Top intellectuals from Arab world among SIBF guest list
sharjah — A list of more than 60 Arab authors and intellectuals taking part in the 37th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2018) has been unveiled by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA).
The 11-day book fair will begin from October 31 to November 10 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, where the eminent figures will participate in various cultural events.
The guest list for the year includes Zaki Nusseibeh, Minister of State; Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, Minister of Infrastructure Development; Omar Ghobash, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to France; Algerian novelist Ahlam Mosteghanemi, winner of the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for Memory in the Flesh; and, Palestinian-Jordanian novelist Ibrahim Nasrallah who won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Arabic Booker).
Also joining the SIBF 2018 will be Egyptian novelist and journalist Ibrahim Issa, who has over 35 books on art, politics, thought, biographies, short stories and novels to his credit; Egyptian writer and photographer Ahmed Murad, whose The Blue Elephant was short listed for IPAF in 2014; and Kuwaiti writer Dr Talib Al Refai, winner of Kuwaiti State Prize for Literature for Scent of the Sea.
A host of Egyptian intellectuals and writers, including author Midhat Al Adel; Dr Ahmed Amarah, psychology and bioenergy consultant; novelist and Spanish-to-Arabic translator Ahmed Abdullateef; novelist and researcher Rasha Adli Mohammed; novelist and dramaplay write Saeed Salem; poet and author Mawra Mamoun and academic translator Sulaiman Al Attar will also participate.
From Saudi Arabia, author Osama bin Mohammed Al Musallam; and Mariam Al Ghamdi, the first Saudi Arabian woman to have established an art and media production house and the first Arabian woman to have produced a feature film on environmental protection; poet Jassem Al Saheeh, will make an appearance. Also from Saudi Arabia are academic and journalist Dr Fahad bin Abdullah Al Tayash; associate professor
at King Saud University and editor-in-chief of Risalat Al Jameah newspaper; journalist Dr Mohamed Al Ghandour, one the most famous Arabic life coaches on YouTube; and critic and academician Dr Maysaa Zuhdi Al Khawaja, faculty of arts, King Saud
University.
From Kuwait, Abdulwahab Al Sayed Al Refai, the most loved police fiction and sci-fi novelist in the Gulf; poet and playwright Fawziyah Showaish Al Salem; novelist Zuhair Kareem and media researcher Buthainah Al Naseri, both from
Iraq, will be visiting the book fair.
From Sudan, the SIBF will host academic sociologist Dr Haidar Ibrahim, director, Arabic and Sudanese Research Centre and editor-in-chief, Kitabat Sudanya (Sudanese Writings) magazine; journalist and renowned poet,
Rawda Al Haj. Representing Lebanon are writer and novelist, Alawiyah Sobh; and novelist and poet Antoin Al Duwaihi. From Palestine, author and novelist, Dr Al Mutawakel Taha, and Huzama Habayeb, author and storyteller will be joined by Moroccan guests, academic author, Dr Latifa Elbsair, professor at the University of Hassan II Casablanca; critic and researcher Naguib Al Ofi, who teaches literature at Mohammed V University in Rabat.
Dr Razan Ibrahim, professor at the University of Petra, Jordan; novelists Fadi Azzam, Nabeel Sulaiman, and Khalil Suwaileh from Syria; author Amin Al Zawi and Dr Mustafa Fasi from Algeria; author Al Habeeb Al Salmi from Tunisia; and Fawziyah Rasheed from Bahrain will also take part in this year’s book fair.
The upcoming edition of SIBF will offer a rich literary and cultural programme, featuring a vibrant mix of intellectual seminars, discussion panels, reading sessions, poetry evenings, as well as book signing ceremonies that will give book lovers access to latest the Arabic titles in the market.