All roads lead to Sharjah Book Fair
80,000 NEW TITLES IN A TOTAL OF 1.6M ON OFFER FOR VISITORS AT 11-DAY FAIR AT EXPO CENTRE
The biggest edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) is opening today with 1.6 million titles — 80,000 of them new — on offer for visitors.
The 37th edition of SIBF will be inaugurated by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, at the Expo Centre Sharjah.
SIBF 2018, held under the theme ‘Tale of Letters’, is the biggest edition so far in terms of the number of publishers (1,874) and the volume of books (20 million) this year.
The 11-day SIBF, organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), is running from October 31 to November 10.
The opening ceremony will see the honouring of Azzeldine Mihoubi, Algeria’s Minister of Culture, who was selected as the Cultural Personality of the Year. Winners of the SIBF Awards, Turjuman (Translation) Award, and Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature will also be honoured at the opening ceremony.
Japan is the Guest of Honour at this SIBF in celebration of its cultural and creative achievements. SIBF will be organising more than 100 activities comprising 13 Japanese authors and creative artists at the speciallydesigned Japanese pavilion.
SBA has always said SIBF is not just a book fair, but a cultural event as well, filled with free-to-attend lectures, activities and entertainment for the whole family.
Ahmad Al Amiri, chairman of SBA, said: “Back in 1982, the first edition of SIBF started with six publishers. Thanks to the vision of [Dr Shaikh Sultan] whose focus on the cultural future of the emirate has led Sharjah to its several accomplishments and collaborations with other entities. SIBF is a reflection of our succeeding efforts, which stands today as the region’s largest and the world’s third largest book fair.”
Throughout its run, SIBG will be curating 1,800 events and featuring 472 guests from around the world, with 200 book-signing ceremonies for authors from 19 countries.
Selection of authors
A wide-array of international authors, intellectuals, bloggers, and YouTubers will also be attending the event, including award-winning British author Emma Gannon and physicist Dr Leonard Mlodinow from the US.
The Social Media Station at SIBF has curated many activities, starting with animated photos, to media campaigns, and ending with the methodology of content creation at social media platforms.
The Children’s Programme offers young visitors several engaging events, theatrical performances, shows and workshops, such as Little Red Riding Hood, the King of Lions which is inspired by Disney’s The Lion King.
The Cookery Corner Programme has curated 60 events with 16 guests from 11 countries such as France, India, Australia, Ireland and Morocco.