Sharjah Book Authority to Host UAE Publishing Conference

The Sharjah Book authority in the United Arab Emirates has opened applications for its annual Publishers Conference this November, ahead of the 45th annual Sharjah International Book Fair, considered to be the third-largest book fair in the world. 

Applications for publishers to attend close on August 25.

The conference runs from November 1 to November 3 at the Expo Centre in Sharjah, a city neighboring Dubai. The book fair, which will be from November 4 through November 15, highlights works from the Middle East, Asia and Africa. In contrast, the publishing conference has a focus on specifically those publishing professionals involved in translation and rights trading.

“The program features expert-led seminars, afternoon networking, business discussions, social events, and the Publisher Recognition Award,” the conference’s website states, referring to a prestigious annual series of awards for “publishers who have made significant contributions to the literary world.” The three awards that make up the series total AED 75,000, or about US$20,422.

In a press release, SBA publishing services director Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publisher Services at SBA, said that this edition of the conference was “designed to strengthen the professional capabilities of publishers worldwide through dedicated meetings for negotiating publishing rights. It aims to help books from different languages and cultures reach new markets and readers. For SBA, the conference’s success is measured by the practical outcomes it delivers for publishers, the wider international reach it creates for Arabic content, and the greater access it provides to literature and knowledge from around the world."

The conference features “seminars on major global trends and facilitates business-to-business matchmaking” between participants from over 70 countries. It also “offers direct access to Arab and international publishing figures, one-on-one meetings, and the $300,000 SIBF Translation Grant for deals made during the event,” the website states. The grant is also bestowed by the SBA and allots $50,000 for translation of works from or into any language, and $250,000 for works translated from or into Arabic.

Accepted attendees will be notified by September 11.