Sharjah: Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) is relocating in 2017 from Expo Centre Sharjah to the upcoming Fairgrounds area in Al Tai suburb near the intersection of Emirates Road and Maliha Road, a top official has said.
In an interview on the sidelines of the recent Frankfurt International Book Fair, Ahmad Bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) which participated in the event, told UAE media representatives that the move will see the SIBF undergo a 60,000 square metre expansion — more than doubling its current 25,000 square metre size.
This year’s edition of the SIBF, the 35th, will be held from November 2 to 12 at Expo Centre Sharjah and will feature over 1.5 million books, including 88,000 new titles. The event is expected to attract more than 1.5 million visitors, which would make it the busiest edition since its launch in 1982.
It has also been revealed that the Ministry of Education is postponing the school examinations to enable students and their families to visit the fair. Al Ameri said that school examinations reduced the number of visitors to SIBF 2015 by 20 per cent last year, compared with SIBF 2014.
In 2015, SIBF attracted around 1.2 million visitors.
During the session in Frankfurt, Al Ameri said Sharjah has received numerous invitations from countries to become a guest of honour at their respective book fairs and that SIBF has been asked to organise book fairs in a number of Arab countries and in the US.
Al Ameri also said SIBF’s intention is to move from its third position and become the global number one book fair for the buying and selling of publishing copyrights.
According to a recent study, more than 850 copyright contracts are being signed yearly and the SBA is planning to double this number within the next few years in order to surpass the number of copyright contracts signed at the Frankfurt book fair.
He said that the drive for Sharjah to become number one in this sphere is being made possible by the generous support of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, and the hard work of SBA staff, who are following the vision of Dr Shaikh Sultan.
SIBF’s bid to become the world’s top book fair for the buying and selling of copyrights is being facilitated by the soon-to-be-opened Sharjah Publishing City, billed as the first such publishing free zone in the world, Al Ameri said. Scheduled to commence operations early next year, Sharjah Publishing City will provide all services related to the publishing industry, including the buying and selling of copyright agreements, marketing and distribution.
Al Ameri also announced that Dr Gassan Salameh, Lebanon’s former Minister of Culture, will be hosted as the Cultural Personality of the Year, in recognition of his contributions to the Arab cultural sphere.
On the issue of the sale and purchase for SIBF 2016, Al Ameri reassured that the fair will combat price manipulation by implementing a plan for the 200 participating publishing houses that uses a QR bar code reader to the official price register, through which the buyer will receive a bill with the official fixed price.
He also stressed that there would be no censorship of books at SIBF 2016 nor Customs control on book shipments from other countries. This follows the directives of Dr Shaikh Sultan, who said: “We can face obscurant thinking with enlightened thinking.”
At a glance SIBF 2016
When: November 2 to 12
Where: Expo Centre Sharjah
Over 1.5 million books, including 88,000 titles
Coming attractions
2017 SIBF to move to Al Tai suburb
Sharjah Publishing City, first such publishing zone in the world
