São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates are represented at the Rio de Janeiro Book Biennial by the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) and a stand organized by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA). The country is taking part in the event—which runs until June 22—as part of its goal to foster intercultural exchange and highlight its “growing” role in book publishing and cultural promotion, according to state news agency WAM.
As part of these cultural promotion efforts, representatives of the UAE publishing sector are carrying out several activities in South America. The first took place in May at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair in Argentina, followed by other initiatives during the Rio de Janeiro Book Biennial. One of these initiatives is their participation in the exhibition itself.
Another appointment took place on Tuesday (10), including the participation in the 6th Professional Journey of Brazilian Publishers—an industry project to promote Brazilian editorial content abroad, spearheaded by Brazilian Book Chamber (CBL) and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil). The UAE institutions also took part in the Rio International Publishers Summit and the PublishHer Summit, held on June 12 and 13. The latter aims to promote women’s leadership in publishing, and both events were organized by the National Union of Book Publishers (SNEL).
Meetings for the internationalization of books
Also on June 12 and 13, the Brazilian Publishers project held its Professional Journey, featuring meetings between 43 publishing houses and book sector representatives. The goal was to reach USD 900,000 in copyright negotiations. Of these publishers, 31 were Brazilian and 12 were from abroad—including Mozambique, France, Colombia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Portugal, the United States, Greece, and the UAE, which were represented in the event by EPA and Ghaf Publishing, according to Brazilian Publishers.
EPA representative Amira Budkara told WAM that participating in the events in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires is “a fundamental step” in promoting Emirati literature globally, as international events provide a platform for collaboration, translation, co-publishing of books, and allow the UAE to share “Arab stories with wider audiences.”
Read more:
Brazilian literature in Arabic pages
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
