Books and Publishing
The United Arab Emirates has established itself over the years as an essential place for books in the Arab world. A number of events have become essential for professionals from the region and the world, but also for the public. Given the poor network of book dissemination and distribution in this area, fairs are the primary place to buy books. As books and publishing are among the priority sectors identified by the UAE French Institute, the Institute participates as such in the fairs organized in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, in partnership with the Bureau International de l’Edition Française (BIEF), but also in other events held periodically in the Emirates.
2021
Participation in a regional project bringing together the Alliance française of Saudi Arabia, the Alliance française of Bahrain and the UAE French Institute.
Within the framework of the “Call for Projects” initiated by the French Institute in partnership with the Villa Gillet in order to participate in the “Assises Internationales du Roman”, the Alliance Française and the Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Saudi Arabia, the Alliance Française of Bahrain as well as the UAE French Institute have joined forces to present a “Crossed Views” Panel Project around the theme “Women’s Views”, bringing together three women writers from the Gulf:
– Ghada Aboud, Saudi novelist;
– Laila Almotawa, Bahraini novelist;
– Alia Al Shamsi, Emirati- Italian photographer and writer.
2020 et 2019
Participation in Sharjah International Book Fair
Sharjah International Book Fair is a major popular annual event in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2019, at the initiative of the UAE French Institute, a French pavilion has been set up in collaboration with the Alliances françaises of Dubai and Abu Dhabi and the francophone bookshop of Dubai, Culture & Co. Five authors, mainly around the graphic novel, were invited for signing sessions and workshops in French and Francophone schools: Guy Delisle (the author of Chronicles of Jerusalem and Chronicles of Pyongyang), Feurat Alani (great reporter, author of Perfume of Iraq, Albert Londres Prize 2019), Capitaine Alexandre (poet, novelist and slammer, Verlaine Prize of the French Academy 2015) Elliot Raimbeau and Philippe Lobjois (journalists and illustrator, authors of Drums of Srebrenica).
The participation was renewed in 2020, involving the publishing house Gallimard and the International Bureau of French Publishing with their testimonies in two conferences.