The Sharjah Book Authority has Announced the Dates for its 2023 Publishers Conference

Sharjah Publishers Conference 2023: A pivotal global publishing event from Oct 29-31, following the Frankfurt Book Fair.

on Sep 27, 2023

The Sharjah Book Authority has Announced the Dates for its 2023 Publishers Conference | Frontlist

This year's Publishers Conference professional programme runs from October 29 to October 31, right before the Sharjah International Book Fair.

The Sharjah International Book Fair's professional Publishers Conference's 13th edition was announced today (September 18), with dates from October 29 to 31.

This event is always of interest to many in the international publishing sector because it takes place a week after the Frankfurter Buchmesse (October 18 to 22), and organisers predict it will gather publishers, distributors, and other book-business specialists from 101 markets this year.

In fact, the programme anticipates seven countries making their debuts at the Sharjah Publishers Conference: Benin, Ivory Coast, Czech Republic, Mauritius, Paraguay, Burkina Faso, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The public-facing fair is in its 42nd year this year, spanning from November 1 to 12, with South Korea as its honoured guest. As it approaches its 15th year of operation, the Sharjah pre-fair professional programme has evolved and grown significantly, transitioning from an event at Sharjah's chamber of commerce to a staging of business-driven programming and rights meetings at hundreds of tables.

This year's programme, according to Publishing Perspectives, will include some of the topic-specific round-table discussions that were featured in Emma House's programming of the May Booksellers Conference in Sharjah, a format that generated intensive small-group training sessions and exchanges without requiring the plenary audience to adjourn to separate rooms. The method has the intriguing effect of bringing together publishing players from various markets based on their common interests in topics and difficulties.

'Publishers' Needs and Expectations'

The conference this year will also feature the second iteration of the still-new Sharjah Rights Connection Awards, one for translation-rights employees in publishing houses and one for independent rights professionals and literary agents who work in the international rights arena. The deadline for these awards was August 31.

Mansour Al Hassani, director of publisher services at Sharjah Book Authority, is quoted in a prepared statement for today's announcement as saying, "In the 13th consecutive year of the Publishers Conference, we present an inclusive programme that meets the needs and expectations of publishers from various countries, cultures, and languages."

This reflects the Book Authority's visionary commitment to supporting and developing the publishing industry; nurturing cultural content in the region and around the world; our belief in the importance of publishers exchanging ideas, solutions, and opportunities; and keeping up with technological advancements affecting the publishing industry."

"The Sharjah International Book Fair Publishers Conference stands out as a networking and communication platform, attracting literary agents, translation experts, and intellectual property rights professionals from around the world."

"This global event serves as a source of inspiration, spurring participants to continue their dedicated work in the publishing sector."