The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is returning to the capital with a bigger-than-ever professional programme, an extended cultural programme and a strong focus on education and copyright issues.

The 20th Book Fair will fill the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre from 2nd to 7th March. The 2010 festival will be organised for the third year running by KITAB (meaning “book” in Arabic), the joint venture between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and the Frankfurt Book Fair.

With more than 800 confirmed exhibitors across more than 19,000 sq m of space, the Book Fair has ambitious goals.
“ADIBF is unlike any other fair,” said Jumaa Al Qubaisi, the Fair’s Director and head of the National Library. “It is the true gateway for the publishing sector’s emerging markets in the Arab World to showcase their talent and work to an international audience and for the international industry to see what our region has to offer.

“Beyond this, it is a platform to reach out to the 300 million potential readers of the Arab world and show them the value of reading.”

The Fair’s organisers echo those aims. Monika Krauss, General Manager of KITAB, said that her operation has two aims – “first, to expand opportunities for the region’s publishing industry and second, to get more people into reading.
“Ultimately, the two go hand in hand. The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is an event that combines the best opportunities for businesses to trade and network and for consumers to access books and reading.”

The programmes
The ADIBF professional programme is themed ‘Focus on Rights’ and will offer a range of seminars, workshops and networking events for visiting publishing professionals, including ‘How to do business in the Gulf Region’, ‘Matchmaking for agents, scouts and Arab publishers’ and ‘Arabs and the freedom of publishing’.

The new Rights Showcase for Arabic Literature will enable Arab publishers to showcase their best work, while the eZone – another new feature – will highlight the opportunities in digital.

The cultural programme offers a wide choice. Here are just a few of this
year’s features:

• Show Kitchen: stand 7G38. The ADIBF Show Kitchen returns in 2010 with more international star chefs and more culinary delights with live cooking demonstrations and a cookbook display. Have a tasty time with the chefs of the Gourmand family and many others. See www.adbookfair.com for full schedule.
• KITAB Bus: The National Mobile Library will make a stop at ADNEC for the duration of the fair where it will be stationed inside the exhibition hall.
• Discussion Forum: stand 9D40. This will be the place to see authors and key industry players from around the world in debate; learn how to start a book club or write a best-selling novel; and meet the winner of the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
• KITAB Sofa: stand 8K46. The KITAB Sofa will host a line-up of authors hand-picked by the fair’s organisers to give visitors a taste of the rich diversity of global literature today.
• Book-Signing Corner: stand 9G36. Get your books signed by your favourite authors at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair’s Book-Signing Corner, presented by Jashanmal Bookstores.
• Poetry Forum: stand 10E36. A new addition to the 2010 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, the Poetry Forum will pay homage to the ancient tradition of oral poetry in the Arab Gulf by providing a venue for live poetry performances.

Charlie Kennedy

Opening hours are from 9am-1pm and 5pm-10pm Tuesday-Thursday. On Friday 5th March the Fair will open from 4pm-10pm and on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th March the Fair will open from 9am-10pm inclusive. Entrance is free. Information and full schedule: www.adbookfair.com

Write on

Abu Dhabi Week picks our top five authors to look out for at this year’s ADIBF

Ramsey Nasr. This multi-talented and highly decorated young author, actor, director and poet of Dutch-Palestinian heritage has translated and directed two Mozart operas, performed his poetry in places as diverse as Indonesia and Bethlehem and staged a travelling English-Arabic production of one of his own monologues.

Adam Haslett. Adam is one of America’s most sought-after young authors, with a nomination for the National Book Award as well a finalist for the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for a bestselling debut short story collection which has been translated into 15 languages.

Ahlam Mosteghanemi. Ahlam is the most widely published writer in the Arab World, with sales of her books exceeding 2.3 million copies. She is known for her poetic language and the philosophical-historical dimensions and emotional impact of the writing in her novels.

Alawiyya Sobh. The novelist, poet and feminist has been hailed internationally for the way she has used writing to fearlessly confront some of the region’s most difficult contemporary social issues. She authored numerous critical sketches aired on Lebanese radio during the Lebanese Civil War, and she is the founder and editor-in-chief of one of the Arab World’s most important women’s magazines.

Amit Chaudhuri. The celebrated Indian author has five novels and many short stories, essays, poems and works of literary criticism to his name – along with numerous awards including the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, the Los Angeles Times Book Award for Fiction and India’s prestigious Sahitya Akademi prize.