Sharjah International Book Fair to return in November

Italy will be the guest of honour for the 12-day festival

Besides book stalls, the event will include talks, workshops and 80 theatre, dance and music performances. Ruel Pableo for The National

Book fans can rejoice as the Sharjah International Book Fair has announced its dates for its upcoming 41st event. The festival will be held from November 2 to 13 at the Expo Centre Sharjah.

Italy will be this year’s guest of honour while the theme for the event is “spread the word” which organisers say calls on guests "to believe in the power of words when it comes to building bridges of cultural communication".

“With this slogan, we want to convey that words are not written to be hidden between covers of books. Words are at the core of all creative pursuits, and in fact, at the heart of everything we do,” said Khoula Al Mujaini, general coordinator of Sharjah International Book Fair.

The events will include talks, workshops, as well as 80 theatre, dance and music performances. The fair will also have a cooking corner, plus dedicated sections for designers and artists of various ages. Expect talks, workshops, as well as theatre, dance and music performances. There will also be plenty of book stalls. The line-up for this year's festival has yet to be announced.

“SIBF represents a living manifestation of Sharjah’s ambitions set more than 50 years ago, to present to the world one of the most successful and pioneering developmental projects in the region and the world — one founded on investing in culture and human capital development; one that transcends libraries and creative events, authors, intellectuals and poets to influence and shape other key sectors of a nation and the world," said Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman of Sharjah Book Authority.

"Books shape the identity of a nation. Books are the engines of an economy; they are change makers and a developmental tool. Without them, no achievements in knowledge, science or investments can be realised.”