All 1,024 publishing houses at this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) have been exempted from rental fees for the stands.

The exemption, valued at Dh6 million, has been ordered by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, in a show of support for publishers worldwide. The gesture is aimed to help the publishing industry bounce back into business after tiding over COVID-related setbacks.

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), which organises the book fair, said: “Books are the basis of a vibrant culture, and the Sharjah International Book Fair is its home. By fully supporting the participation of each and every publisher here at SIBF 2020, we become the first international book fair in the world to entirely exempt publishers from participation fees.”

Publishers Conference discuss piracy and audiobooks

Earlier, at the 10th Publishers Conference on November 1-3 organised by the Sharjah Book Authority at Expo Centre Sharjah, two panel sessions focussed on the challenges and impact of book piracy and the surging popularity of audiobooks.

At the session titled “Book Piracy: What can be done about this problem?”, moderator Bill Kennedy, Founder of UK-based Avicenna Partnership Ltd, lauded the efforts of SIBF in being vigilant about pirated works.

Lamenting how pirates hijack the works of authorised publishers who have invested time and resources to gain rights to the publication and translation, Adel Zaini, Founder and CEO of Lebanon’s Dar Al Khayal, drew attention to the rise in illegal downloads on multiple platforms through unauthorised websites, fuelled today by the surge of electronic readers and e-books.

The publishers concluded that while it was impossible to eliminate book piracy, more steps should be taken to reduce its burden for the benefit of all stakeholders.

The session titled “Listen up! The audiobook phenomenon”, was moderated by Daniel Mesino, Literary Scout and External Editor, HarperCollins, Mexico.

Stacy Creamer, VP, Audible Content Acquisitions & Development, Audible, USA, said: “What is driving this segment is the new dimension it provides by giving the stories a voice. Most popular in this category are memoirs that offer a more intimate and emotional feel to the story while with self-help books, it is akin to having a life coach in your ears. In both these categories, we routinely see audiobook sales far exceed that of print.”

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Lebanese Publishing Houses participating in the Sharjah International Book Fair, SIBF 2020, are to be exempted from the pavilion rental fees as per an order from H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. The exemptions amount to AED 640,000.

The decision and directives of His Highness comes in the light of the explosion in the Port of Beirut in August and is in line with Sharjah’s continuous support to Lebanon’s libraries and publishing houses.

Commenting on this, Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of Sharjah Book Authority, SBA, said that His Highness had previously ordered the exemption of Syrian and Egyptian publishers and other publishers whose countries were suffering exceptional circumstances and crises. He added that the initiative reaffirms Sharjah’s leading position as an incubator of Arab culture and a creative hub that attracts intellectuals.

The Ruler of Sharjah also directed the allocation of AED10 million to the acquisition of the latest publications issued by the publishing houses participating in the Book Fair.This comes as a continuation of his support to book publishing industries, to enrich public and governmental libraries in Sharjah with the latest intellectual and scientific publications in Arabic and other languages.

The generous gesture of the Ruler of Sharjah this year is a much-needed contribution to sustain the book publishing industry that was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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SIBF 2020 is themed “The World Reads from Sharjah” this year. Expo Centre Sharjah is showcasing more than one million books by 1,024 publishers from 73 nations at the fair.

Major Malayalam publishing houses such as DC Books have regular stalls at the book fair. This year, the Sharjah Indian Association has a stall with as many as 25 books by Malayali writers being released.

Association vice president YA Rahim said that about 200 books by Malayalis were released in previous editions of SIBF by the Indian Association stall. This year, however, only about 50 books will be released owing to the pandemic.

Thrissur MP TN Prathapan’s book Ormakalude Snehatheeram is also one among them. Rahim said that it will be symbolically released on November 7, and the author parliamentarian will be coming to the UAE on December 24 along with Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, when a formal release of the book will be held at the Community Hall of the SIA which can be virtually viewed by Malayalis across the world.
There is also a book on Kozhikode city by Jyothish.

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