Highlights from the 2017
Sharjah Book Fair Professional Program
by Ed Nawotka, Publishers Weekly
The professional program at this year’s Sharjah International
Book Fair, which opens the fair and runs from October 30 to
November 1, once again offers a wide range of programming
offering insight and edification for attendees from the Gulf,
the rest of the Arabic-speaking world, and those visiting from
further abroad.
Following an opening greeting by Ahmed Al Ameri,
Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, we’ll hear from Dutch
publisher Michiel Kolman, President of the International
Publishers Association, who succeeded to the post on January 1.
Kolman is Senior Vice President of Global Academic Relations at
Elsevier, one of the world’s top scientific, technical and medical
(STM) publishers. He served previously as IPA Vice President.
Earlier this year, Kolman underscored IPA’s role: “‘ These
are challenging and rapidly changing times in the world of
publishing, but publishers have consistently shown themselves
to be highly adaptable,” he said. “We will need to build on that
further to continue to achieve the IPA’s objectives, most notably
the protection of copyright and freedom to publish.”
Monday’s professional program in Sharjah will also showcase
a conversation with a trio of prominent Arabic language writers:
Lebanon’s Iman Humaydan, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Hasan
Alwan, and Egypt’s Youssef Rakha. Humaydan is one of the
most popular female writers in the Arab world and several of
her works have been translated into English, including the
novels B as in Beirut and Wild Mulberries. Alwan won the 2017
International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel A Small Death,
about the life of Sunni mystic Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi. The novel
traces the mystic’s life from his birth in Spain in 1165 to his death
in Damascus in 1240. A young, peripatetic writer himself, Alwan
said upon winning the prize that it was the nature of the mystic’s
adventurous life and his propensity for travel that drew him to
the story. Rakha is known for his challenging and experimental
style. An English translation of his first novel, The Book of the
Sultan’s Seal: Strange Incidents from History in the City of
Mars, was published by Interlink Books in 2015; The Crocodiles,
translated by Robin Moger, was published by Seven Stories that
same year. Sessions on translations to and from Arabic will round
out the program.
Furthermore on Monday, Gabriella Page-Fort,
AmazonCrossing editor will offer insights into the process
of literary translation and publishing. In seven years, her
Amazon Publishing imprint has become the biggest producer
of translated literature in the US market, having published
300 titles from 36 countries in 21 languages. Page-Fort
acquired 239 of those titles in 19 languages. Her list includes
the 1.5-million-copy-selling Hangman’s Daughter series by
German writer Oliver Pötzsch and a wide array of award-
winning books from many countries, such as Zygmunt
Miloszewski’s crime novel Rage, which won the prestigious
Paszport Polityki Prize for Literature in Poland; Mariam
Petrosyan’s The Gray House, winner of Russia’s Big Book Prize;
and Shion Miura’s The Great Passage, which won a Japanese
Bestsellers Award.
Logistics can be especially daunting in the Gulf, with each
state having its own laws regarding content, importation
duties, and distribution challenges so attendees will be
eager to hear about the Sharjah Publishing City project’s
latest developments. The new 200,000-sq.-ft. facility offers
administrative and logistical support for those looking to
publish, print, and distribute books throughout the world —
without restrictions. “The idea is that you can set up and open
for business in as little as 48 hours,” says Ahmed Al Ameri.
The facility is expected to offer everything from warehousing
to printing, and its convenient location close to Dubai airport
makes it an ideal base for publishers looking to open up
new markets in the region, as well as facilitating shipping
expeditiously to Asia and Africa.
Thus far, publishers from a wide variety of countries and
regions, including the U.S., U.K., China, India, the Middle East,
South Korea, and Turkey have committed to taking space in
Sharjah Publishing City, which is all-but sold out. The expectation
is that 1,500 people will begin working in the facility soon, and
— ultimately — perhaps as many as 10,000. “These will include
editors, translators, printers, accountants, attorneys, and other
staff that supports publishing,” Al Ameri says. “With Sharjah
Publishing City we hope to attract a diverse and dynamic group
Tuesday morning’s program features an exciting line-up
of top executives: Steve Potash, CEO of digital library services
provider Overdrive; John Ingram, Chairman of the publishing
services company Ingram Industries Inc.; Mari Bergeron,
Sr. Director of International content licensing EBSCO; and
Julie Attrill, who’s responsible for rights at Wiley in the UK.
