Sharjah: The Liber International Book Fair, which returns to Madrid from October 9-11, will host Sharjah as a Guest of Honour, it was announced in Madrid on Thursday. Over 11,200 professional visitors, 458 companies, over 300 journalists and 51 countries will participate in the fair.

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) said, “Through its presence, Sharjah will be recreating UAE’s flourishing creative cultural landscape for our Spanish and European audience. We are delighted to bring you a collection of 70 books by Emirati writers and poets, in Spanish, and hope reading these will offer you a glimpse of our literary culture.

“Sharjah is here reaping the fruits of tremendous efforts exerted by the Sharjah Ruler, who has always believed in books as the key to progress, and as bridge between cultures. This forward-looking vision has been endorsed by the World Book Capital 2019 title,” he added.

“All these efforts have led us to embark on a new phase in our cultural project – one that is making us look beyond borders to strengthen exchange and share our cultural vision with the world. In that spirit, we are here to take relations with our Spanish counterparts to the next level. Sharjah will make the most of its presence at LIBER 2019, showcasing treasures of Arab literature and art built through 14 centuries of civilisational progress.”