Hosting the Sharjah Book Fair under the prevailing pandemic conditions shows the emirates’ zealous commitment towards fostering literature and Arts (“Sharjah International Book Fair to host cross-cultural dialogue involving 73 nations”, Oct. 29, Gulf Today).

The Book Fair has carved a niche for itself in the literary circles globally. It is widely revered as one of the topmost fairs in the world with publishers and book lovers flocking to Sharjah from all over the world.

My children have been attending the SIBF for the last four years and it is one of those events they never miss. This year though it is a different story with COVID-19 protocols in place. As the organizers have announced it be a hybrid online-offline format which will showcase more than 80,000 new titles in more than 30 languages.

I am sure this edition too will have a rich interlinguistic and intercultural exchange of literature and ideas, similar to the ones in the earlier years. It is encouraging to see that despite restrictions due to the pandemic, 73 nations represented by 1,024 publishers will be leading cross-cultural dialogues at SIBF 2020 being held under the theme “The World Reads from Sharjah.”

There is a restriction though on the number of visitors that will be allowed to attend the Fair. So a lot of thrill associated with the event may be missing this time around. But the main draw is the literary experience it offers. And that I am sure will continue.

Kudos to the organizers for going ahead with the book fair and for sure my children are looking forward to the new experience.

Ralph R
By email