Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival continues to gain in popularity

SHARJAH (Muhammad Farooq) - This is a record breaking year for the 8th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival with a participation of 130 publishing houses from UAE and other countries.

“Inspired by the vision of High Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qaismi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the Children’s Reading Festival continues to gain in popularity” Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, told Daily Pakistan.

Related: Record 1.5 million books at Sharjah Int’l Book Fair

In an interview, Al Ameri said the festival aims at promoting ideas and knowledge through reading.

As many as 130 children books’ publishers have joined the Sharjah Reading Festival that was first launched in 2009 in line with the directives of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah.

Sharjah Crown Prince inaugurates 8th edition of Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival

According to the SBA chairman, the festival will be bigger and better next year with a 20% increase in number of publishers,

“The number of visitors is also looking strong. This year feedback from visitor is very good,” Al Ameri said, adding that booking of the next Sharjah International Book Fair has already reached as 85 per cent.

Over 1300 publishing houses will take part in the 35th Sharjah International Book Fair this year, while the Sharjah Book Fair is expected to see a strong presence of 1.4 million visitors from around the world from November 02-12, 2016.

“Last year, the book fair made sale of US$50 million,” Al MAleki said, adding that the Sharjah international Book Fair is one of the largest book fair in Arab countries and third largest book fair in the world after Frankfurt & London book fair.

Having gained valuable experience as the Head of Finance and Administrative Affairs at the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah, a post he held for over ten years, Al Ameri’s ambitions for the Sharjah Book Authority and its high-profile events continue to grow.

Al Ameri has been working tirelessly to promote the SIBF on the international stage, and is determined to see it become the must-see literary event for all thought leaders in the publishing world and one of the top three literature festivals in the world.

The Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival will continue till April 30, 2016.