Arab American Book Award

あらぶあめりかんぶっくしょう

An annual book award honoring Arab American culture, research, and literature (organized by Arab American National Museum).

Adult fictionNon-fiction (Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award)Children's/Young AdultPoetry (George Ellenbogen Poetry Award)

Established: 2006
Organizer: Arab American National Museum
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Application Deadline: around March
Announcement Period: around September–November
Status: Active

Description

The Arab American Book Award was established in 2006 as an annual literary award aimed at honoring Arab American research and books. Organized by the Arab American National Museum (AANM), it selects winners in multiple categories such as adult fiction, non-fiction (named the Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award since 2011), children's/young adult, and poetry (George Ellenbogen Poetry Award). Winners are selected by a selected reader group (prominent writers, university professors, artists, AANM staff, etc.), and announcements are principally made at an invitation-only award ceremony every fall. Operational streamlining has been conducted, such as changing the year notation to the award date basis in 2009.

Prize

Main Prize: Recognition and promotion upon winning (introduction on official website and museum, commendation at award ceremony). The fixed amount of prize money is not clearly stated in public information.

Endowment fund established with a $10,000 donation from Drs. A. Adnan and Barbara C. Aswad as founding support (for ongoing sustainability)
Award-winning works are featured at the Arab American National Museum and official website, etc.
Winners are invited to the invitation-only award ceremony

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Submission acceptance	Submissions from publishers or authors, etc. (detailed procedures follow AANM's official guidelines)	—	—
Selection	Winners determined through reading and discussion by a selected reader group (prominent writers, university professors, artists, AANM staff, etc.)	—	Winners announced at invitation-only award ceremony (every fall)

Submission acceptance

Judges Submissions from publishers or authors, etc. (detailed procedures follow AANM's official guidelines)

Selection

Judges Winners determined through reading and discussion by a selected reader group (prominent writers, university professors, artists, AANM staff, etc.)

Announcement Winners announced at invitation-only award ceremony (every fall)

Criteria

Content that contributes to or deepens understanding of Arab American experiences and culture
Literary and academic quality (expression, structure, depth of research)
Originality and reliability of sources and research (especially non-fiction category)
Books published within the eligible period (follow publication year criteria in entry requirements)

Application Tips

Dos

Check the official website's entry requirements (publication year eligibility, category classification) in advance
Attach accurate bibliographic and author information to application documents (publisher information, ISBN, etc.)
Clearly demonstrate how the work relates to Arab American experiences and culture
Select the correct entry category (adult/non-fiction/children's-YA/poetry)

Don''ts

Do not submit works excluded by entry requirements regarding publication year or format
Do not submit with incomplete information (missing author or publication details)
Do not apply in the wrong category ignoring the guidelines

From Judges

Judging is conducted through close reading and discussion by the selected reader group, so research substantiation and presentation of references/materials are evaluated
Both literary quality (expression, structure, originality) and contribution to the Arab American community are emphasized
Always check the official entry regulations (publication year, format, etc.) before applying

Related Awards

Other programs and events by Arab American National Museum
Related initiatives by ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services)
Other literary awards honoring minority or ethnic literature (e.g., ethnic literary awards, etc.)
Related resources: List of Arab American writers