Sheikha Bodour and other delegates during the Sharjah Publishers Conference.

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, the PublisHer and Kalimat Group founder, has launched the PublisHer Excellence Awards in recognition of outstanding female publishing professionals who have made a tangible difference to the industry.

Anyone can submit single or multiple nominations in any category via the PublisHer social media channels X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook pages.

Nominations will be open until Jan.15, 2024, after which a PublisHer Excellence Awards jury will draw up a shortlist before selecting the winners.

Addressing the Sharjah Publishers Conference ahead of Sharjah International Book Fair, Sheikha Bodour said the awards were integral to PublisHer’s mission to celebrate female publishers and empower their rise to leadership.

She added, "In my experience, women are very good at forming support groups and lifting each other up - despite the tropes that say otherwise. Think of the PublisHer Excellence Awards as an extension of that support - we want to celebrate, elevate, and encourage women who cut their own paths and light the way forward through their resilience, ingenuity, and vision.”

The PublisHer Excellence Awards have a three-fold mission to celebrate women’s professional achievements, champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, and promote professional development.

They fall into three categories: Lifetime Achievement Award, for a trailblazing publishing doyenne (minimum 20-year career) who has made a significant and lasting impact on the industry; Emerging Leader Award, for a rising publishing star (aged 35 or less) who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, big-picture thinking, and the power to drive positive change; Innovation Award, for any woman responsible for an innovative contribution to the publishing industry, such as storytelling and content curation, editorial leadership, management strategies, company culture, and marketing campaigns.