2015

Yacoub El Sharouny

Yacoub El Sharouni is a veteran author of children’s books and researcher in the field of Arabic children’s literature.  He has served several times on the judging panel of the Children’s Literature Prize managed by the Egyptian National Section of IBBY (EBBY) and was a member of the jury of the Jordanian State Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature in 1999. In 1968, he was appointed the Director General of the General Organisation of Culture Palaces of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture before traveling to France for a 10-month period to study cultural work in the field of children’s literature. From 1984 to 1991, he was the Head of the National Centre of Child Culture in addition to occupying several posts related to the field of Arabic children’s literature and Child Culture. He was appointed several times as a Consultant to the Egyptian Ministry of Culture in the field of Child Culture. 

He has received numerous awards, including the Award of the Supreme Council for Arts and Literature – Egypt for his play Heroes of Our Country (1960), the New Horizons Award of the Bologna Book Fair for The Best Egyptian Folk Stories (2002) and the Egyptian National Section of IBBY Award for Best Author for his book The Secret of the Queen of Kings (2007).  He has written and published 400 books as well as several studies on Arabic children’s literature.  He has supervised several theses and dissertation projects in the field of children’s literature. 

Najlaa Bashour

Najla Nasser Bashour received her PhD in educational science from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, in 1994, an MA in Education from the American University in Beirut, in 1971, and a BA in History from the American University of Beirut in 1967. Since 1985 she has been a professor in the Department of Education at the American University in Beirut. She is also a member of the Curriculum Committee for early stage education at the Educational Center for Research and Development of the Ministry of Education in Lebanon. Not only does she write children stories but she designs games and educational tools as well

Salah El Mur

Salah El-Mur graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts and Applied Arts in Graphic Design from the University of Sudan. He is both a painter and photographer. He has organized several individual and collective workshops in Sudan as well as abroad. He is also the author of children's stories with a repertoire of more than 20 books in Arabic, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Renad Qubbaj

Renad Qubbaj has been the director of the Tamer Foundation for Community Education, a foundation works to promote reading for children and adolescents through the activation of community and school libraries, since 2006. She also publishes books for children and young people in the Arabic language.

Mertxe Paris Leza

Mertxe Leza has a degree in humanities and political science studies. During the past few years she has been able to learn the Arabic language. She is the founder and editor of Mosaic, a publishing house specialized in children's literature. During her career Mertxe has worked as an editor in several magazines and newspapers.