is to inspire authors, educate readers and foster a respect and understanding of the Arab American culture.[1]
The Arab American Book Award was brought about by the Arab American National Museum and faculty members of the nearby University of Toledo. The winning titles are chosen by groups of selected readers including respected authors, university professors, artists and AANM staff. The Awards are given during an invitation only event in the Fall of the award year. The AANM first gave these awards in 2007 for books published in 2006; for 2007, the number of submissions more than doubled from the inaugural year.[2]
To help ensure the continuity of the Arab American Book Award a special endowment fund has been launched with a $10,000 gift from Drs. A. Adnan and Barbara C. Aswad. Dr. Barbara C. Aswad is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and a past president of the Middle Eastern Studies Association and a Board Member Emerita for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), parent organization of the Arab American National Museum. Dr. A. Adnan Aswad is Professor Emeritus of Engineering at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. The Aswads, now based in Los Angeles, were inspired to make the gift after the inaugural Book Award ceremony in Fall 2007.[2]
In 2011, the non-fiction prize was renamed to honor the legacy and contributions to Arab American scholarship of Evelyn Shakir, who died of breast cancer in 2010. In addition to winning the Arab American Book Award for Fiction in 2008, Professor Shakir extensively researched the history of Arab women and wrote the groundbreaking work Bint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States in 1997. Evelyn's longtime partner, poet George Ellenbogen, established the award in collaboration with the Arab American National Museum.[3]
Chronology change (2009)[]
In 2009, The Arab American Book Award Committee changed the name of the '2008 Arab American Book Award' to the '2009 Arab American Book Award' in order to reflect the true award date instead of the publication date of the winning books. All dates in the previous Award years were also changed retroactively. While the date within the Award name has changed, the rules regarding the publication dates for eligible submissions have not.
Award winners[]
Adult Fiction[]
| Year | Winner | Honorable mentions |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Other Americans by Laila Lalami | A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum |
| 2019 | Amreekiya by | |
| 2018 | Salt Houses by Hala Alyan | |
| 2017 | The Angel of History by Rabih Alameddine | 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad |
| 2016 | A Curious Land by Susan Muaddi Darraj | In the Language of Miracles by |
| 2015 | An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine and The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami | |
| 2014 | The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon | The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud |
| 2013 | Lebanese Blonde by Joseph Geha | Flying Carpets by Hedy Habra |
| 2012 | Birds of Paradise by Diana Abu-Jaber | Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar |
| 2011 | Loom: a Novel by Thérèse Soukar Chehade | |
| 2010 | Master of the Eclipse: And Other Stories by Etel Adnan | |
| 2009 | A Map of Home: A Novel by Randa Jarrar | |
| 2008 | Remember Me to Lebanon by Evelyn Shakir | Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber |
| 2007 | In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar |
Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award[]
(Awarded as the Adult Non-Fiction prize prior to 2011.)
| Year | Winner | Honorable mentions |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | When We Were Arabs: A Jewish Family’s Forgotten History by | Women of the Midan: The Untold Stories of Egypt's Revolutionaries by |
| 2019 | Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo, by | |
| 2018 | The Rise of the Arab-American Left: Activists, Allies, and Their Fight Against Imperialism and Racism, 1960s–1980s by | Sexagon: Muslims, France, and the Sexualization of National Culture by |
| 2017 | Inter/Nationalism: Decolonizing Native America and Palestine by Steven Salaita | Industrial Sexuality: Gender, Urbanization, and Social Transformation in Egypt by Hanan Hammad |
| 2016 | This Muslim American Life: Dispatches from the War on Terror by Moustafa Bayoumi and Handbook of Arab American Psychology edited by and | |
| 2015 | Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past by | |
| 2014 | We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War edited by Nadje Al-Ali and | Between the Middle East and the Americas: The Cultural Politics of Diaspora edited by and Ella Shohat and The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Cultural Journey by and |
| 2013 | House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family and Lost Middle East by Anthony Shadid | The Girl Who Fell to Earth by Sophia Al Maria and Even My Voice Is Silence by |
| 2012 | Arab and Arab-American Feminisms: Gender, Violence, & Belonging edited by , and | Modern Arab-American Fiction: A Reader's Guide by Steven Salaita |
| 2011 | Arab Americans in Toledo: Cultural Assimilation and Community Involvement edited by | Barefoot in Baghdad by |
| 2010 | Angeleno Days: An Arab American Writer on Family, Place, and Politics by Gregory Orfalea | Homeland Insecurity: The Arab American and Muslim American Experience After 9/11 by and A Country Called Amreeka: Arab Roots, American Stories. by Alia Malek |
| 2009 | How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America by Moustafa Bayoumi | The Encyclopedia of Arab American Artists by Palestine Inside Out: An Everyday Occupation by Saree Makdisi |
| 2008 | Another Arabesque by | Kisses from a Distance by Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens by Nawal Nasrallah |
| 2007 | The Iron Cage by Rashid Khalidi | The Arab Americans by “Evil” Arabs in American Popular Film by |
Children's/ Young Adult[]
| Year | Winner | Honorable mentions |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | I Was Their American Dream: A Graphic Memoir by | Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga |
| 2019 | I’ve Loved You Since Forever by Hoda Kotb | Mirage by |
| 2018 | No Winner | |
| 2017 | The Treasure of Maria Mamoun by | The Three Lucys by Hayan Charara and Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine by Ibtisam Barakat |
| 2016 | No Winner | |
| 2015 | The Turtle of Oman by Naomi Shihab Nye | The Olive Tree by Elsa Marston and , illustrator |
| 2014 | Kids Guide to Arab American History by and | The Arab World Thought of It by |
| 2013 | Hands Around the Library: Protecting Egypt's Treasured Books by and | Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi |
| 2011 | Saving Sky by Diane Stanley | Time to Pray by , illustrated by |
| 2010 | No Winner | |
| 2009 | Honeybee: Poems & Short Prose by Naomi Shihab Nye | |
| 2008 | Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood by Ibtisam Barakat | |
| 2007 | One Green Apple by Eve Bunting and Ted Lewin, illustrator |
George Ellenbogen Poetry Award[]
| Year | Winner | Honorable mentions |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Birthright by George Abraham (poet) | Washes, Prays by |
| 2020 | A Theory of Birds by | Invasive species by |
| 2019 | Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance by Fady Joudah | El Cerrito by |
| 2018 | The January Children by Safia Elhillo | Water & Salt by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha |
| 2017 | Something Sinister By Hayan Charara | One Hundred Hungers by Lauren Camp and Hagar Poems by Mohja Kahf |
| 2016 | The Republics by Nathalie Handal | Sand Opera by Philip Metres |
| 2015 | Tahrir Suite: Poems by Matthew Shenoda | And the Time Is: Poems, 1958-2003 by Samuel Hazo |
| 2014 | A Concordance of Leaves by Philip Metres | My Daughter La Chola by Farid Matuk and Alight by Fady Joudah |
| 2013 | Atrium by Hala Alyan | Sea and Fog by Etel Adnan |
| 2012 | Abu Ghraib Arias by Philip Metres | Transfer by Naomi Shihab Nye |
| 2011 | Tocqueville by Khaled Mattawa | This Is a Nice Neighborhood by Farid Matuk |
| 2010 | Diary of a Wave Outside the Sea by Dunya Mikhail | |
| 2009 | breaking poems by Suheir Hammad |
See also[]
- List of Arab American writers
References[]
- ^ Arab American Book Award Official Webpage http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/bookaward
- ^ a b Arab American National Museum Press Release, October 13, 2008
- ^ Evelyn Shakir: Remembering a West Roxbury writing pioneer "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-07. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links[]
- Arab-American organizations
- Arab-American literature
- Awards established in 2006
- American children's literary awards
- Literary awards honoring minority groups
- 2006 establishments in the United States