Our annual competition in honor of

Naomi Shihab Nye

Annoucing the 2025 Competition for a

Children’s Book Manuscript

The Naomi Shihab Nye Prize was established in 2024 for writers in our Arab community to create book length stories for and about young Arab readers. 

We invite Arab American and Arab Canadian writers to submit an English-language middle-grade manuscripts directed to readers ages 8–12.

This competition, initiated by Barbara Nimri Aziz, serves to foster new talent and encourage all writers, emerging and established, to celebrate the richness of Arab creativity and our storytelling tradition. First prize: $1,000; second: $500.

Naomi Shihab Nye is a Palestinian-American author, editor, and educator celebrated for her pioneering work in children’s literature. She has been the U.S. Young People’s Poet Laureate, a poetry editor for major publications, and a recipient of multiple Lifetime Achievement Awards. Her books include Habibi, Sitti’s Secrets, 19 Varieties of Gazelle, The Turtle of Oman, and The Turtle of Michigan, among many others. Her work bridges cultures and voices, making her a powerful advocate for the arts and Arab heritage. 

March 1st, submissions open. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates. Queries, email info@albustanseeds.org.

Eligibility & Guidelines

  • Arab Canadian or Arab American writers

  • Manuscripts may be in any genre

  • 200 pages maximum

  • Manuscripts only accepted online in .pdf format

  • March 1st, 2025 submission opens

  • May 20, competition closes

  • $25 USD entry fee

Details from Women against the Night by Helen Zughaib

Meet Our 2024 Winners

Alia Yunis, First Place: Making Miracles in Minesota

Manuscript Details

  • Please use pseudonyms for any references to your identity.

  • 12-font and 1.15 spacing.

  • Entrant’s name must not appear anywhere on manuscript.

  • Include page number at top right of each page, and on submission form, your book title page and page count

  • Winning manuscripts announced in September 2025.


Producers

Barbara Nimri Aziz founded RAWI in 1992. “Radio Tahrir”, Aziz’s 24-year, weekly broadcast on WBAI-Radio, NY, featured numerous Arab authors. The entire audio archive is accessible free, from anywhere, at Bentley Historical Library U. Michigan.

Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture is a Philadelphia-based non-profit that offers artistic and educational programming that enriches understanding and celebrates diversity, while supporting the pursuit and affirmation of Arab American cultural identity.

Lisa Volta-Zalloum, Executive Director of Al-Bustan.

Pauline Kaldas, Second Place: A Place So Far Away

Telling Me His Stories by Helen Zughaib, 15 x 20", gouache on board, 2015