Today's Edition
SHARJAH (ALETIHAD)
Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), opened the fifth edition of the Sharjah Booksellers Conference on Saturday, organised by SBA in Expo Centre Sharjah, bringing together 912 booksellers, publishers, distributors and representatives of e-commerce platforms from 99 countries.
The opening ceremony was attended by Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, CEO of SBA, and board members of SBA, alongside officials and representatives of cultural institutions, publishing houses and bookstores from the UAE and around the world.
Over two days, the conference is addressing practical challenges involved in getting books into readers’ hands – from inventory management and in-store book presentation to e-commerce, digital marketing and demand analysis.
It is also enabling participants to exchange experiences from different markets, network, hold direct business meetings and explore models that can help bookstores and distributors strengthen their businesses and connect with wider audiences.
During her keynote address, Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi said: “In an era when technology is transforming how content is created, discovered and trusted, what makes a bookseller indispensable? I believe the answer lies in the promise at the heart of our industry: to help the right book find the right reader; to guide people towards books that can inform them, challenge them, surprise them, or simply expand the way they see the world.
"In Sharjah, we hold that promise dear while staying open to the possibilities and potential of technology.”
She added: “Our mission is, and will remain, to connect books with readers, and to connect publishers and booksellers across markets, cultures and regions so that ideas and stories can travel further. That is why investing in people and building their capabilities is not optional. It is part of how we prepare this industry for the future.”
During the opening ceremony, Sheikha Bodour, in her capacity as Founder of PublisHer, also honoured the graduates of the inaugural PublisHer Pathways cohort, presenting completion certificates alongside Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner and Group Editor-in-Chief of Motivate Media Group, who collaborated with PublisHer on this milestone project.
PublisHer is a global platform dedicated to supporting and advancing women in book publishing, connecting women across markets and creating opportunities for professional development and collaboration.
Jaime Daez, Founder and Managing Director of Fully Booked in the Philippines, delivered a keynote speech during which he traced his company’s journey, which started with selling specialist architecture titles, and gradually became a multi-category bookstore business.
The conference also welcomed Oleksii Erinchak, Founder and CEO at Sens Bookstore in Ukraine, for a discussion moderated by Nadia Wassef, Co-Founder & Board Member of Diwan Bookstore in Egypt.
During the conversation, Erinchak reflected on opening his first bookstore in Kyiv just two months before the full-scale escalation, and how it subsequently evolved into a community space and cultural hub.
As part of the conference’s innovation showcases, Lisa Byrnes, Founder and CEO of Charisma Digital in New Zealand, and Sarah Arbuthnot, President of Supadu in the United Kingdom, delivered a presentation titled “Maximising Sales with AI-built Websites”.
The session explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can help turn a website into an integrated sales channel.
The PublisHer Lounge is a key attraction at the Bookseller Conference this year and hosted two insightful panel discussions on the first day. The first session, “Voices from the First PublisHer Pathways Cohort”, brought together the honourees of the programme’s inaugural cohort.
Speakers Fatima AlMugarrab AlMheiri, Mariam Alrefai, Pahal Khanna, Maha Kteish, Jinan Gulshan engaged in conversation with the moderator, Jessica Michault from Motivate Media Group’s Emirates Woman magazine.
The second session, “Beyond the Shelf: Building Demand for Physical Books in a Digital World”, presented by Noor Jarrar, Founder and Publisher of NJ Publishing House in the UAE.
It explored the evolving relationship between physical books and digital platforms and presented a range of ideas on engaging readers and building demand for print in an increasingly online marketplace.
The conference hosted professional workshops and roundtables that participants take part in based on their learning needs, business priorities and the markets they work in.
The first day concluded offering industry professionals key networking opportunities, and enabled one-on-one business meetings between distributors, booksellers and publishers.
