SIBF celebrates its 40th anniversary!

The 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), was successfully held from November 3-13 at Expo Centre, Sharjah.

On SIBF…

“SIBF is the crown jewel in the longstanding and ever evolving wider Sharjah literary project, first begun in a different century! This international book fair, with its roots in the Arab world has, over the past decade, attracted thousands of publishers and authors, and millions of visitors from around the world who have come together to share experiences and expertise and, above all, celebrate their love for the written word,” said Ahmed Al Ameri, Chairman, Sharjah Book Authority.

“As we celebrate our 40th birthday, we welcome Spain as the Book Fair’s Guest of Honour. We are also looking forward to being the Market Focus Country at The London Book Fair in March next year and Guest of Honour at Bologna’s Children’s Book Fair in April,” he added.

The events…

SIBF is the birthplace of several ground-breaking intellectual property initiatives which support regional and global publishing businesses. “Our popular and successful Publishers Conference is one such platform, which has been welcoming international publishing professionals to meet in Sharjah for the past eight years. Participants gather to discuss an array of topics from all over the world,including Mexico, Colombia, Azerbaijan, USA, Ecuador, Nigeria, Georgia, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Mongolia, and more,” he shared.

“The SIBF Translation Grant, which was launched in 2011 with a $300,000 fund, has to date facilitated the translation of thousands of titles and we will continue to awardgrants in order toencourage cross-cultural exchange and support the translation of literary works into various languages,” he added.

Libraries and librarians are needed more than ever to support their communities across the globe struggling to move forward in the time of COVID-19 and beyond, so the 8th Sharjah International Library Conference, in partnership with American Library Association (ALA), feels more potent than ever. Members of ALA met their counterparts from the Arab world at this year’s hybrid conference, for the theme “Moving Forward Together.”

“We also hosted, for the first time, a National Libraries Summit where heads of international libraries met to share ideas and discuss best practice at a two-day “Visibility, Engagement, and Impact” themed event,” he adds.