Sharjah International Book Fair at 45: how one ruler’s vision built a nation of readers

I wasn’t born when the Sharjah International Book Fair began. I don’t say that to brag about my youthfulness, rather the opposite. My four-decades (plus) reveals how long this cultural magnet has been running for and how one man had a radical vision that has now touched the hearts of several generations. 

In the early 1980s, when His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, decided Sharjah should have a book fair for the world, I imagine it was not an obvious bet. The emirate was small and Arab publishing was not focused on the UAE. Few would have predicted that a modest exhibition would one day rank among the largest book fairs anywhere.

Yet there I was on Wednesday morning, at Expo Centre Sharjah, to witness the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair opening, surrounded by people from across the world. The numbers are hard to argue with: 2,673 publishers and exhibitors from 124 countries, some 1,500 events over 12 days, and a crowd last year of more than a million people. The event may be about the written word, but those figures really stand out.

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi summarised her father’s legacy neatly and emotionally when she said his creation has become “part of memories of our generations and a place where cultures of the world meet”. She added how Sheikh Sultan had filled their family home with books and knowledge, which had spilled out to grow this fabulous festival of writing and reading.

What struck me most, while walking the halls after the opening ceremony, was the mood. Families, schoolchildren, scholars, booksellers and writers all mixing to celebrate one of our most ancient and important artforms. Grandchildren being shown books by grandparents who were inspired four decades ago. Let’s forget the numbers, that human connection means more than anything.

Sheikh Sultan is a leader and also a working writer and historian. He earned his doctorate at Exeter and also studied in Durham in the UK, which happens to be where I am from. His study of so-called “Arab piracy” in the Gulf dismantled a version of history written largely by colonial officials. He has kept writing ever since: history, memoir, drama. When he talks about the power of the printed word, everyone listens.

That conviction runs through the emirate. Sharjah was named UNESCO’s World Book Capital in 2019, recognition that its investment in libraries, publishing and literacy went far beyond one fortnight each November. The Sharjah Book Authority, chaired by Sheikha Bodour, has turned the fair into a serious marketplace for rights and translation, and carried Sharjah’s case abroad, most recently as the first Arab guest of honour at the Warsaw International Book Fair this spring, which I was also honoured to witness in person.

This year’s theme, “Made of Stories”, fits neatly. So does the choice of Oman as guest of honour. It is a reminder that the Gulf’s literary traditions are older and richer than many outsiders assume and how sharing cultures is vital for peace and prosperity.

Much of the conversation today is about artificial intelligence, data centres and the economy of tomorrow. All of that matters, although it is moving too fast for us to understand the damage and limitations. However, economies are built by people who can think, question and imagine, and those habits are formed early, usually with a book in hand. Sheikh Sultan understood that four decades ago. He made reading a matter of public policy when it would have been easier to leave it as a private pastime.

Sharjah is planning a new, larger home for the fair in the near future as it continues to physically grow. The real growth however is in the hearts and minds of those who visit, are inspired and go on to become the champions of books and reading for the next generation.

The fair runs until November 15. Go. Take the children. I’m hoping it inspires mine to swap technology for imagination.