The Sharjah International Book Fair opened yesterday and, for the next 10 days, book lovers, publishers and personalities will mingle at what has become one of the staple events in the Gulf’s literary calendar.
There will be talks, workshops and even a dedicated comic book pavilion. But the fair is, at its heart, about publishing. Looked at like that, it can be puzzling why so many members of the public attend when they would not, for example, attend the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The answer lies in the crowd. Gathering spaces for book buffs are limited these days, not merely in the UAE – although this newspaper has championed the need for more accessible libraries and literary gatherings – but across the world in this digital age. The fair offers a space where like-minded readers can mix with their favourite authors and be around those who equally value the written word. It also, of course, offers the chance to binge-buy books that aren’t always easily available in the shops.
