Sharjah International Book Fair: From a flat to a global literary event

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, an entire floor of a tall building overlooking Khalid Lagoon in Sharjah was occupied by one of the earliest cultural gatherings in the emirate and the UAE. It was the Social and Cultural Club, a branch of a club based in Abu Dhabi and founded by a group of intellectuals, some of whom were employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Sharjah, the club organised lectures and seminars of considerable cultural significance, attracting a distinguished audience of intellectuals and people interested in cultural affairs. I had the privilege of serving on its board. Among my fellow board members were the late poet and businessman Sultan bin Khalifa Al Habtoor, who owned the building and generously donated an entire floor to the club, as well as Rashid Al Ghazal, Abdul Mohsen Al Noman and Abdullah Al Abbasi, who was the driving force behind much of the club’s cultural activity. One of the club’s most important achievements was organising the first book fair, known as the Arab Book Fair, in early 1980. The modest event was held in a section of the club’s own library, in cooperation with the Sudanese intellectual and thinker Mohammed Abu Al Qasim Haj Hamad, who worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and owned a large bookshop in Abu Dhabi. The response from book lovers was encouraging enough for us to organise a subsequent edition at Expo Centre Sharjah, with the assistance of the late Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, who was then chairman of the Department of Culture. The fair had the honour of being inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah. It was accompanied by cultural events featuring distinguished guests from across the Arab world, including the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and the thinker Elias Morcos, among others. The fair’s success exceeded our expectations. It revealed a genuine need for such cultural gatherings and a passion for books and reading that had been waiting for an opportunity to express itself. Responsibility for organising the fair subsequently passed from the Social and Cultural Club to Sharjah’s Department of Culture. The event continued to grow year after year, officially launching in 1982 as the Sharjah International Book Fair. Those were the fair’s unofficial beginnings. Today, it is no longer simply a place to display and sell books. It has become a major international cultural institution and one of the most important annual gatherings for publishers, authors and readers. Its 45th edition has attracted more than 3,000 publishers and exhibitors from 126 countries, a remarkable contrast to the small exhibition once held in the club’s library nearly half a century ago. Nor has its success been confined to bringing the world to Sharjah. The emirate has also established a presence at international book fairs and cultural events, from Frankfurt and London to Bologna, Beijing and beyond. Through these participations, together with initiatives in translation, publishing and cultural exchange, Sharjah has helped carry the UAE’s cultural voice to the world, opening new opportunities for Arabic books to reach readers and publishers across different languages and cultures. What makes this experience particularly remarkable is that behind it stands a ruler who is not merely a patron of culture, but a writer, historian and intellectual himself. Sheikh Sultan belongs to the world of books and ideas and understands the value of knowledge in building individuals and societies. From the earliest days, he believed in the importance of books and continued to give this cultural project the attention and support it needed to grow and endure, until it became one of the landmarks for which Sharjah is recognised internationally. Today, as we witness the fair’s global standing, we can only express our appreciation and gratitude to His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi and to everyone responsible for its continued success. Among them are Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Sharjah Book Authority, Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, the authority’s CEO, and all those who have worked, and continue to work, to develop the fair. We also remember with gratitude those who contributed to its humble beginnings, some of whom are no longer with us, though their contributions and memories live on. What began in a small corner of a cultural club’s library overlooking Khalid Lagoon has become a wide window through which the UAE presents its culture, books and creative voices to the world. And what a wonderful feeling it is to see a small dream, whose beginnings we were fortunate enough to share, grow before our eyes into an achievement of which we can all be proud. ------- Abdul Hamid Ahmad is a UAE Writer and Columnist