Dr Shashi Tharoor to grace Sharjah Book Fair 2020

Our Correspondent

The much-awaited Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), organised by the Sharjah Book Authority under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, will be held from November 4 – 14. The 39th edition, which will have the theme ‘The World Reads from Sharjah’, will employ a hybrid format – both in person and virtual – in keeping with the COVID-19 protocols.

The 11-day event will have literary and cultural programmes and will bring together 1,024 publishers from 73 countries, 60 renowned Arab and international authors from 19 countries, via 64 diverse events and activities in a hybrid online-offline format.

The venue at the Sharjah Expo Centre, in an area spanning over 10,000 square metres, will showcase more than 80,000 titles including best sellers.

Thermal scanners and walk-through sanitisation gates will be installed at all SIBF 2020 entry and exit points. A five-hour disinfection drive will be carried out across the fair’s halls and publisher stalls daily. Visitors have been requested to strictly follow safety protocols including the wearing face masks and maintaining physical distance.

Volunteers and security personnel will supervise the exhibition grounds. A smart electronic system will manage and organise visits, divided into four slots each day in order to limit the number of visitors.

All visitors to the fair have to book their visitation slots by registering online at sharjahreads.ae. Each visitor will be given a coloured bracelet to monitor the timings of their entry and exit.

International appearances at SIBF 2020 will include Indian authors Ravinder Singh and Dr. Shashi Tharoor; popular Italian children’s books author, Elisabetta Dami; bestselling writers from the United Kingdom, Ian Rankin and Richard Ovenden; and Canadian author and television host Neil Pasricha, among others.

For the first time in SIBF’s history, SBA has tied up with embassies of various countries in the UAE to design eight intellectual discussions, which will be led by Emirati writers and their counterparts from countries like Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Russia.

Since there will be no visits to the stalls by schoolchildren this year, SBA and the UAE Ministry of Education will host virtual meetings between students and their favourite authors and cultural figures.

There will be no opening ceremony for SIBF 2020, while the distribution of SIBF Awards will be postponed to next edition.

Salem Al Gaithi, Manager of Sharjah TV, said that the entire SIBF 2020 programme, which will include live coverage of activities, panels, and meetings with guests, will be broadcast and reported on Sharjah TV, Al Sharqiya Channel of Kalba, Al Wousta Channel of Al Dhaid, Sharjah Radio and Pulse 95 FM Radio.