At the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Dr. Ali Bin Tamim is in the middle of this photo and Mohamed Khalif Al Mubarak is on the right. Image: ADIBF
By Porter Anderson, Editor in Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Dates for 2025: April 26 to May 5
AS Publish perspectives As readers know, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is one of the most famous events of its kind in the Middle East, and it has been announced that the fair’s program will be extended to 10 days in 2025.
The Abu Dhabi Book Fair is not as big or as long as the upcoming Sharjah International Book Fair (November 6-17), which last year attracted 2.17 million visitors during its 12-day run, according to the Sharjah Book Authority. The Abu Dhabi fair is usually preceded by the cross-media International Congress of Arab Publishing and Creative Industries, much as the Sharjah Book Fair is preceded by the Sharjah International Publishers Conference, with its executive program and a bustling rights trading center.
The Abu Dhabi Fair is being sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC), whose chairman is Dr. Ali bin Tamim. For our edition today (22 August), he announced that he will extend the duration of the 34th Abu Dhabi Fair to 10 days, from 26 April to 5 May.
In a press release explaining the reasons for the decision to extend the fair in Abu Dhabi, the ALC writes: “The decision serves the centre’s goals of promoting innovation in the publishing industry and enhancing dialogue and cultural exchange.
Related article: At the Abu Dhabi Book Fair: Diwan’s new Naguib Mahfouz book covers. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson.
“By extending the duration of this most important event in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, local and Arab authors will receive more support in showcasing their works and have more time to establish contacts with international publishers. This, in turn, will help establish industry guidelines and standards based on international best practices in publishing.
“The extension of the exhibition duration is accompanied by a modernisation of the event’s infrastructure, which will provide better facilities for exhibitors and visitors and also expand the range of educational programmes to cover a variety of topics for different age and professional groups.
“The Centre has decided to extend the duration of the fair for strategic and promotional reasons. This was done following a comprehensive study carried out by the Centre to develop the fair and improve its key indicators, in particular visitor numbers and sales.”
Bin Tamim: “More time for delegations and guests”
Visitors to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair enter an exhibition about the 2024 fair’s “Focus Personality”, Naquib Mahfouz. Image: ADIBF
The results of a survey conducted following the spring edition of the fair this year supported the idea of extending it to ten days. Another criterion was said to be the average duration of public book fairs in the region.
Dr. Ali Bin Tamim
Commenting on the news, Bin Tamim said: “The decision to extend the duration of the fair will enhance the international reputation of the event and give delegations and guests from all over the world more time to attend and participate.
“This will also allow the event to welcome more local and international visitors, increase its reach and popularity and ultimately contribute to the cultural economy by increasing economic activities related to books and publishing. This in turn benefits publishers and authors as they have more time to present their work and interact with audiences, leading to increased sales and promotional opportunities.”
A larger number of public events are expected to take place around and in the surrounding area of the fair, including book signings, seminars and workshops. There is also interest in Publish perspectives knows how to create cultural and tourist impulses by opening up the trade fair dates for working people, which are created primarily by an additional opening weekend in the calendar.
The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre and its International Book Fair are part of the emirate’s tourism department, headed by Mohamed Khalif Al Mubarak.
School children visit the exhibition area at the 2024 edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Image: ADIBF
See also:
At the International Book Fair in Abu Dhabi: Diwan’s new book covers by Naguib Mahfouz
Abu Dhabi: Rehana Mughal on a policy to promote creative industries
Congress in Abu Dhabi: The “rightful place” of the Arabic language
For more information from Publishing Perspectives on Arabic literature, click here, for more information on the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, click here, and for more information on the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, click here. For more information on the Sharjah International Book Fair, click here, for more information on international book fairs and trade exhibitions, click here, and for more information on the UAE publishing market, click here.
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