2010 Abu Dhabi book fair gets underway
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
The 20th annual Abu Dhabi International Book Fair got started Tuesday; it will continue through March 7. This year, there are more than 800 exhibitors. The book fair is open to the public.
‘Every year we see more and more visitors coming to the fair,’ Mariam Salabbai of the Al Mutannabi Bookshop in UAE told the Gulf News. ‘This proves that people still like to read hard copies of books and we hope that this year that even more visitors come and take a look at what’s available.’
To kick off the fair, the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction was announced. The winner is ‘Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles,’ a satire by Saudi Arabian writer Abdo Khal. The Guardian reports that the title comes from the Koran -- it’s a reference to hell -- and that the author’s books are not sold in Saudi Arabia. He expressed surprise to be selected as the winner from the shortlist; the prize comes with a $60,000 award.
In other book fair news, a new book distribution company to serve the Arab world was announced. Publishing Perspectives, an American website focused on international publishing, writes: ‘The difficulty of distribution has been blamed for inhibiting growth of the book market in the region.’ The distribution company, Abu Dhabi Distribution, will take on challenges of standardization, which apply to older publications, as well as incorporating new technologies like e-books when it begins operations later this month.
Publishing Perspectives writes:
The reaction to the launch appeared to be hugely enthusiastic; the event drew some fifty people, including some of the biggest names in Arabic-language publishing, as well as foreign companies.
The website 3 Percent is also reporting from Abu Dhabi, and will continue to post news from the Abu Dhabi Book Fair.
-- Carolyn Kellogg
