Sharjah Book Fair 2021: What to Know About the Upcoming International Book Fair

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The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) is gearing up and all set to roll out this November. The 40th edition of the SIBF is a major calendar event held annually in Sharjah for all the literature buffs.

The highly anticipated literary event will last for a duration of 11 days and will feature several children’s activities and cultural events, musical concerts, recognition awards and 1500 plus exhibitors.

What is the Sharjah international book fair?

The Sharjah International Book Fair is the 3rd largest book fair globally, with around 400 literary events, including writing workshops, poetry readings and book signings. It seeks to showcase some of the best and most diverse local voices published today in the Arab world with several Arabic books on Sharjah, Arab culture and Arabic art. Besides covering various genres in over 210 languages, the Sharjah international book fair will also bring the most refined global talent in publishing to the Middle East.

Date and venue

The 40th iteration of The Sharjah International Book Fair will be held at the Expo Center Sharjah in Al Khan Area, Al Taawun Street, near Arab Mall. It will be open to the public from 3 to 13 November 2021. Visitors can register for the event on the official SIBF website.

SIBF theme for 2021

The theme for this year’s edition of the book fair is “There is always a right book”. It promotes the message that all visitors are welcome to find books that will fuel their interests and passions. The theme is inspired by Sharjah Book Authority’s recent global campaign ‘Into Books’, which was globally unveiled in August.

Sharjah Book Fair events

Here are some of the events that will occur at the Sharjah International Book Fair:

Extensive workshops

Social Media Station will arrange 11 hands-on workshops introducing topics like social media trends, creative content and other issues during the book fair. In addition to this, The Illustrators Survival Corner will organize master classes for ambitious illustrators, designers and art directors who will be taught to use image design and creativity tools.

Music concerts and scriptwriting

Musical concerts like the ‘La Caramba’ and a panel discussion by the screenwriters of the Netflix series ‘Money Heist’ will be held.

Children’s programme

The Sharjah International Book Fair 2021 will be hosting workshops for children, along with 355 other activities including an exciting 11-day fair with an outdoor exhibition from Canada titled ‘A Nomadic Heart’. The book fair will also be accessible for school and university visits throughout its 11-day duration.

SIBF Cookery Corner

Along with literature, there is also an opportunity for food lovers. The fair will have live cookery presentations to give visitors an insight into the taste and making of Arabic cuisine.  A total of 10 chefs and experts from 9 countries will lead 35 activities throughout SIBF 2021.

SIBF Conferences

The Sharjah International Library Conference will be held from 9-11 November, offering in-house networking and learning experience that will also be available online for those wanting to attend it virtually.

The National Libraries Summit, with the theme – ‘Attend, Interact and Influence’, will be held at the headquarters of the Sharjah Book Authority from 8–9 November. The summit will be the first of its kind and will be attended by 60 participants from 20 counties and 20 national libraries globally who will be engaging in several meetings and discussions.

Opening hours

The Sharjah International Book Fair will be open daily for visitors at the timings mentioned below:

• All days (except Friday) – 10:00 to 22:00
• Fridays -16:00 to 22:00

All visitors are advised to adhere to the health and safety Covid-19 protocols throughout the 11-day event.