Book Prize

The Prize was founded thanks to an endowment of the Abdullah Mubarak Al Sabah Foundation. In each of the years since the prize commenced, it has attracted around 50 nominations from some 15 publishers and the overall standard of entries has been extremely high. The prize is awarded for the best scholarly work on the Middle East each year. Normally the chronological remit of the prize will be from the rise of Islam until the present day, but outstanding scholarly entries from the pre-Islamic era may also be considered.
The deadline for entries for this year's prize is 31st January 2013.

To submit entries, please return the entry form no later than 31st January 2013, together with SEVEN copies of each title submitted to the address below:

BKFS Prize The Cottage Bakery Kell's Lane Low Fell Tyne & Wear NE9 5HX

General Information

A prize or prizes will be awarded each year to the value of up to £10,000 for the best scholarly work in English on the Middle East which has been published in its first edition in the United Kingdom. We are now accepting submissions for books published during the calendar year 2012 and listed in Whitaker's Books in Print. Particular consideration will ge given to books of sound scholarship which enhance understanding of the Middle East among a wider readership in the English speaking world. Translations of work published in other modern languages are not eligible.

The judges welcome entries on any aspect of Middle East studies. Normally the chronological remit of the prize will be from the rise of Islam until the present day, but outstanding scholarly entries from the pre-Islamic era may also be considered.

The award of the prize is the sole responsibility of the judges, whose decision is final. If the judges so decide, the prize may be divided.

The criteria on which the judges' decision will be based will be:

(i) Originality
(ii) Clarity and Accessibility
(iii) Importance to the field

Collections of articles by several authors published in a single volume will not be considered.

Entries will be welcomed from the following fields:

(i) Language and literature
(ii) Islamic Studies
(iii) Sociology, anthropology, history, politics, geography, economics and international relations
(iv) Islamic art and archaeology

Please use this link to submit your entry:

Book Prize Entry Form

The British Kuwait Friendship Society judges are:

[liste|Professor Yasir Suleiman
University of Cambridge (Chairman),
Sir Roger Tomkys
Former Chairman, Arab British Chamber of Commerce
Professor Carole Hillenbrand
Professor of Islamic History, University of Edinburgh
Shaikh Mubarak al-Abdullah al-Mubarak Al Sabah
(on behalf of the Abdullah Mubarak Charitable Foundation)
Professor Charles Tripp, SOAS
Alastair Newton, Nomura International plc


Administration of the prize has moved to Cambridge.