11-day fair saw 2.31m visitors and generated 8,000 news clippings

Sharjah: This year’s Sharjah International Book Fair saw widespread media coverage, attracting 8,000 news clippings in more than 20 languages during its 11-day run, organisers claim.

The book fair, which ran from November 2 to 12 was by far the biggest and most successful since it began 35 years ago. Held at Sharjah’s Expo Centre, the fair hosted 1,681 publishing houses and saw 2.31 million visitors— a record among book fairs in the UAE. Sales of books totalled Dh176 million.

The fair’s official hashtag, #SIBF2016, recorded more than 1 billion impressions on English and Arabic social media sites. Workshops by authors at the fair helped gather media coverage.

The fair has “strongly proved that books still enjoy the greatest attention and interest of intellectuals, thinkers and journalists, as they form the cornerstone of the progress of communities and nations”, said Ahmad Bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Sharjah Book Authority chairman.

Al Ameri thanked media professionals and journalists — including foreign correspondents — columnists and social media stars who covered the book fair.

The coverage provided by journalists in various media organisations and news networks led to skyrocketing visitor turnout, Al Ameri added.

Next year, the book fair plans to expand its media centre to help journalists report in real-time.