SHARJAH – Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) on Wednesday signed a Momorurendum of Understanding (MoU) with the organisers of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, to further expand access to affordable books in the Middle East and Africa regions.
The two entities will facilitate their joint efforts with the establishment of a regional branch at the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone – Big Bad Wolf Sharjah, which will be in charge of the Book Sale in the region and other regional operations.
The joint venture was signed on the sidelines of the ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2019), that promotes the importance of reading, the emirate is delivering through its year-long Sharjah World Book Capital 2019 celebrations.
HE Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman, SBA, said: “This partnership is our new step towards making good books more accessible to readers locally and regionally, and increasing sales of Arab and African publishers. Through this new venture, we will also be jointly boosting the circulation and movement of one billion books produced by nations in the MEA region in the next five years. By doing so, our aim is to widely introduce the literary products of individual nations in the said region to others to promote cultural exchange and appreciation.”
“SBA is delighted to partner with BBW – a company that has been spreading the love of reading in countries worldwide through the Book Sale. Through this partnership, we look forward to increasing the readers’ access to high quality and latest content in the Middle East and Africa”, the SBA Chairman added.
Jacqueline Ng, the co-founder of the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale, said, “We have always wanted to change the world, one book at a time and build a new generation of readers. We are constantly on the look-out for organisations or partnerships that support our mission to enhance our presence in a different region. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is not just about selling books, but a reading advocacy organisation. Purchasing a book should not be a luxury item or privilege but a right regardless of status. Through the partnership with SBA, we hope with the network built, we will be able to bring the changes to more people from this region in a shorter span of time by creating the platform to inspire people by empowering them with the knowledge to chase their dreams.”
BBW and SBA are both in line to encourage people, especially children to read books by bringing English books to the region with limited book readership at the lowest price possible. They believe that instilling reading habits should begin at a young age and through this partnership, they also believe they can increase the readership percentage in the region.
The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is a 24-hour sale with books discounted between 50-90 per cent of their retail price. These sales have occurred across 10 countries and 32 cities in Asia.
SBA, which was established in December 2014, is dedicated to attracting relevant bodies and figures operating in the cultural sector in general, and the publishing, printing, translation, documentation and children’s books in particular.
