Sharjah International Book Fair 29th Edition
- #shjibf Sharjah International Book Fair #shjibf
- Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
- ExpoCenter 7th - 17th November, 2012. Hours | Saturday - Thursday: 10a.m. - 10p.m.; Friday: 4p.m - 10p.m.
Monday, 30 April 2012
Sunday, 29 April 2012
جدول برامج الطفل ليوم الأحد 29 أبريل 2012 - مهرجان الشارقة القرائي #shjibf
لمشاهدة جدول برامج الطفل لمهرجان الشارقة القرائي كاملا بمكنكم زيارة الموقع الإلكتروني sharjahbookfair.com
Saturday, 28 April 2012
Friday, 27 April 2012
Thursday, 26 April 2012
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
Monday, 23 April 2012
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Guest Post — Literary Tourism | Liticism
Guest post by @LisaDempster
In November 2010 I landed in Sharjah – a place I had not known existed until two months earlier – and several hours later I was sitting in a grand reception hall watching its International Book Fair being opened by one Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed al Qassimi. The room was opulent and bustling, and I sat at a large table with many strangers, wearing headphones through which the Arabic ceremony was being translated into English and wondering why no one was eating the lavish banquets arranged on each table. Only two things were certain: I was in a room with actual royalty, and I was a long way from home.
Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to visit several international literary festivals through my work as Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival. I’ve been inspired, had some life-changing moments, made a lot of warm and wise new friends, and felt hopelessly out of my depth on more than one occasion. And I’ve discovered the unique joys of being a literary tourist.
I love the term literary tourism. It’s not a phrase that is used very often – I guess it doesn’t sound particularly sexy on a travel brochure – but it excites me because literature and travel are two of my favourite things. Where some lit types travel to visit settings in a favourite text or make a pilgrimage to an author’s birthplace, my favourite bookish destinations are festivals.
Just like literature expands the mind, travel opens it. For me, the combination of both is intensely rewarding. Liberated from everyday routines, I tend to go into a state of hyper-receptiveness. Free from the usual at-home motions of work and play, there is more time to engage deeply with a literary festival – to listen, to talk, to think. To write.
Last week, I walked the halls of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, once again a literary tourist in a foreign city. Just like shopping, eating or sightseeing abroad can reveal a lot about a place, so too can its literary culture. The reflection of local customs, traditions and character make lit festivals interesting for the bookish traveler. But while the events, protocols and setting are excitingly different, the people there tend to be comfortingly the same – writers, publishers, readers. Book people.
My first international literary jaunt was to Edinburgh International Book Festival two years ago and it was a mind-blowing experience being at a festival in another country, even one I feel culturally at home in. It was so similar yet so different to events in Australia. Same format, different writers. Same topics, different discussions. Same structures yet totally different atmosphere. And while the cultural differences are much wider at book fairs in the Emirates, the similarities are there too. It’s this familiarity that makes these international literary adventures so compelling; feeling secure within the familiar framework that is the literary festival leaves the mind free to wander in exciting new directions.
As a writer and reader, global literary events are just as relevant as the ones back home. Each festival discusses its own local issues while tapping into broader themes in the region and across the globe. For example, themes that arose from Abu Dhabi Book Fair this year included the importance of local writing, how publishing in the Arab world is developing, and how literature can help us understand the world in which we live. While every literary festival is a reflection of the unique culture it is located in, a great festival will facilitate conversations that cross cultural boundaries and appeal to a global audience.
Organisers of literary festivals understand the importance of this global perspective, which is why they bring in writers from around the world to their events. (Good directors will ensure there is cultural diversity as well.) I have been to many festivals in Australia where the interstate and international guests have sparked some remarkable discussions, and through these writers had my eyes opened to global issues and debates.
Leaving your local literary environment and experiencing those conversations through the lens of another country or culture can be both outrageously inspiring and profoundly moving. At the very least, you will discover a wealth of new literature and writers, voices that may not yet have travelled far outside their own countries – and for a literary type, that is worth travelling for.
Lisa Dempster is the Director of the Emerging Writers’ Festival and author of Neon Pilgrim. She blogs at Everyday Adventure.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Saturday, 24 March 2012
gulftoday.ae | Japanese treats for Geekfest visitors
Sharjah: Cool stuff will get a crowd going and at least 100 people, who decided to start their weekend at the Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba, got a dose of cool creations on Thursday evening.It came by way of simultaneous presentations of the arts, video games, literature and the online platform, among others through the “Geekfest Sharjah.”
A first in the emirate and as a follow through to several similar events held in the region’s principal cities since 2009, the gathering primarily meant for individuals engrossed in digital and social media, proved to be the channel wherein the traditional could be given leeway.
Take the case of ‘manga’ through the eyes and exposure of Emirati Qais Sedki.
The former information communications technology person delves into this late 19th-century Japanese literature, believing that using it to propagate Arab and Emirati cultures in these modern times would be more appealing to other communities.
“The best way to make a change among the youth is to use something they can associate or relate well with, rather than (other forms of literature) forced on them to read,” said the father of two, when interviewed.
Sedki, who had gone to the Philippines years ago, provided his audience with details of what ‘manga’ is all about, starting his lecture by saying it is not ‘mangga’ the Filipino term for mango, and relating it to the kamishibai, the traditional “walking storyteller” in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award 2010-Children’s Literature Category winner also shared with them his journey to the publication of his two-volume ‘mangas’, the plot of which is about the adventures of 15-year-old Emirati Sultan, involved in the fictional sport of the gold ring similar to falconry.
Earlier on, he told The Gulf Today, “This (Manga) is considered cool. If we want to encourage everyone to read, then this is it. The content is our own but the (tool) is imported.”
Saying there are a lot of ‘mangakas’ or ‘manga’ illustrators worldwide, Sedki added he decided to use the talent of the Japanese for his works “since it is in Japan where it (manga) all started.”
“Children will have fun really (reading ‘manga’),” he also said, agreeing that if people want to disseminate information or impact and effect change, the best way is through the most effective form of media, of which one is ‘manga’ whose annual sales alone in Japan reaches billions of dollars.
Talking of another “cool” Japanese import on Thursday evening was another Emirati, Ali Murad.
The graduating interior designing student from Ajman University is one of the eight university members of the JUKI (Japan, UAE, Kizuna Initiative) that promotes the 17th-century art of paper folding.
It was the second time for the group, headed by Saeed Al Suwaidi, to share their skills on origami at the art gallery with adults and children.
Saying he and the seven other members are attracted to the art and craft as it is normal for Emiratis to be oriented toward Japan and its culture by way of its ‘animes’ and cartoons with Arabic translations, Murad said it was last February, when all of them, along with the UAE’s “Green Sheikh,” Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, carried with them 1,000 origami pieces created by Emirati youth who were told to make and write wishes on them.
“There is a legend about the fulfilment of a wish through the creation of 1,000 pieces of origami,” he explained, adding that the 1,000 pieces brought to the March 11, 2011 tsunami sites and to the Hiroshima Memorial were all for the Japanese people “to live in peace.”
Upcoming artists Allan Wazacz and Faisal Hashim said in separate interviews that their introduction to the TripleW.Me website gave them the boost they need in their respective interests.
Musician Wazacz and film director Hashim have both had chances to be seen, through the Arabic-English website introduced in the UAE in July 2010. Hashim said that his first independent film “Perfect Living” had been viewed in Paris, France because of the website.
Wazacz’s joining a competition sponsored by the website had his performance going viral.
The goal is to promote regional talents, said TripleW.Me marketing and content manager Rasha Omer who believes the creation of opportunities in online media will lead to the proper usage of it.
Meanwhile, Romanian photographer Catalin Marin whose travel photography garnered the Best Photo Blog for Asia and Oceania last year held a session on the 10 tips on photoshoot and post-processing.
“Geekfest Sharjah” organiser Alexander McNabb said a second version of the event made possible through the Sharjah International Book Fair is already in the pipeline.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Sharjah International Book Fair Booth at the 2012 Bologna Children’s Book Fair
The Sharjah International Book Fair takes place annually in November while the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival will take place April 23 – May 2, 2012. Some details on the 4th Sharjah Reading Children’s Festival (SCRF):
More than 200 Arab and foreign publishing houses will take part in the event. 30 invited guests including authors, intellectuals, artists and researchers in the field of children’s literature, will participate in the parallel seminars, workshops and exhibitions.SCRF will also include a series of art and heritage workshops, as well as theatrical plays, reading sessions, popular games, circus performances, clown shows and many other activities performed by guests from the GCC region, Arab world and Europe. For the first time this year SCRF is organizing awards for Children’s books as well as an illustrators exhibition.Illustrators 2012The Sharjah Children Books’ Illustrators Exhibition will display professional drawings of children’s books and stories of Emirati, Arab and International artists. The Exhibition will award the top 3 artworks from the exhibited works valuable prizes.Sharjah Children Books AwardsBeing concerned with encouraging writers and different creators to produce high level artworks in the field of children literature, Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival decided to launch “Sharjah Children Books Awards” which is meant to develop the children’s literary and cultural abilities, create their literary awareness and enrich the library with children’s literary works. The award targets 4 categories in the field of publishing, writing and illustrating.Sharjah Children Book Award (Visual Impairments) (Braille)This award is aimed at people with special needs; precisely people with visual impairments.
For more details visit their website or social media pages. Now here are some pics from the Sharjah International Book Fair booth at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.
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