Platform launched at Sharjah Children’s Reading Fest
SHARJAH: The 10th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival has seen the launch of a new business matchmaking platform ‘Horizons’ by the organisers of the event, the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA). The space has been created to facilitate the birth of new partnerships and exchange among publishing industry professionals, authors, illustrators and agents catering to the children’s and young adults book market worldwide.
During the irst three days of the event, saw a solid turnout of Arab and international children’s book professionals. In its irst edition, Horizons offered a meeting platform to more than 70 publishers, illustrators and authors from the UAE, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, China, Mexico, Bolivia, Germany, Lithuania and South Korea.
A matchmaking event, part of the initiative, led to the forging of 50 new partnerships and collaborations to publish books in languages including Arabic, English, and French, and also witnessed the exchange of illustration rights. Additionally, several unpublished works by some of the participating authors were commissioned by publishers at the event.
Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA, said, “The platform was launched as part of Sharjah’s cultural project that enjoys support from Dr His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in order to further the children’s book industry locally, regionally and globally. It also aims to provide a thriving environment for publishing professionals to meet, network and collaborate over joint initiatives that will further the genre of children’s literature.”
Al Ameri pointed out that SBA will follow-up on the implementation of the 50 new collaborations that were born during the irst edition of Horizons, and offer the required support and resources needed to expand them further.