Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival to return with authors, illustrators and filmmakers

The annual event will take place at Expo Centre Sharjah from May 11 to 22

The annual Sharjah Children's Reading Festival, which will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah in May, will feature 25 authors from five continents. Chris Whiteoak / The National

International bestselling authors from Africa to Australia will take part in the 13th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).

Running from May 11 to 22 at the Expo Centre Sharjah, the annual event will feature 25 authors from five continents for a programme that includes literary and trade discussions, author meet-and-greets, workshops, industry conferences and performances.

Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority and running under the theme Create Creativity, the festival will feature an appearance by Kyle Balda, the acclaimed US animator and filmmaker who co-directed Minions (2015) and produced the animation for box-office hits Jumanji (2005) and 2009’s Toy Story 2.

Also attending is prolific Australian author Ken Spillman, who has written more than 90 books, including his latest, Big Noah Little Boa.

Author-illustrator Curtis Jobling, best known as the designer for popular children’s television series Bob the Builder, will also be on hand to share her experiences.

Fellow English actor and author, Sebastian de Souza, will attend the festival to discuss the 2021 best-selling time-travelling adventure story, Kid: A History of the Future.

India’s emerging children’s literary scene will be highlighted with appearances by Purva Grover, best known for The Trees Told Me So, and Vibha Batra, the poet and author of Incognito. They will be joined by a number of African authors, including Kenya’s Christoper Okemwa and South Africa’s Lorato Mary Trok, renowned for her Unsung Heroes books series.

Kenya's Christopher Okemwa will be among a number of African authors appearing at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival. Courtesy: Sharjah Book Authority

On the regional front, the Arab world will be represented by more than a dozen writers, including Egyptian television-host-turned-author Qaswa Al Khalali, Lebanon's Tariq Ahmed Al Bakri and Intelaq Ali from Iraq.

Sharjah Book Authority chairman Ahmed Al Ameri described this year’s festival as the biggest yet. “Each year during SCRF, I can see the vision of the festival being realised as a key investment of knowledge and creativity in young minds,” he said.

“[The festival] is investing in building the future of our country by paving the way for our children and youth to attain their goals and be loyal patrons of Sharjah’s cultural vision, as well as our rich Arab culture.”

More information is available on www.scrf.ae

Scroll through images from the 2021 Sharjah Children's Reading Festival

A young visitor reads from her book at Sharjah children's reading festival at Expo Centre, Sharjah. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National

Hajar Yousef tells stories in arabic at Sharjah children's reading festival.

Arts and crafts at Fairy tale corner at Sharjah children's reading festival.

A drumming workshop takes place at Sharjah children's reading festival.

Fajer 12, takes a look at a peep show and sees and elephant at Sharjah children's reading festival.

A young visitor drives the Nautilus on Voyage to the deep at the Sharjah children's reading festival.

Darth Vader makes an appearance in the comic book section at Sharjah children's reading festival.

Children look at their favourite books at the Sharjah children's reading festival.