Amin Abbas Dubai

The 39^th edition of the UAE’s Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), organized by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) will be held from Nov. 4 – 14 at Expo Centre Sharjah under the theme ‘The World Reads form Sharjah’ under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah.

For this occasion, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority Ahmed Al Ameri said the fair was organized “amid the exceptional circumstances and challenges that the world faces in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.”

He added that it was important for the organization to remind everyone that “reading transcends distances and has the power to lift us over the hurdles we face – even a pandemic.”

“SIBF 2020’s theme, ‘The World Reads from Sharjah’, promotes the emirate’s cultural project launched by His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah more than four decades ago,” Al Ameri explained. “The event’s theme underlines that our quest to obtain knowledge is never-ending, and that books will always bring us together, no matter the circumstances.”

The visitors will be able to experience the excitement of being surrounded by more than 80,000 titles being brought to Sharjah’s Expo Centre by 1,024 publishers from 73 nations who will be displaying their best sellers across an area spanning over 10,000 square meters. The line-up of publishers include 578 Arab publishers and 129 international names, featuring 202 from Egypt and 186 from the UAE, 93 from Lebanon, 72 from Syria, 46 from KSA, 39 from UK, 29 from USA, 13 from Italy, 12 from France, and 8 from Canada.

Khoula Al Mujaini, SIBF General Coordinator, said: “The participation of a large number of publishing houses amid the prevailing challenge of a pandemic is a testament to SIBF’s integral role in stepping up efforts to revitalise the book industry. It also endorses the confidence of global publishers in Sharjah’s capability to organise one of the world’s top three book fairs in adherence to all global COVID-19 prevention protocols. We have adopted the highest standards of precautionary measures to ensure the safety of all our participants and visitors.”

Strict precautionary measures to ensure the safety of both participants and visitors to the fair will be observed throughout the 11-day duration of the event.

 Thermal scanners and walk-through sanitisation gates will be installed at all SIBF 2020 access and exit points. Additionally, a 5-hour disinfection will be carried out across the fair’s halls and publisher stalls daily throughout the 11-day event.

A group of volunteers and security personnel will be supervising the exhibition grounds to monitor visitors’ compliance with the stipulated precautionary procedures. Moreover, a smart electronic system has been deployed by SBA to manage and organize visits, divided into four slots each day in order to limit the number of visitors at any given point in time. All visitors to the fair will need to book their visitation slots by registering online at sharjahreads.ae. Upon arriving at Sharjah Expo Centre in accordance with their booked slots, each visitor will be given a colored bracelet to monitor the timings of their entry and exit.

Coveted names from around the globe will be headlining SIBF’s cultural offerings. SIBF 2020 is bringing together 60 intellectuals, artists and cultural figures from 19 countries. Luminaries from the region include Wasini al-A’raj, Algerian writer; Egyptian author and screenwriter of fiction and non-fiction, Ahmed Mourad; Kuwaiti writer Mishel Hamad; Iraqi writer, poet academic and translator, Muhsin Al-Ramli; and Lebanese theatre director, writer, producer, and educator, Lina Khoury.

International appearances at SIBF 2020 will be made by renowned American poet and spoken word artist, Prince Ea; Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman and author; Lang Leav, best-selling author from New Zealand; Ian Rankin, bestselling writer from the UK; Lebanese-Canadian author Najwa Zebian; Neil Pasricha, Canadian author and television host; popular Italian children’s books author, Elisabetta Dami; Indian authors Ravinder Singh and Dr. Shashi Tharoor; and British writer Richard Ovenden, among others.