Within the framework of the participation of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development in the month of reading with more than 160 initiatives, the Ministry launched the 9nth session of the “Short Story Award” held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. The Ministry called on all UAE citizens and residents to participate in the four categories of the award which continues until the twentieth of April. The Ministry this year introduces a new category targeting children aged 3 to 5 , that is the "Bed Time Story" which aims to introduce reading to children at such an early age making reading a life style. This category is also aimed at supporting innovative writers in this field which requires merging imagination with our values and traditions, in addition to the ease of sentences and words to be suitable to such an age. Her Excellency Afra Al Sabri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, confirmed that the award receives direct follow-up and support from His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development. Al Sabri added that the award focuses on 4 age groups starting from the age of 3 until 20. The categories are: the "Bed Time Story", a category targeting the age group of 6 to 10, a category targeting the age group of 11 to 18, and the last category targeting the age group 20 and above. Stressing that the conditions of the competition are easy focusing on that the participating work should highlight the UAE's achievements and positive values of tolerance, happiness, ambition, excellence, morals and the UAE heritage. The submitted work should also be written in classical Arabic language. Al Sabry stressed that the evaluation of the participating works by the jury board will be based on the originality and creativity of the idea, in addition to the strength of language and writing style, integration of elements and sequencing of the story, and the story telling techniques used. She further added that all the details related to the “Short Story Award” are available in all the Ministry's cultural centers and online either through the ministry's website or through social media websites. Al Sabri added that the award has become one of the most important events in the Arab region attracting a large numbers of creative professionals and beginners Emirati and Arab writers. Adding that the award is dedicated to this age group within the framework of the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, which is keen on implementing national values and promoting loyalty and sense of belonging to this age group. It is noteworthy that the Short Story Award launched by the Ministry of Culture attracted more than 453 professional and amateur short story writers over the course of its previous eight sessions with more than 79 winners, including 54 from the UAE and 25 from all other Arab countries. In addition to printing and publishing more than 30,200 story over the past eight years finding its way to Emirati and Arab audience.