Over the years, our publications and authors have been the recipients of prestigious prizes, and short- and longlisted for major UK and international awards.
Company Awards
2024 – Shortlisted for the IPG Alison Morrison Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award
2022 – Shortlisted for the LBF Inclusivity Award
2022 – Highly Commended for The British Book Awards Small Press of the Year
2019 – Shortlisted for The British Book Awards Small Press of the Year
2018 – Shortlisted for the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards: Inclusivity in Publishing
2013 – Winner of the IPG Diversity Award
2013 – Shortlisted for the IPG Young Publisher of the Year Award (Lynn Gaspard)
2012 – Winner of the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize for Women in Publishing (Rukhsana Yasmin)
2010 – Shortlisted for Index on Censorship, Sage International Publishing Award
2009 – Winner of the British Book Industry Award for Diversity in Literature
2008 – Winner of the Arab British Centre Award
2003 – Shortlisted for the Sunday Times Small Publisher of the Year Award
2002 – Shortlisted for the IPG Independent Publisher of the Year Award
Book Awards
2024 – River Spirit, longlisted for The Kayva Prize 2024
2024 – Paris Isn’t Dead Yet, longlisted for The American Library in Paris Book Award 2024
2024 – Outspoken, longlisted for the Moore Prize 2024
2024 – Wild Thorns, longlisted for the Palestine Book Awards 2024
2024 – Woman Life Freedom, shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award 2024
2024 – River Spirit by Leila Aboulela longlisted for the Jhalak Prize
2023 – The Sultan’s Feast by Daniel Newman shortlisted for the Gourmand Award for Culinary History
2023 – River Spirit by Leila Aboulela shortlisted for HWA Crown Awards for Historical Fiction
2023 – This Arab is Queer edited by Elias Jahshan shortlisted for the Bread and Roses Award
2023 – This Arab is Queer edited by Elias Jahshan finalist for the Lambda Literary Awards
2022 – Midnight in Cairo by Raphael Cormack, shortlisted for HWA Crown Awards
2022 – Midnight in Cairo by Raphael Cormack, shortlisted for the 2022 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
2022 – C+nto by Joelle Taylor, Winner of the Polari Book Prize
2022 – C+nto by Joelle Taylor, Longlisted for the RSL Ondaatje Prize
2022 – C+nto by Joelle Taylor, Winner of the T. S. Eliot Prize
2021 – Poem ‘Valentine’ from C+nto by Joelle Taylor, Highly Commended for the Forward Prize for Poetry 2022
2021 – The Sultan’s Feast by Daniel Newman, longlisted for the Peter Mackenzie Smith Book Prize 2020
2020 – The Sultan’s Feast by Daniel Newman, Winner of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2021
2020 – The Quarter by Naguib Mahfouz, translated by Roger Allen, longlisted for the National Translation Book Award, Prose
2019 – Wally Funk’s Race for Space, Winner of The Sir Arthur Clarke Award 2019 (Space Achievement Media Award: Broadcast and Written)
2018 – Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela, Winner of the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year
2018 – Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani, Longlisted for the Big Book Prize ‘Modern Classics’
2018 – Istanbul, Istanbul by Burhan Sonmez translated by Umit Hussein, Winner of the EBRD Literature Prize
2018 – About My Mother by Tahar Ben Jelloun translated by Ros Schwarz and Lulu Norman, Longlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize
2018 – The Things I Would Tell You edited by Sabrina Mahfouz and Elsewhere, Home by Leila Aboulela, longlisted for the People’s Book Prize
2017 – The Commander by Laila Parsons, Winner of the Palestine Book Award
2017 – The Things I Would Tell You edited by Sabrina Mahfouz longlisted for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations Prize
2016 – Native by Sayed Kashua shortlisted for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations Prize
2016 – A Concise History of the Arabs by John McHugo and The Hungry Ghosts by Shyam Selvadurai (English) longlisted for the Grand Prix of Literary Associations Prize
2014 – I Am Nobody’s Nigger by Dean Atta, Longlisted for the Polari Best First Book Prize
2014 – Meet Me in Gaza by Louisa Waugh, Longlisted for the Stanford Dolman Best Travel Book of the Year Award
2014 – The Whispering Muse by Sjón, Longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award Fiction
2014 – Vauxhall by Gabriel Gbadamosi, Longlisted for the Author’s Club Best First Novel Award
2014 – The Summer My Father Died by Yudit Kiss, Shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize
2013 – Vauxhall by Gabriel Gbadamosi, Winner of the Best International Novel at Sharjah Book Fair
2013 – From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón, Shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2013 – Meet Me in Gaza by Louisa Waugh, Shortlisted for the MEMO Palestine Book Awards
2013 – A Concise History of the Arabs by John McHugo, Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title
2012 – From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón, Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2011 – Sabra Zoo by Mischa Hiller, Winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book, Europe and South Asia
2011 – The Arabs and the Holocaust by Gilbert Achcar, Longlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize
2010 – Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu, Winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize
2009 – The Quest for Identities by Sabry Hafez, Winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award
2009 – Another Gulmohar Tree by Aamer Hussein, Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Europe and South Asia
2009 – The Blue Fox by Sjón, Longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2009 – Dubravka Ugresic, Shortlisted for the International Man Booker Prize
2008 – The Moon Opera by Bi Feiyu, Longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2007 – Young Turk by Moris Farhi, Winner of the Alberto Benveniste Prize
2006 – The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugresic, Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2006 – Young Turk by Moris Farhi, Nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2006 – The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugresic, Shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize
2006 – Wines of Lebanon by Michael Karam, Winner of the Best Book on New World Wines, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
2006 – Sufi Cuisine by Nevin Halici, Winner of the Best Foreign Cookbook, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards
2005 – Young Turk by Moris Farhi, Shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize
2004 – The White Family by Maggie Gee, Shortlisted for International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2004 – The Flood by Maggie Gee, Longlisted for the Orange Prize
2004 – The White Family by Maggie Gee, Shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
2003 – Children of the Rainbow by Moris Farhi, Winner of the Special Prize Roma Academy of Culture and Sciences
2002 – The White Family by Maggie Gee, Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction
2002 – Children of the Rainbow by Moris Farhi, Winner of the Amico Rom Prize from the Associazione Them Romano of Italy
2002 – The White Family by Maggie Gee, Shortlisted for the Orange Prize
2001 – The History of Saudi Arabia by Alexei Vassiliev, Winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award
1989 – Journey through the Wilderness by Moris Farhi, Shortlisted for the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize
A great publisher at the forefront of opening up high quality books about the Middle East and North Africa. Saqi fulfils a vital role.
Mary Beard‘Anyone interested in Arab culture is aware of the invaluable role Saqi plays in making available pioneering, specialist and often controversial books that large publishers refuse to go near.’
The TimesSaqi sets the standard of excellence in Arabic and English publishing on the Middle East.
Eugene RoganSmall but conscientious publishing houses like Saqi have assembled a diverse cross-section of contemporary work from the Arab world.
Edward SaidA list of exceptional writers.
The Guardian