37th Sharjah International Book Fair opens at Expo Centre in Sharjah

Sharjah international book fair has opened under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah. Guests were quite intrigued with an emotional message of heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to recognise the towering contributions of his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson, Supreme Council of Family Affairs (SCFA), and presented her the ‘Sharjah Coronet’ for dedicated services to society. Now in its 37th year, the fair has attracted visitors from across the globe and is considered as the second largest book fair in the world. This edition will be hosting more than 20 million books from 1.6 million titles, 80,000 of which are new titles, along with 1,874 publishing houses from 77 countries. The event will be curating 1800 events and featuring 472 guests from around the world with 200 book-signing ceremonies for authors from 19 countries. Japan is the Guest of Honour at this year’s edition in celebration of its cultural and creative achievements. On the occasion, His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member, Supreme Council and Ruler, Sharjah, said, “I extend a special welcome to Japan, our guest of honour. In 1979, I launched an appeal to stop building concrete structures and build knowledge and culture. In 2019, it’ll be 40 years since the appeal. When we look back, we can see that we have built a 40-year legacy of giving and exceptional cultural achievements. I can never take the sole credit for this; I say ‘we’ have achieved everything together, and I would like to once again thank you all for your contribution to the fair’s 40-year journey and success in enlightening the human mind. We have utilised all our resources and efforts to develop our emirate, our culture and our people – the building blocks of our society. Cherishing humanity is the way we develop ourselves here in Sharjah. ”