Global literary luminaries to grace Sharjah book fair

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The 2021 Nobel Laureate for Literature, Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, will lead the list of international literary luminaries from 13 countries who will participate in the 40th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2021), which takes place from November 3 – 13 at Expo Centre Sharjah. A host of 15 literary greats from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be joining this group of global participants.

Organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), the book fair boasts an extensive programme of 440 cultural activities, which will include literary talks and panel discussions led by renowned authors, writers, and journalists from around the world.

Among the headlining personalities at SIBF 2021 is American film producer, entrepreneur and bestselling author, Chris Gardner, whose novel The Pursuit of Happyness has been translated into more than 40 languages, including Arabic, and was adapted to an award-winning film starring Will Smith.

Also hailing from the United States, Gitanjali Rao is a child prodigy – an inventor, scientist, STEM promoter, and the first child to be featured by Time magazine in 2020 as ‘Kid of the Year’. She is also the bestselling author of A Young Innovator’s Guide to STEM.

Her compatriot, award-winning thriller writer Kathleen Antrim, is the author of the bestselling Capital Offense. She is a former journalist and radio show host. Michael Anderle is a bestselling author and publisher who has been consistently ranked among the top 100 authors available on Amazon store and has sold over 4 million of his books so far.

Tosca Lee is a New York Times bestselling author of 11 novels including The Line Between, A Single Light and The Legend of Sheba. She has won many awards including two 2020 International Book Awards, and her work has been translated into 17 languages.

Lee will be joined by Daniel Mallory, known as A.J. Finn, author of the bestselling The Woman in the Window that became a Hollywood blockbuster starring Amy Adams, and will be one of the star attractions at SIBF. Social psychologist and bestselling author John V. Petrocelli will also join SIBF 2021 from the USA.

Lebanese-born bestselling author, speaker, educator and activist Najwa Zebian will be present in the fair coming from Canada. K.J.Howe, also from Canada, is the bestselling author of The Freedom Broker series and has won several awards for her thrillers.

The Ugandan-born British short story writer and novelist Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, who won the 2014 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, is the author of The First Woman, Manchester Happened and Kintu. Also from the UK, Karen Millie James is a novelist and businesswoman, author of The Shadows Behind her Smile, and Where in the Dark. She is now working on her third novel A Thousand Silent Cities.

Other UK-based authors include: Rabina Khan is a writer, politician, broadcaster and author of My Hair is Pink Under This Veil; Candice Carty-Williams, bestselling author of Queenie, Empress & Aniya and People Person; award-winning journalist, broadcaster and author of The Nine Waves and other bestselling books, Mihir Bose; and B.A. Paris, bestselling author of Behind Closed Doors, The Breakdown, and The Therapist, among others.

From Ireland, thriller writer Alan Gorevan will speak about his critically acclaimed novels including The Kindness of Psychopaths and Better Confess.

From Spain, bestselling author of self-help and inspirational books such as Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Francesc Miralles, will join SIBF 2021.

Creator of the Editions du Jasmin, Saad Bouri from France is the author of traditional French-Arabic tales The Fox and the Hyena and The Wolf, the Lion and the Fox. Hans Limon, author of several popular plays and books including La Bataille d’Hernani, joins the French contingent to SIBF 2021. His compatriot Isabelle Leymarie is a pianist, filmmaker, translator, photographer, musicologist and author of Cuba and its Music and several other works.

Yasmina Khadra, also from France, is the pseudonym of Mohammed Moulessehoul. His works have been translated into 52 languages and have been adapted for the cinema and theatre.