SHARJAH – World’s third largest book fair being held in Sharjah, featuring famous authors, celebs, and 1.5 million books. The 11-day fair, organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), is taking place at Expo Centre Sharjah, featuring more than 1.5 million books, 1,650 publishers from 60 countries, and several bestselling authors and celebrities. SIBF, said to the world’s third-biggest book fair, is open to all members of the public, free of charge.
Talking to Daily Pakistan – Global, Ahmad Al Ameri, Chairman of SBA, said: “Year after year, Sharjah extends its cultural message through science and knowledge, a message which this fair has established over many years, reflecting the country’s ideals and the people’s principles. This has led to Sharjah being recognised as the Islamic Cultural Capital and Cultural Capital of the Arab World. The emirate’s ever-increasing international status as a source of knowledge, positivity, and ambition has now also helped it to achieve the title of Unesco’s World Book Capital 2019.”
The most interesting thing about this exclusive interview is that Ahmad Al Ameri is talking to Usman Shami, Editor, Daily Pakistan – Global in the Urdu language.
Al Ameri added that Sharjah can offer 2 million books at its libraries, as well as more than 620 books with 14 million words that have been translated from and into Arabic, as part of SIBF’s Translation Grant, which was launched in 2011.
He said Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), which was recently inaugurated by ruler of Sharjah His Highness Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, will be a key destination for publishers, and will open a window to the global book market. In its forthcoming phases, it will be home to more than 500 companies specialised in the publishing sector from around the world, with a printing capacity of a million books a day. It will provide more than 15 million books in multiple languages through the institutions and publishing houses that operate from the facility.
“The true history of SIBF began when His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah wrote the first line of the event’s biography in 1982. There was some doubt that the fair would not attract a large audience, but not only did the fair succeed, it developed and grew to become one of the three largest and most important book fairs in the world,” Al Ameri added.
Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, cuts the ribbon as Sharjah International Book Fair.
Sharjah International Book Fair continues its 2017 run through November 11.
