Sharjah: Publishers have noticed a slight drop in sales at this year's Sharjah International Book Fair as visitors claim there is little variety and books are overpriced.
"There was not much of a variety and even though I had a very good experience with previous book fairs, I was disappointed with this year's outcome. The majority of books catered to children, university students and cooking, and there were very few novels provided," said Imma Cerdan.
"I thought that the prices were the same as in other book shops at shopping centres. The fair should give better discounts but when I asked for a better deal, they only gave me Dh2 off," said Wafa Mohammad, a mother of four. With four aisles of English books on offer, local publishing houses said sales could have been better had there been more space provided to them.
"There has been a slight drop in sales this year as compared to last year's book fair, but we are still doing well. The allocated space we have for our stall is limited because the English section is quite small," said Vinaya Shekar, Chief Operating Officer, Al Khamri Commercial Enterprises.
The 11-day Book Fair runs until November 21.
"If visitors say the prices have gone up, then that is mostly due to the rising costs of publishing and distributing. The rise in prices is roughly 15 per cent," he explained.
Stands at the book fair noted that the most popular books at the moment is that of the Twilight series, which is commonly bought by teenage girls and boys alike.
"Everyone is asking about the Twilight series, since the topic of vampires appeals to all teenagers," said Nizam Abdul Kader, Dar Al Hikma Printing and Publishing.
According to publishers, the business of books has boomed in the past year and sales have been at a constant rise.
Exhibition timings
Daily: 10am to 10pm
Friday: 4pm to 10pm
Children's Activities: 10am to 10pm
Admission is free
Have you visited the book fair? How was your experience? Did you find what you were looking for?
