Sharjah International Book Fair’s 36th Edition held successfully!

Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated the 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) was held from November 1-11, 2017. This year, SIBF recorded 2.38 million visitors with AED 206 million worth of sales. The opening ceremony of the fair featured a short documentary about the four new titles authored by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah: Poetry Debates between Sheikh Sultan Bin Saqr Al Qasimi and His Friend, Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul-Aziz Al Siddiqui; Tale of A City – Second Volume; Very Important Journey; and I Owe, which were all signed by His Highness and presented to senior guests from around the world.

Ahmed Al Ameri, chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (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.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.”

Al Ameri stressed that Sharjah can offer two million books at Sharjah 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 pointed out that Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), which was recently inaugurated by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, 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 1 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.

Winners of the 9th edition of the Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, which is organised by the UAE Board on Books for Young People (UAEBBY) and sponsored by Etisalat Group, were also honoured at the show:

• Children’s Book of the Year, worth AED 300,000, went to Two Homes Instead of One by Lorca Sbeity, illustrated by Mona Yakzan and published by Dar Al Saqi in Lebanon.
• Young Adult’s Book of the Year, worth AED 200,000, went to Cappuccino by Fatima Sharafeddine, which is published by Dar Al Saqi in Lebanon.
• Best Text, worth AED 100,000, went to My Mother is a Gorilla and My Father is an Elephant by Dr Naseeba Al Ozaibi, illustrated by Abdulrazaque Al Salhany and published by Al Aalm Al Arabi publishing house in the UAE.
• Best Production, worth AED 100,000, went to Whatever Happened to My Brother Ramiz by Taghreed Najjar, illustrated by Maya Fidawi and published by Al Salwa Publishers in Jordan.
• Best Illustration, worth AED 100,000, went to The Seventh Day’s Sheep by Amina Al Hashemi, illustrated by Maya Fidawi and published by Yanbow Al Kitab in Morocco.
• Digital Book App of the Year, worth AED 100,000, went to Lamsa application, which targets the age group of 2-8 years, developed by the Lamsa Company in the UAE.

The Cultural Personality of the Year trophy was awarded to Dr. Muhammad Saber Arab, Egypt’s former Minister of Culture, in recognition of his cultural contributions and outstanding academic achievements and his quest to enhance Egypt’s cultural relations.

The inaugural translation prize, the Turjuman Award, was given to Editorial Verbum S.L., a Spanish publishing house, for its translation of ‘One Thousand and One Nights’. Luis Rafael Hernández, director of the Editorial Verbum, received the award.

Indian Pavilion @ SIBF

According to Sunil Kumar, executive officer, CAPEXIL, Book Division, they took a delegation of Indian publishers & printers to Sharjah International Book Fair. The Indian Pavilion was inaugurated by the High Commissioner of India, Canada; H.E. Vikas Swarup. CAPEXIL, NBT and Publications Division, Govt. of India had set up combined stand in the fair.

While, Vipul, Consulate General of India, Dubai, UAE, and Director General, Dr. Sadhana Rout, Ministry of Broadcasting, Govt. of India, Publications Division and Director of National Council for Promotion Urdu Language – India also visited the Indian stands. Other important dignitaries who visited the CAPEXIL stand included Indian Ambassador H.E. Navdeep Singh Surito UAE, and Ex-MOS for Commerce & Industry Jairam Ramesh. All of them appreciated that CAPEXIL is doing a good job for promoting Indian exporters (Book Publishers, Printers, etc.) participation in the overseas fairs.

Om Books International launched their new titles during the Book Fair, which were released by famous Indian film actress Asha Parikh.