Sharjah Book Authority has announced the second edition of the Sharjah Rights Connection Award

The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has announced the second edition of the Sharjah Rights Connection Award, which recognises the vital and creative contributions of rights professionals to promoting, diversifying, and strengthening the worldwide publishing business in an ever-changing world. Rights professionals are an important element of the supply chain since they work hard to get writers' works into the hands of readers by selling translation and other rights licences, creating cash for authors while providing consumers with access to a worldwide canon of work.

The global award will be presented in two distinct categories to support rights professionals and enhance opportunities for industry growth: one to a professional working for a publishing company selling translation rights, and the other to a professional working for an agency or working alone selling translation rights for multiple clients.

The second Sharjah Rights Connection Award submission period has opened and will end on August 31. The winners will be unveiled on October 29, 30, and 31 during the 2023 Publishers Conference. This year's prize is accessible to professionals in major publishing centres such as the United States, United Kingdom, Asia, and Germany, and it invites submissions from growing markets in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. The prize attracted 33 submissions from 14 countries worldwide for its inaugural edition, including Egypt, India, and the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Albania, Argentina, Canada, Finland, Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, and South Africa.

This first-of-its-kind international award recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to fueling translation movements, thereby playing an important role in carrying Sharjah's message of building bridges between cities and nations and enhancing cultural appreciation and understanding by bringing unique voices and narratives from around the world to readers worldwide.

Global rights experts can submit themselves or be nominated by their companies to be considered for any of the two Sharjah Rights Connection Award categories. To make a convincing argument for why the nominated professional should receive the prize, submissions must be made in English and contain two 500-word testimonials from clients with whom the nominated professional presently works. Individuals may apply; team entries will be rejected.

Applicants must identify the category for which they are applying, as well as their personal contact information. Applicants may additionally give information of up to 1,000 words about their company's development in the preceding year, successful sales closed, inventions, collaborations, and other accomplishments, along with supporting photographs.