Leiden / Boston – 20 March 2012
Brill is honored to accept the “Sheikh Zayed Book Award” for publishing and distribution excellence in Middle East and Islamic Studies. Brill will receive UAD 750,000, which will be used to establish a fellowship for students and scholars, and to invest in future innovative publishing projects to further Brill’s contribution to the research and study of literature, culture, history and social science in Middle East and Islamic Studies.
Brill was awarded the prize based on an evaluation of its publishing activities in Middle East and Islamic Studies over the past three years. Major works include the Encyclopaedia of Islam, which, in its third edition, serves as the preeminent work in the field, and the award-winning Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, both of which are available in print and online. The publishing program also covers topics such as Islamic manuscripts, Islamic art, social science, history, culture and gender studies. Recently, Brill digitized 110,000 Middle Eastern manuscripts in collaboration with Leiden University Libraries to publish Middle Eastern Manuscripts Online 1, the first of an extensive online primary source collection. With these recent efforts Brill continues a long tradition as a publishing house with a successful program in Middle East and Islamic Studies; some of Brill’s landmark publications in this area date back as far as the 18th century.
Publishing Manager Joed Elich and Acquisitions Editor Maurits van den Boogert will accept the award in Abu Dhabi at the award ceremony on 29 March. “We see the award as an acknowledgement of the variety of our publishing activities in Middle East and Islamic Studies over the years,” says Elich. “We look forward to using the prize money to continue our efforts to explore and preserve all aspects of Islamic history and culture.”
More information: Maurits van den Boogert, email: boogert@brill.com, phone: + 31 71 5353500
About BRILL
Founded in 1683 in Leiden, the Netherlands, BRILL is a leading international academic publisher in the fields of Ancient Near East and Egypt, Middle East and Islamic Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Medieval and Early Modern Studies, contemporary History and History of War studies, Biblical and Religious Studies, Slavic Studies, Language & Linguistics, Biology, Human Rights and Public International Law. With offices in Leiden and Boston, BRILL today publishes more than 175 journals and around 600 new books and reference works each year. All publications are available in both print and electronic form. BRILL also markets a large number of research collections and databases with primary source material. The company’s key customers are academic and research institutions, libraries, and scholars. BRILL is a publicly traded company and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam NV. For further information please visit www.brill.com.