Will Smith to make literary festival debut at Sharjah International Book Fair

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, actor Dhafer L'Abidine and author Mo Gawdat also among 250-plus guests at this year's event

American actor and author Will Smith's participation at Sharjah Book Fair marks his first guest spot at any international literary festival. Photo: Tristan Fewings

The 44th Sharjah International Book Fair will welcome American actor, rapper and author Will Smith, acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and celebrate Greece as Guest of Honour, organisers have announced.

Taking place at Expo Centre Sharjah from November 6 to 17, the event will host 2,350 publishers and exhibitors from 118 countries. This year’s fair will feature more than 1,200 activities led by 251 guests from 66 countries, including over 300 cultural events and 750 workshops for children and adults.

Smith will headline the fair with a live discussion on November 14. It will mark Smith's first appearance as a featured guest at an international book fair, where he will share insights from his memoir Will and his multifaceted career across film, music and entrepreneurship.

Adichie, author of Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, will join a line-up of international writers, including Italian physicist and author Carlo Rovelli, Irish novelist Paul Lynch, British psychologist Dr Julie Smith, American science communicator Armen Adamjan, Indian creator Prajakta Koli, British archaeologist David Wengrow and Canadian thriller author Jennifer Hillier.

The book fair will be held at Sharjah Expo centre. Pawan Singh / The National

Among Arab and Emirati participants are historian and researcher Dr Hamad bin Seray, poet and filmmaker Nujoom Al Ghanem, Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, Egyptian author Mo Gawdat, Tunisian actor and director Dhafer L’Abidine, Lebanese writer Joumana Haddad and Saudi writer Muhammad Reda Nasrallah.

This year’s fair introduces several new features, including the Poetry Pharmacy, Pop-Up Academy and Podcast Station, alongside a series of multilingual poetry evenings featuring performances in eight languages.

The event will also host the fourth Thriller Festival from November 8 to 11, organised in collaboration with Thriller Festival New York. The event will feature international writers such as British author Araminta Hall, Icelandic crime novelist Ragnar Jonasson and American screenwriter of House and Law & Order Matt Witten.

The fair, organised by Sharjah Book Authority, is one of the world’s largest book fairs, drawing millions of visitors and thousands of publishers each year.