By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story covers the ongoing Sharjah International Book Fair. This year, the Fair introduced three new book awards for English language works (discussed in the piece). In addition, the Egypt-based Dar El Shorouk won the second edition of the Etisalat Prize for Arabic Children’s Literature with the book, Al Noqta Al Sawda (The Black Dot), written …
A Free Library for Every Family (in Sharjah)
By Chip Rossetti SHARJAH, UAE: While many countries would like to encourage a “culture of reading” in their citizens, perhaps no government has taken a more direct role in promoting reading than the United Arab Emirate of Sharjah, through its official initiative known as “Knowledge Without Borders.” Conceived under the auspices of the ruler of Sharjah, H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan …
Bonus Material: Knowledge Without Borders’ Top Ten Reasons to Read
By Edward Nawotka In March, Marwan J. Al Sarkal, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee of Knowledge Without Borders project in the UAE emirate of Sharjah (as described in today’s lead article) acknowledged, “Nowadays, we all spend so much time in front of our computer and TV screens that reading is dying as a pastime.” He added, “When people stop …
UAE in NYC for BEA
ABU DHABI: “It is very difficult to get American publishers to come to the United Arab Emirates,” said Beatrice Stauffer, the program manager for Kitab and The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF), “That is why we’re taking our story to New York.” Stauffer is one of dozens of publishing professionals hopping Etihad or Emirates flights to New York for …