At the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which moves to a 10-day schedule in 2025. Image: ADIBF
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Bin Tamim: ‘Promoting the Presence of the Arabic Language’
In a move that could form the nucleus of a world calendar for international book publishing events, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center—which produces the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (April 26 to May 5)—has issued this week a five-year outlook for its fair’s dates “to highlight the importance of planning ahead for the center’s key events to enable international exhibitors and publishers to participate.”
This is a move that many in world publishing would like to see other such prominent events emulate. Indeed, in the spring this year, the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair and its cross-media International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries placed its dates parallel to those of the neighboring emirate Sharjah’s Children’s Reading Festival, its annual Sharjah Booksellers Conference, and its relatively new Sharjah Animation Conference, resulting in many of book publishing’s traveling speakers, publishing leadership, and journalists spending hours on the roads between Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
The two emirates—as well as Dubai—produce quite distinctive and important events for the Arab world and its many markets and cultures, all of them worth of focus during their own dates and all worthy of the international publishing industry’s attention and attendance when possible.
Collisions of dates, of course, can potentially impede international professional participation in any of the simultaneously held events and can even result in shallower public attendance: the distances between emirates are not so great that residents of one emirate can’t drive to another.
So there’s good sense in this effort to alert colleagues across the Emirati borders and outside the region on the wider scale to dates in advance. It remains to be seen whether someone might want to pick up on these dates and make them the first, shared international publishing event calendar, helpful to programmers and organizers (and industry players) in world markets far beyond the United Arab Emirates.
Al Tunaiji: ‘For Better Coordination, Avoiding Overlaps’
The dates being listed today (October 25) by the Arabic Language Center for its Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF)—as it expands in 2025 to a 10-day schedule, as we’ve reported—are:
- The 34th ADIBF: April 26 to May 5, 2025
- The 35th ADIBF: April 25 to May 4, 2026
- The 36th ADIBF: April 24 to May 3, 2027
- The 37th ADIBF: April 22 to May 1, 2028
- The 38th ADIBF: April 28 to May 7, 2029
- The 39th ADIBF: April 27 to May 6, 2030
Dr. Ali Bin Tamim
In a comment from the Arabic Language Center’s chair (and secretary-general of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award), Dr. Ali Bin Tamim, “Announcing the dates of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in advance is an initiative that that aligns with the international standing of Abu Dhabi and its role in promoting the presence of the Arabic language in the creative and cultural industries, as well as supporting cultural and civilizational convergence and exchange among nations.
“This measure is in line with the trends of governance, transparency, sustainability, and other principles of work observed in the UAE and its capital, Abu Dhabi. It aims to maximize the benefits of the distinctive initiatives offered by ADIBF, most notably the guest of honor program, which each year hosts a country to showcase its civilizational, cultural, intellectual and artistic model; our Focus Personality program, which celebrates a prominent figure in world culture; and our Book of the World program, which highlights a book that has had a profound impact on the course of human civilization, allowing everyone to contribute and engage with these important initiatives.”
Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji
Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, executive director of the Arabic Language Center and director of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, notes that setting the fair’s dates until 2030 aligns with the center’s and the fair’s holistic vision for integrating cultural events across the region and promoting a culture of reading.
“Announcing the fair’s dates in advance,” Al Tunaiji says, “allows for better coordination among various local, regional, and international events, avoiding overlaps and providing greater opportunities for these events to succeed in spreading culture and promoting reading in the community.”
Al Tunaiji is reaffirming these dates for the news media with this announcement, and the Arabic Language Center’s commitment “to participating in cultural events and fairs across the region; sharing valuable experiences in the culture and publishing industries; and advancing the presence of the Arabic language. He also noted the fair’s dedication to showcasing the ALC’s publications and reaching the widest audience of readers.
A key element of the Abu Dhabi fair’s offering, the program points out, has become its podcast series, “expanding the role of book fairs to become cultural incubators and a platform where civilizations meet and creative pioneers gather.”
More from Publishing Perspectives on the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center is here, more on Arabic literature is here, and more on the many publishing and cultural programs in the United Arab Emirates at large is here. You’ll find more on the upcoming Sharjah International Book Fair and its associated Sharjah Publishers Conference here. Publishing Perspectives is the world media partner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award.