São Paulo – In a bid to provide incentive to the publishing market, the ruler of the emirate of Sharjah, UAE, Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, announced that AED 10 million – roughly USD 3 million at current exchange rates – will go purchasing books in Arabic and foreign languages from the 1,000-plus publishing houses featured in the Sharjah International Book Fair, taking place online and onsite until next Saturday (14). The event is combining online attractions featuring multiple authors and onsite showcases from publishers at the Expo Centre Sharjah.
The will to invest in literature led to the decision of hosting the event despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The books purchase will include academic material; they will be supplied to the Sharjah Public Library and throughout the emirate. These new titles by Arab and international publishers are intended to bring variety to institutions and to benefit researchers, scholars, and school and university students.
The fair
Throughout the week, relevant aspects of the market have been in discussion at the third biggest book fair in the world. A concurrent conference ending last Thursday (12) was attended by over 700 librarians from 39 countries. It delved into the challenges and opportunities facing libraries once the pandemic is over.
The event waived an estimated AED 6 million by clearing the 1,024 publishing houses that joined it from paying booth rental. The Sharjah Book Authority said this was intended to help publishing houses around the world recover from the impact of the pandemic.
*With information from website PublishNews.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
