The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award begun in the UAE. It is presented yearly to "Arab writers, intellectuals, publishers as well as young talent whose writings and translations of humanities have scholarly and objectively enriched Arab cultural, literary and social life." The award was established in memory of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the principal architect of United Arab Emirates, the authoritarian ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE for over 30 years (1971–2004). The first award was in 2007. The total value of the prizes is DH 7,000,000 making it one of the richest literary awards in the world.
The "Cultural Person of the Year" is the premier category, it includes an award of one million Dirhams (around $300,000) while the other categories receive around $200,000 each.Beginning with 2013 awards, a new category was added called "Arabic Culture in Other Languages" worth $205,000 "to honor best written works in Chinese, German and English languages on the subject of the Arabic civilization and culture including novels, short stories, poems, biographies, history and arts." In addition a number of other categories were merged, created or redefined.In 2021, German philosopher Juergen Habermas declined his Zayed Book Award, citing the UAE's political system (a repressive non-democracy).
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