Following the success of the 2010 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) has launched several initiatives to further promote literature and creativity in
the Emirate.

The Arab Books Distribution Company – a new private company sponsored by ADACH and the first company of its kind in the region – will soon begin facilitating the distribution of Arab books and hopes to develop a comprehensive archive of up to 200,000 Arabic titles. The company hopes to serve some 30 publishing houses and have the first books delivered in January 2011.

According to Dr Axel Goehler, ADACH’S consulting and interim manager, distribution in the region has previously been problematic. A survey involving some 600 Arabic publishers revealed that “many of the books get lost – they go out of print without getting distributed. Just two percent of them were happy with their distribution and we aim to provide a solution.”

Poetry is also on ADACH’s agenda. Twelve years after the creation of the first version (1997), ADACH’s National Library has launched the largest online encyclopaedia of Arabic poetry, comprising 2693 poetry books with 138,641 poems.

ADACH has also recently launched Qalam, a project that hopes to encourage Emiratis to express their creativity through writing. To launch the initiative, Qalam has published 20 new titles consisting of poetry, short stories and plays for Emirati authors.

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