Publishing Award

The Publishing Award is an annual national cultural award in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is granted to licensed Saudi publishing houses or owners of technical innovations in the field of publishing or the sectors that serve the Saudi publishing market. It was launched as part of the National Cultural Awards initiative which was announced by the Minister of Culture Prince Badr Bin Abdullah Bin Farhan in 2019. The first edition was released in June 2020.

The Publishing Award aims to foster competitiveness in the publishing market, encourage all publishing enthusiasts to participate, and incentivize publishing houses to improve and raise the quality of their output. The award also recognizes publishing houses that have spread cultural knowledge, and seeks to become the most prestigious publishing prize in terms of sentimental value.

Nominations can be submitted directly by participants via the online platform, or by other people if they believe that a candidate deserves to win or to be nominated, or by specialized committees at the Ministry of Culture.

To be eligible for the Award, the publishing house must be Saudi-owned, and the submitted information must be complete and correct. Moreover, the publisher must have produced at least twenty books, whether hard or electronic copies, during the two years prior to the date of the nomination. Arabic books must make up eighty percent of the total printed books, and the attached required forms must be correct, intact and error-free. Moreover, the publishing house must abide by all laws related to the intellectual rights of the published work.

The winner of the first place for the inaugural edition of the Publishing Award is Obeikan Publishing. The second place was awarded to Kadi and Ramadi Publishing, and third place was given to Dar Athar Publishing and Distribution. Jarir Bookstore won in the second edition of the award.