The Sard Al Thahab (Golden Narrative) Award is an annual award launched by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) to support the popular art of Arabic storytelling across the Arab World. The Award has been created to recognise the long-standing tradition of storytelling in Arabic, including the constant spread of folk tales and legends, which has been an integral part of Arab heritage, culture, and identity.

It consists of six award categories: Emirati Narration, Narrators, Short Story for Unpublished Stories, Short Story for Published Stories, Illustrated Story, and Popular Narratives.

The Story behind the Name

“Narrative” as a concept started to gain interest in the field of literary criticism. It has become a critical approach that seeks to interpret literary texts and artworks. As a term, the art of narration emerged in the mid-1960s to refer to any artistic creation that relays a story from everyday life, popular tales, legends, or other literary sources. It goes without saying that any narration process requires a time, place, characters, and a main event. It relies on language or images.

It is noteworthy that the late Sheikh Zayed used the term "Sard" (narration) in one of his poems:

I knew well what befell him, but alas

I wish he mastered narration as he did grammar!

The connection between narrative and grammar in this verse combines the beauty of the story with the consistency and clarity of the language. Importantly, the word “narrative” appears in the verse based on its use in the Arabic language, indicating the orderly, seamless, and graceful sequence of words.

As for the word “golden”, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan used it to indicate beauty, fairness, and embellishment, as when he said:

How skillfully it was adorned and graced,

with gold and elegant calligraphy

The Award's name is a combination of both words: “golden” and “narrative”. Hence, the Award should serve as a means to discover literary beauty, consistency, and the ability to create, rediscover, or narrate a tale.

Award Objectives:

The Award was inspired by the visionary poetry of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to be a focal point for combining creativity and thought, to create an artistic movement that will make Sheikh Zayed's creative experience a focal point towards new forms of creativity.

• Focusing on the popular narrative that resonates with the Arab culture, acknowledging exceptional narrative compositions, publishing them, and presenting their creators.

• Highlighting contemporary pieces of fiction, uncovering emerging talents in this field, and recognising exceptional literary creations.

• Preserving popular narratives to enrich the cultural heritage of future generations by establishing a creative and academic connection with these narratives.

• Nurturing the illustrated storytelling that captures the essence of life in the UAE and the Arab World through the medium of photography and film.

• Recognising the contributions of storytellers who specialise in biographies, literature, and popular narratives, both within the local community and throughout the Arab World.

• Promoting exceptional works that explore the Emirati narrative in all its facets, through creative expression, scholarly examination, and critical analysis."

General Conditions:

    1. A candidate may only enter only one work in one of the Award categories.

    2. The nominated work may not be nominated for another award in itself or by proxy in the same year.

    3. The nominated works must be composed in Arabic, with the exception of the Emirati Storytelling   category, which allows                                       submissions in Arabic or other languages.

    4. Narrative or research work may be published or unpublished, but if previously published, no more than five years should have                            elapsed since their publication.

    5. The Award is not granted to a work that has previously won a major Arab or foreign award.

    6. Compliance with the conditions stipulated in the “form” for participation in each of the Award categories          is required.

    7. It is permissible to renominate the same work for the Award, provided that the time-period condition is met, and an                    application is submitted. A winner is entitled to apply for the prize again after 5 years of having won the Award.

Shipments Address:

    DCT Warehouse (Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre)

    ICT CUBES PARK Musaffah Industrial - M-25 - Abu Dhabi.

For General Inquiries:

    +971 2 599 5068

For Shipments inquiries:

    +971 543 107 609

    +971 504 138 208