Sharjah Book Fair witnesses brisk sales and strong footfall

Sharjah: The 29th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair received over 500,000 visitors and made sales of Dh133 million, organisers revealed.

"We organised 233 cultural events for adults and children, in addition to arranging over 60 book signings for authors who launched their new book titles," said Ahmad Bin Rakad Al Amri, Director of Sharjah International Book Fair.

The 12-day exhibition, which began on October 26 and concluded last Saturday, drew visitors in good numbers right through, "but we sometimes had to extend the closing time [of 10pm] to 11pm because there were too many visitors inside", Al Amri said.

Timings extended

"We also had to extend the timings of the live cooking stations and lectures given by guest speakers and poets to let all visitors get a chance to participate in the events," he said.

"The number of visitors to the exhibition reached up to 500,000 visitors, while the total sales volume reached Dh133 million. Next year we intend to make the book fair an even bigger success than this year's, and we will maintain our high standard in offering a platform for authors to display their books, audio books and e-books," he added.