At an entrance to Expo Centre Sharjah, the site of the Sharjah International Book Fair, during the springtime Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
See also:
UAE: Sharjah Publishers Conference Outlines Its 2024 Program
UAE: Sharjah Book Authority Approves 303 Translation Grants
Emirati Women’s Day: PublisHer and Visa Present ‘She’s Next’
UAE: Sharjah International Book Fair Opens Its Awards
UAE: Sharjah Signs Morocco as Its International Book Fair Guest of Honor
Thirty Events in One Room
As many publishing industry pros today (October 30) are packing for the trip to the UAE’s third emirate, Sharjah, for the November 3 to 5 Sharjah Publishers Conference, which is set just before the opening of the 43rd Sharjah International Book Fair (November 6 to 17).
As we mentioned in an earlier story on the preparations for this annually growing conference, the Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi chairs the Sharjah Book Authority, which produces both the book fair and its preceding publishers’ conference, along with Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, CEO of the book authority; Mansour Al Hassani, the director of publisher services; and in London, the programming of Emma House and logistical coordination and press liaison work of Tony Mulliken.
Following Sunday morning’s (November 3) opening speeches and an onstage newsmaker interview, covered in this article, the afternoon is given over to the innovative arrangement devised by Emma House to simultaneously operate workshop sessions at 30 round tables in the main room of the tented facility used by the conference.
With a 10-seat capacity at each table, a potential 300 conferees can meet at once in their respective groups, with so much space in the cavernous room that everyone can hear and focus on their own discussion.
Both the Publishers Conference and the Booksellers Conference now are utilizing this unique format, one of the greatest advantages of which is its fluidity. While many program’s “breakout” sessions mean dispatching the plenary into many smaller rooms, essentially losing sight of colleagues and the breadth of the event, this approach maintains the full roster of attendees in one space, while facilitating comfortably specialized conversations on given themes. What’s more, conference delegates can move from discussion to discussion as needed, to be sure they’re accessing the specializations they need.
Not every producer of these events, of course, has the kind of vast spaces available in which to set 30 events at once, but the Book Authority’s resources at Expo Centre Sharjah are such that this can be done with additional halls and exhibition floors to spare.
Themed Discussions: AI, Audio, Skills, Genres, Languages
At the 2023 Sharjah Booksellers Conference, an afternoon program of themed round-table workshops programmed by Sharjah Book Authority and Emma House. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
So extensive is the roster of themes and speakers at the round tables being prepared for the weekend’s Sharjah Publishers Conference, that what we’ll do here is offer only some highlights of the singular topics and professionals involved.
Most tables are operating in four one-hour sessions during the afternoon. A delegates to the conference works out ahead of time the itinerary she or he wants to take, mapping out which table on which topic with which speaker will best meet his or her needs.
- For example, Sunday’s Table 5 focused on “Licensing Content to LLMs” (large language models in generative AI) will be led by two speakers throughout all four hours. The speakers are well known to Publishing Perspectives: Copyright Clearance Center‘s (CCC) Michael Healy (USA) will be joined by Wiley‘s Julie Attrill (UK) in leading the discussions.
- On another table, “Approaching the Global Trade Press,” the table will feature four different speakers, each leading Table 16’s discussion for one hour. Publishing Perspectives (international) leads off at 11:30 a.m.; followed by Publishers Weekly (USA) at 2:30 p.m.; then Livre Hebdo (France) takes over at 3:30 p.m.; and All About Book Publishing (India) at 5 p.m.
As you can see, this variability allows the delegates to chart their own pathway according to their needs and interests. An attendee may choose to talk with four different discussion leaders at a single table, or move from one topical focus to another, even splitting a single hour.
Conference Delegate Selection, Simultaneous Offerings
Round table discussions at the 2023 Sharjah Booksellers Conference. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
Several highlights:
- Søren Brinch Vestergaard of Copenhagen leads “Publishing Audio in Multiple Formats” at Table 2
- Jon Watt of Bonnier Books UK and Nathan Hull of Norway’s Beat Technology are slated to speak at Table 4
- Chantal Restivo-Alessi of HarperCollins (USA)—who will be Sunday’s live keynote speaker in conversation with Publishing Perspectives—will speak for two of the hours at Table 7 on “Using AI for Publishing Efficiencies,” then will be followed on the same topic in the third and fourth hours by Keith Riegart of Ulysses Press (USA)
- “Tackling Piracy” at Table 10 will be led by Vera Castanheira of the International Publishers Association (IPA)
- “Opportunities for African Publishers” will feature Mery Kirui of Mvua Press (Kenya) on the creation of a coalition of African publishers focused on producing the work of African writers for African readers
- José Manuel Anta of the Spanish publishers’ association and the Fundación Germán Sánchez Ruipérez’s Luis González—driving forces behind Madrid’s annual Readmagine—will be at Table 20 on issues in publishing relative to Spain and Latin America
- Istanbul’s irrepressible Nermin Mollaoğlu of Türkiye’s Kalem Agency will be talking about her publishing market at Table 21
- Among several Arabic-language tables, Tamer Said of the Sharjah Literary Agency will be at Table 26 discussing “Literary Agents and Their Importance in Arab Publishing”
Also important to note in Sunday’s schedule of round tables are presentations from the PublisHer program not at a table but in the immediately adjacent PublisHer Lounge at 11:30 a.m. (“Speak Like a VIP, Influence Like a Leader); at 2:30 p.m. (“Career Lab Workshop: How To Take Your LinkedIn Profile to the Next Level”); and at 3:30 p.m. (“Igniting Entrepreneurial Success in the Digital Age,” a program made possible by Visa, PublisHer’s partner.
We’ll have more coverage of the conference and its programming this week.
At a round table in the 2023 Sharjah Booksellers Conference. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Porter Anderson
More from Publishing Perspectives on international book fairs and trade shows is here, more on Sharjah Book Authority and its programs is here, and more on the Sharjah International Book Fair is here.
Our 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair Magazine is now available in a digital edition here.
Download your copy here.
You’ll also read our focused coverage of issues and events in the Guest of Honor Italy program; book market trends in Brazil, France, the Philippines, the Czech Republic, and Poland; perspectives on the international rights trade from Matthes & Seitz Berlin’s Meran Mentzel; commentary from independent publishers from Greece, Colombia, and Kenya.
PEN International president emerita Jennifer Clement speaks to Publishing Perspectives on censorship ahead of the IPA’s International Publishers Congress (December 3-5); there’s an exit interview with the outgoing IPA president Karine Pansa of Brazil; a wide-ranging interview with Scholastic chief Peter Warwick; perspectives on audio in Italy from Mondadori’s Miriam Spinnato; and more.
Publishing Perspectives is the International Publishers Association’s world media partner.