ABU DHABI The silver jubilee edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) begins Thursday, bringing together 600 authors, intellectuals and publishers under one roof.
Held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition from May 7 to 13, the book fair will see some of the best literary talents from around the world interacting with their readers during workshops and book signing ceremonies. American writer and educator Cynthia Bond, author of the highly acclaimed novel Ruby; Jona Tell who will introduce the audience to his 100 ways to Save the World; Indian novelist Altaf Tyrewala, German novelist and filmmaker Eugen Rouge are just a few names among the galaxy of authors to descend on the capital city.
In addition, the seven-day event is also packed with an array of cerebrally-stimulating seminars and discussions with the who’s who of the publishing industry, poetry nights in Arabic, English, Spanish and Icelandic, special events around children’s books.
New publishers
Juma Al Qubaisi, ADIBF Director, said this year the Book Fair has seen 20 per cent growth over last year with 1,181 publishing houses from 63 countries. “ADIBF 2015 will be welcoming 130 new publishers with exhibitors from Croatia, New Zealand, Poland, Colombia and Georgia taking part for the first time,” said Al Qubaisi.
In its 25th year, the book fair dubbed one of the biggest in the Middle East, will celebrate the life of UAE founding President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the focus personality.
It was the late Shaikh Zayed who established the ADIBF in1981 under the designation of the Islamic Book Fair. Al Qubaisi said the launch of the fair at such an early stage of the country’s development sends a compelling message that reflects his vision of building the UAE on knowledge, education and science. “That is what makes the UAE an oasis for cultural exchange, diversity, tolerance and unique blend of originality and modernity,” said Al Qubaisi.
The guest of honour this year is the Republic of Iceland, and the book fair will be hosting some of its most celebrated authors.
Celebrating several international books recently translated into Arabic, TCA Abu Dhabi’s Kalima Project has an eventful schedule of its own. We are talking about a meeting with British biologist Lewis Wolpert, author of Malignant Sadness – The Anatomy of Depression, a discussion of the novel Call me Gogol as a model for educating emigrants; a meeting with Dwight F. Reynolds, co-author and editor of Interpreting the Self: Autobiography in the Arabic Literary Tradition; and a discussion of the life of German orientalist Annemarie Schimmel and her books after translation into Arabic.
Some of the seminars will discuss topics like resemblance between the Arabic and Japanese cultures, relationship between national identity and literature in light of Scotland’s independence referendum last year, and the Berlin Wall as a symbol of transformation of the German identity.
SESSION TO WATCH FOR
May 7, Thursday
Meet Liu Zhenyun, Also signing of his book Cellphone (Chinese)
5pm to 5.30pm – Literature Oasis
Social Media and the Fight Against terror
With Dr Fatima Al Mazrouei and Aisha Al Nuaimi (in Arabic)
7.15pm – 8pm The Tent
Who wants a mummy with a moustache
Book reading by author Dalia mirza (for age 2-5) English
The Tent: 11.30am – 12.15pm, 2.00pm – 2.30pm
May 8, Friday
Iceland – The Sagas with Gauti Kristmannsson and Gudmundur Andri Thorsson (English)
8.15 pm 9pm, The Tent
Japan and the Arabs – linguistic and literary enquiries between the Arabic and Japanese cultures
With Dr. Makoto Mizutani and Dr. Akiko Sumi (Arabic)
5.30pm to 6.15pm – The Tent
May 9, Saturday
‘100 ways to Save the world’ with author Mark Beech (English)
4pm to 4.45pm – Literature Oasis
Homage to Shaikh Zayed – An evening of Nabati Poetry
8.30pm to 9.45pm – Discussion Sofa
