Sheikha Bodour launches AUS Press during Warsaw International Book Fair

Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of American University of Sharjah (AUS), launched AUS Press at the Warsaw International Book Fair during Sharjah’s participation as Guest of Honour. 

AUS Press is the university’s new publishing arm, established to advance scholarship, support translation and strengthen knowledge exchange between the region and the world. Guided by high editorial standards, it will publish works of regional and international significance contributing to wider conversations on culture, society and human experience.

Sheikha Bodour said “We’re launching AUS Press in the conviction that universities devote equal energy to generating knowledge and to ensuring that knowledge is then shared, translated and propagated so it can be threaded into the fabric of public conversation across diverse cultures.”

Sheikha Bodour with other dignitaries during the Warsaw International Book Fair.

Sharjah’s Guest of Honour programme brought together publishers, writers, academics, artists and cultural institutions from the UAE and Poland, presenting Sharjah’s cultural vision through literature, publishing, the arts and intellectual dialogue.  

As part of the launch, Sheikha Bodour also unveiled AUS Press’ first publication, AUS 25: American University of Sharjah, A Legacy of Learning | 1997–Today, a commemorative volume documenting the story of AUS from its founding in 1997 to the present day. Developed over several years to capture the university’s journey in depth, the book brings together voices from across the AUS community, including university leadership, faculty, staff, alumni and former members of the university’s leadership. AUS Press also announced its first title acquisition: the Arabic edition of Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet, authored by Edward Luce, with publication expected to coincide with the Sharjah International Book Fair 2026. The book is a biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the Polish-American statesman, scholar and former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States. 

“AUS’ participation in Warsaw International Book Fair is a testament to the kind of university we are continuing to build: globally engaged, rooted in Sharjah’s cultural vision and committed to giving scholarship a stronger public presence,” said Dr Tod Laursen, Chancellor of AUS.

“Through AUS Press and our wider contribution to Sharjah’s Guest of Honour programme, AUS is strengthening its presence through which ideas are researched, translated, published and shared with the world. This is an important step in advancing the university’s knowledge mission, preserving regional memory and ensuring that the intellectual and cultural contributions emerging from AUS and Sharjah reach audiences beyond campus and across borders.” 

AUS faculty and staff contributed to two discussions during the fair. The first explored the vision behind establishing AUS Press as a university publishing arm, its development process, future publications and the challenges and opportunities shaping its growth; the second highlighted research on oral history, dialects and maritime memory, including work connected to the Center for Arab Studies and Islamic Civilisations and the Department of International Studies at the College of Arts and Sciences.