Sharjah Animation Conference participates in publishers meet

In a strategic move to fuse the worlds of publishing and animation, the Sharjah Animation Conference (SAC) participated at the 15th International Publishers Conference this week.

Drawing attention among the 1,300 publishing professionals from 116 countries in attendance, the SAC engaging booth served to promote the annual animation conference as well as identify and develop new animation opportunities for publishers’ titles.

SAC’s participation, designed to encourage collaboration, aimed to show publishers how their stories can be transformed into animation projects, encourage the sale of book rights to animation studios, and build a database of interested publishers for future opportunities.

This initiative is further supported by SAC’s facilitation of an international exchange, including hosting a Japanese delegation of publishers and animation studios to meet with their Arab and international counterparts.

The booth itself served as a mini-hub of innovation, showcasing the practical tools that bring stories to life in new mediums including tablets and virtual reality; in collaboration with SAC’s valued partner Wacom, a hardware manufacturer for illustrators and animators.

Alongside it, VRwareEdu’s “Story Builder” offered an interactive glimpse into the future of storytelling.

This metaverse-based solution allows users to create and experience their own digital storybooks, combining images, adding stickers and speech bubbles, and recording their own voice; a vivid demonstration of how classic tales can be reimagined for digital-native audiences.

Commenting on their participation, Khoula Al Mujaini, Executive Director of Sharjah Animation Conference stated: “The engagement has been exceptionally positive and we have had many publishers enquire for more information and sign up for participation at the next SAC taking place in 2026,” highlighting a growing interest from the literary world in cross-media adaptation.

“By engaging directly with publishers and industry leaders, we are expanding the dialogue around adaptation, innovation, and intellectual property; and this presence reflects SAC’s broader mission to position Sharjah as a global hub for cross-sector partnerships that support emerging talent and sustainable growth within the global creative economy,” Al Mujaini concluded.

By embedding itself within the Sharjah International Publishers Conference, SAC is actively constructing a creative pipeline with the global publishing industry; and positions itself as a platform where books can begin their journey to becoming the animated series and films of tomorrow.

Meanwhile, throughout the second and third day of the 15th Sharjah International Publishers Conference, the hum of conversation and deal-making told a story of global unity and collaborative opportunity.

For Fatima Al-Khatib of the UAE’s Sidra Publishing House, the conference is a cornerstone for building global bridges.

She emphasised that Sharjah’s practical support, particularly through publisher grants, has been invaluable in empowering local publishing houses to compete internationally and acquire rights to world titles. “This conference and these on-on-one meetings create an environment that helps translation efforts grow; and it opens up many new opportunities for us as Arabic publishers. We can carefully choose the best books from around the world and build partnerships that improve and diversify the content we offer our readers. This is how we strengthen the role of Arab publishing worldwide,” Al-Khatib explained.

Hülya Balcı, from Istanbul’s Doğan Yayınları, said the Sharjah conference is a premier networking opportunity; and highlighted the significant advantage of moving beyond knowing names to meeting faces, creating a foundation for genuine professional relationships. She also described the atmosphere in Sharjah as “lovely,” with everyone actively connecting and exchanging cards in a spirit of collaboration.

Peter Thorne of France’s Édition Mirages et Lumières is a first-time visitor with a clear mission; to find Arabic texts for translation into French.

Nadine Bakhous’ journey into publishing began with a programme through the Sharjah Publishing Sustainability Fund (Onshur), which she calls the “spark” that gave her the tools and vision to establish “Al-Bouma Publishing.”