Abu Dhabi Book Fair

3rd – 7th March
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Grounds
Stand 9D01

Over the past three years, LAF has established contacts outside Europe in order to facilitate literary exchange and mutual promotion of literature between the countries of its European partners and countries in the region of the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

This will be LAF’s fourth visit to the Abu Dhabi Book Fair where we will meet with Arab publishers and promote the translation subsidies offered by our partners from fifteen European countries. On the LAF collective we will also present several books in English and Arabic translation. These books, from our partner countries, will then be passed on the the National Library of Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, is committed to the establishment of a vibrant commercial market place for the world’s publishing industries; an international crossroads and, at the same time, a catalyst for the development of publishing in the Arab world.

The book fair, managed by Kitab in collaboration with the Frankfurt Book Fair and supported by the Abu Dhabi Cultural Heritage Foundation, aims to provide a gateway to the rapidly growing Arab book market in one of the most vibrant and progressive countries in the Middle East. The professional programmes and “match-making” sessions are designed for publishers, agents, writers and librarians. Their principal purpose is to provide information on the expanding publishing market in the Middle East, help forge the international partnerships that will drive this growth and facilitate a global exchange of ideas through books and other media.

This year, the fair will focus on copyright with the two-day IPA Conference on Copyright held before the opening of the fair. Building on the success of last year’s “Spotlight on Rights” programme the fair will continue the scheme subsidizing rights purchases agreed at the fair.

The programme will feature a number of outstanding Arab writers, including authors shortlisted for the 2010 International Prize for Arabic Fiction (the Arab Booker Prize), and several writers selected for the Beirut39 project which will promote new writing from the region by authors under 39.

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