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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