The inaugural day of the 10th Publisher’s conference took place on 1st November 2020 as part of the 39th Sharjah International Book Fair. The event was attended by 317 professionals and 33 speakers and is a first-of-its-kind global gathering of industry professionals since the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
The three-day conference organized by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), begun with HE Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman, SBA, extending welcome to both in-person and virtual attendees. He emphasized that the conference is being held to ensure that the industry can continue to strengthen its response to the current crisis and work collectively to fortify the book industry’s future in the post-Covid19 era.
Sharjah conference hailed as the starting point for publishers to get back to business post-Covid-19. The first-panel session of the three-day conference titled ‘Global publishing spotlight: Surviving and thriving during a pandemic.’ The panel discussed the global perspective on the aftereffects of the pandemic on book industries and what the participants speakers have done to keep up with the pace of change marked by Covid-19.
The second session was titled ‘Publishing pivoting for the future: How virtual events and social media are connecting publishers and readers across the globe.’ The session discussed successful campaigns organized by publishers and authors in their respective markets to connect with readers.
The final and third session was titled ‘Books in translation: Finding new audiences.’ Publishing professionals from across three markets in MENA discussed the current state of the translations business in the post-pandemic era. The speakers highlighted the need to boost the tools and resources available to the translations industry in the region. This would boost the region’s untapped commercial potential and also promote cross-cultural understanding by making Arabic literature more readily available to readers around the world.
The 11-day Sharjah International Book Fair will begin on Wednesday with a hybrid online-offline cultural programme.
