Sharjah 24: Readers eagerly anticipate the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) each year as a celebration of knowledge. Behind the scenes, a professional and economic ecosystem is helping shape the future of the publishing industry, creating new opportunities for publishers to access global markets and exchange intellectual property and translation rights.
The Fair’s professional programmes work together, from the training programme and the Sharjah International Publishers Conference to the Sharjah International Library Conference, creating an environment that brings expertise together and anticipates the rapid changes taking place across the publishing sector.
Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publishing Services at the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said that the professional programme is the main pillar connecting the book industry with readers. Its role extends beyond organising professional meetings to building international partnerships and turning ideas into actual publishing projects. He explained that the Fair serves as both a marketplace and a professional platform where publishers’ journeys begin and end, bringing the story of a book to life, from a deal struck by a publisher to a place on a library shelf and, ultimately, into the hands of a reader.
He said the professional programme was designed as a connected pathway, beginning on 31 October with the training programme, organised in collaboration with New York University and attended by more than 200 publishers from 17 countries. It then moves on to the Sharjah International Publishers Conference, taking place from 1 to 3 November, where participants can put the tools they have acquired to the test through discussions and business deals. He noted that the programme focuses on enabling publishers to understand the value of their rights and manage them as cultural assets, master new book formats and build international networks.
Speaking about the 16th Sharjah International Publishers Conference, Al Hassani noted that the most profound transformation lies in the shrinking distance and time between an idea and its audience. More than 30 sessions will explore how artificial intelligence can be used to save time, while recognising that it cannot create ‘trust’, which remains a publisher’s most valuable asset. The programme will also highlight audiobooks, which extend the time available for reading, as well as children’s books and comics.
On the Fair’s leading position internationally, he noted that the previous edition recorded 3,321 meetings between publishers from 116 countries. He highlighted the role of the Sharjah Translation Grant in addressing cost challenges and turning meetings into actual agreements by allowing participants to register immediately while negotiations are taking place at the conference. He added that the participation of nine countries for the first time, including Angola, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Myanmar, Belarus, and Trinidad and Tobago, broadens the global publishing landscape and creates greater opportunities for Arab publishers.
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