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23rd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

24 - 29 March 2013

H.E. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon

Al Nahyan officially opens
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

His Excellency Sheikh Sultan

Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan ,
the Chairman of the
Abu Dhabi Tourism and
Culture Authority (TCA
Abu Dhabi), officially
opened the 23rd Abu Dhabi
International Book Fair
[ADIBF] 2013 at the Abu
Dhabi National Exhibition
Centre [ADNEC] on
The six day event is being held under
the patronage of His Highness Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme
Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and
will be open until Monday April 29.
This prestigious annual event is organised
by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture
Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and was
formally opened by His Highness in the
presence of Ambassadors and officials
from GCC, Arab and other international
countries.
The presence of so many dignitaries
representing Gulf countries also reinforced
one of the primary themes of this years
Book Fair to focus on the GCC region,
featuring authors, poets as well as
performances by musical ensembles from
each of the six Gulf nations every day at
the Fair.
Meanwhile the Fairs commitment to
inculcating a lifelong love of books
and reading among young people was
demonstrated on the opening day
with the arrival of thousands of excited
schoolchildren from across Abu Dhabi,
Al Ain and the Western Region, who
enjoyed special book readings and other

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activities on the opening day as the halls

of the exhibition centre resonated with
their buzz and enthusiasm.
ADIBF has seen overwhelming exhibitor
and it continues to strengthen Abu
Dhabis reputation as a growing centre
of influence in the global publishing
industry. The diverse group of exhibitors
and books on display reflect the richness
of the book fair. It has also been
enormously encouraging to see so many
schoolchildren visit and enjoy the wide
range of special events that we have for
children over the coming days.

Following the official opening ceremony

the ADIBF is now buzzing with activity as
visitors have the opportunity to experience

www.adbookfair.com | Wednesday to Monday 09:00 - 22:00 | Friday

16:00 - 22:00

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2013

ADIBF has seen

overwhelming
exhibitor response
and it continues to
strengthen
Abu Dhabis
reputation as a
growing centre of
influence in the
global publishing
industry

a host of new initiatives including new

panel discussions, presentations, talks
and networking opportunities, which are
even more cutting-edge this year.
Over the coming days these include
discussions on the battle between print
and on-screen reading for children;
how literary prizes act as a catalyst for
supporting creativity; environmentally
friendly publishing; a feminist perspective
on language and society and an attempt
to build a replica of the Al Hosn Fort using
books and many more.
The ADIBF 2013 is open daily from 9am
to 10pm every day, except on Friday
when it will be open from 4pm to 10pm.
Entrance is free.

Made in the UAE: The Fruits of Collaboration

by M. Lynx Qualey

MASTHEAD
Editor:
Edward Nawotka
Deputy Editor:
Irum Fawad
Design Manager:
Nada Baroudy
Bylined articles do not
necessarily reflect the
views of the editors.
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
2013
All rights reserved.
Duplication, either in whole or in part,
permissible only with the prior written
consent of the Abu Dhabi International
Book Fair.

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The Made in UAE project is now displaying

the fruits of a joint labor that began in April
2011: seven new Emirati childrens books.
These seven books are the result of a joint
venture between the UAE Board on Books for
Young People (UAEBBY) and Goethe-Institut
and were brought to life through workshops
led by German childrens book author and
illustrator Ute Krause.
All seven are on display at the fair: Four are
already in print and available for purchase,
one is scheduled for publication this fall, and
two are on display in mock-up form. They
range from the hilarious The Runaway Louse,
written by Maitha Al Khayat and illustrated
by Abdullah Al Sharhan (Jarrous Press), to
the gentle, poetic Umm Jadeeda, written by
Mariam Al Rashedi and illustrated by Reem
Al Mazrouei (Dar Al Alam Al Arabi).
Marwa Al Aqroubi, president of the UAEBBY,
said that the project was conceived as a way
of encouraging young Emirati illustrators
and writers to produce books that reflect
local culture and concerns. Susanne Sporrer,
General Manager of the Goethe-Institute in
the Gulf, added that there are many
German childrens books in Arabic
translation. But instead of bringing
more German picture books
into
Arabic, the Goethe wanted
to help foster the creation of
new

Emirati-German
venture brings
seven allEmirati picture
books to fair.

Emirati-authored books.
You always need books from your own
culture, Sporrer said. You can only enjoy
childrens books from another culture when
you have your own.
The seven books were written by six Emirati
authors and illustrated by seven Emirati
artists. The group included more veteran
authors, such as Maitha al-Khayat and Reem
Al Gurg, but there were also several who had
never been published.
Noura Al-Khoori, author of the sweet Fanteer,
the Fluffy Flamingo (forthcoming November
2013) and the playful Golden Dates, joined
the project at its inception. She said that she
was interested in writing childrens books,
but I went in knowing nothing about it.
Al-Khoori came to the first set of workshops
with drafts of her two books. But, she said,
they changed significantly through the talks
and critique sessions and through test
readings with children.
In the workshops, the authors and illustrators
critiqued one anothers work. But al-Khoori
said these critiques didnt end with the
workshops. The authors and illustrators
have formed a core group that continues
to comment on and support one anothers
work.
The seven books can be seen at the Made
in UAE

23rd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

24 - 29 April 2013

Satirist Andrei Kurkov Turns Fiction into a Funhouse

Reflection of Reality
by Edward Nawotka

Acclaimed Ukrainian writer Andrei Kurkov was a selfpublisher long before it became trendy. Kurkov wanted to
publish his novel The World of Mr. Big Forehead, as well as
a childrens book, The Adventures of Baby Vacuum Cleaner
Gosha, and borrowed $16,000 to buy six tons of paper form
a supplier in Kazakhstan. Not book paper, but paper for
wrapping up food. And instead of a traditional book printer,
he was forced to enlist the services of a sheet music printer.
What I did as a self-publishers was probably
never repeated, he explains. It was 1992
and we had a unique situation a total crisis
in Russia. Instead of police and courts, the
mafia was replacing the state a scenario
reflected in his 1996 novel Death and the
Penguin.
He continues, From one side it was crazy
easy to organize things, but on the other hand
it was incredibly risky. The biggest risk: not
getting paid.
One night, after he collected 10,000 copies
of his books from a distributor whod failed
to pay for the books, he paid a funeral home
to cart the books away. But since he couldnt

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unload them until the next day, he bribed the

driver with vodka to let him sleep with the
books so they wouldnt be stolen.
For 18 months I wasnt writing, but printing,
publishing, selling and chasing down people
who owed me money. The experience made
me stronger. It was useful. It taught me the
system and how to treat dishonest people
accordingly.
In the end, he made a profit of $700.
Today, Kurkov is famous throughout much
of Europe and known for his oddly prescient
surrealist fiction, which includes his latest
novel The Milkman in the Night, about a
woman who sells her breast milk in the streets

of Kiev to survive, to The Presidents Last Love,

which featured the poisoning of the Ukrainian
president and was published six months
before the same thing happened to Ukraines
actual president Viktor Yushchenko was
himself poisoned. Of course, Kurkovs novel
was fiction and set in a farcical future 2016.
Even though his books have reflected and
even predicted reality, Kurkov points out that
readers dont want to find the same stuff in
books that they find in the news, especially in
countries that have labored under oppressive
regimes, like the Soviet Union.
In the soviet period, nearly all the fiction
were anti-communist fairy tales books like

Bulgakovs or Sinyavskis. And Latin America

produced magic realism. The reason, for
example, you see a lot of straight prose come
out of countries like France and Germany
countries that like to read fairy tales and
exotic stories today is that countries with
a stable political system produce realistic
writers. Language is a reflection of politics.
Comfortable writers produce comfortable
books.
Andrei Kurkov will be interviewed by
Publishing Perspectives Editor-in-chief
Edward Nawotka today from 19:15-20:15 at
The Tent.

Trends in Childrens Publishing

Around the World
by Dennis Abrams

The publishing world is experiencing a dramatic and

exciting transformation. ut even with the various digital
shifts occurring in adult fiction, childrens print books are
still going strong in the United States
This morning, from 11:15 to 12:15, a
panel of professionals from Turkey,
Finland, Lebanon, and the US will discuss
Current Trends in Childrens Book
Publishing in Capital Suite 19, where they
will talk about the publications of childrens
titles in their respective markets and try to
identify emerging trends.
The panels host, Zeynep Sevde Paksu, Litera
Literary Agency in Turkey previewed some of
the topics she hopes to cover, which include:
Which books are most successful when it
comes to sell foreign language rights?
Which topics and imaginary worlds
are appealing for a global audience of
children?
Do apps and eBooks revive the pleasure
of reading or can they be perceived as a

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danger to the printed book?

Books for young male readers havent
been very successful: have there been any
changes in the perception of this target
group?
What kind of books do you buy from other
countries? Panelist Shereen Kreidieh, Asala
of Lebanons Asala Publishers shared her
initial thoughts:
During the panel, I will be discussing trends
in the Arab world and the effect of the market
on our publications. I will also be discussing
trends in translation, and the difficulty in
selling copyrights, whether from competition
from other languages, not having a rights
department, the cos ts involved in taking in
part in international book fairs, or the general
difficulties in selling Arab publications to a
non-Arab market.

Fellow panelist Iris Schwanck, Director, FILI

Finnish Literature Exchange, said that from
her point of view:
We are talking nowadays of apps and
reading devices together with the more
traditional printed books. Boys read less
than girls everywhere, and this is a challenge
for publishers and authors, teachers and
parents alike.
In Finland, no subjects are off limits in
childrens and young adult books. Fun
books, anarchy and idyll, love stories, sore
spots and expanding the consciousness
the whole span of human life is present in
Finnish books for children. In addition, Finish
children and youth have excellent reading
skills, and this is an asset when selling rights
to Finnish childrens books buyers want to
present to new audiences those books that
the excellent young readers of Finland do
read!
And finally, panelist John Quattrocchi from

Albert Whitman in the United States added

that, from his perspective:
The publishing world is experiencing a
dramatic and exciting transformation. But
even with the various digital shifts occurring
in adult fiction, childrens print books are still
going strong in the United States. Among
those books that are selling well, some
genres seem to sell better than others. And
what works in the United States may not
work in other countries or vice versa. But as
readers find more ways to connect globally
with other readers through social media,
the catalog of books people choose to
read expands. In my portion of the panel,
Ill be talking about what works in the U.S.
childrens book market and where theres
room for international growth.
With such a wide range of publishers
from far flung locales, it should make for a
fascinating conversation.

Professionals from Turkey, Finland,

Lebanon, and the US offer insights as to
whats hot

23rd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

24 - 29 April 2013

Rawi Hages Winding

Road to Success

by Olivia Snaije

Rawi Hage finished his

third novel, Carnival, about
the chaotic life of a taxi
driver, during a yearlong
residency in Berlin.
Published last fall by House
of Anansi, it quickly earned
reviews such as this one in
Canadas Globe and Mail:

Have Pen,
Ink and
Brushes...
Will Travel
by Olivia Snaije

After a chance encounter with the

Kitab team at the childrens book fair
in Bologna three years ago, Gemma
Cortabitarte, general manager of the The
Professional Association of Illustrators of
Catalonia (APIC) and Miguel Gallardo, an
illustrator and president of APIC arrived
at the Abu Dhabi book fair ready and
enthusiastic to present their illustrators
to Arab editors and publishers.
No one knows where Catalonia is
but they do know Barcelona, said
Miguel Gallardo, referring to the
strong independent streak the region
of Catalonia has always had. He
and Cortabitarte were painstakingly
assembling a vinyl map of the city
created by the Barcelona design
company Chispum on the wall of their
stand.
Two of APICs illustrators already work
in the region: Pep Montserrat, for The
National newspaper out of Abu Dhabi,
and Betania Zacarias, for Kalimat. But
Barcelona, which has long been known
for its art, modernist architecture and
design, has illustrators such as Jordi
Labanda, Berto Martinez, Luci Gutierrez,
Mariscal, and Ana Juan working for
numerous magazines and newspapers
across the globe
APIC is in the process of helping their

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members internationalize, not only

because the economic crisis encourages
people to look elsewhere for work, but
also because today, anyone can work
from anywhere. Indeed, Gallardo, whose
work has appeared on the cover of The
New Yorker, in The New York Times and
in German magazines Annabelle and
Burda, among others, will be giving a
talk for illustrators on how to prepare a
portfolio.
Here are some of his tips for working
internationally:
If you work via email with other
countries, try to make sure that
you understand all the cultural and
religious traditions of each country.
Take into account the different time
zones, so that you dont wake up an art
director at three in the morning.
If you are working outside of your
country you will probably need an
agent who knows how things work in
that country. You can also be your own
agent but you will have to learn about
the different legislative laws, which can
be kind of boring.
If you are researching information
about an art director or a creative
director you should also find out about
the newspapers policy or main ideas.
And finally, be obsessively curious,
proactive and passionate about your
work.
Miguel Gallardos talk, A Good
Portfolio can Save your Life will be
presented at the professional session,
Illustrators: How to Prepare your
Portfolio along with Noura al Masry,
General Manager, Cartoon Art Gallery
(Dubai) today at 14:30-16:00 in Capital
Suite 19.

What I thought of Hage and [his

second novel] Cockroach is reaffirmed
and reinforced by Carnival. The
things that make Rawi Hage a major
literary talent include freshness, gutwrenching lyricism, boldness, emotional
restraint, intellectual depth, historical
sense, political subversiveness and
uncompromising compassion.
To say that Hage began his literary
career with a bang would not be an
exaggeration his first novel, De Niros
Game, won the 2008 international
IMPAC Dublin literary award, beating
competitors such as Thomas Pynchon
and Philip Roth. Already in his mid-40s
when his first book was published, Hage
had left his native Beirut during the civil
war in 1984, lived and worked odd jobs
in New York prior to landing in Montreal
where he drove a taxi and studied fine
arts and photography. When he began to
write, it was in English, which is not his
mother tongue. Hage grew up speaking
Arabic and was educated in French but
living in New York he had gotten into the
habit of operating in English.
It wasnt an ideological or political
decision, it was just circumstances and
immigration displacement. Language
becomes a necessary tool for survival,
said Hage. But Hages case is a perfect
illustration of how English is not only
a bridge language but also one that

The LebaneseCanadian Author

lives in Montreal
and writes in
English, but says
the Middle East
will always be part
of his novels.

is used by writers today who are not

necessarily from the former British
Empire. Hages gut-wrenching lyricism
perhaps echoes the poetry in Arabic; his
complex, fashioned, sentences remind
one of French.
Although Hages books have been
translated into both French and Arabic,
he said, I dont think the Arab world
knows of my existence. Frankly, it hurts
me that Im so eclipsed in the Arab
world. And the Francophone world
doesnt care about writers who write in
English, they are attached to the French
world.
Northern American cities are the
backdrop for Hages vast cast of
characters in his two books following De
Niros Game, which is set during the civil
war in Beirut. Nevertheless, Hage says
there will most likely be an aspect of the
Middle East in all his novels, one of the
reasons being that it was the birthplace
of three major religions. I have a
dialogue with religions, he says, its a
history I know well.
And though he remains something
of a stranger in a strange land, Hage
says that Montreal suits him. It is city
in which everyone feels or seems like
a minority. It reminds me of Beirut,
everything is contested and negotiated.
In a bizarre way I feel very much at
ease and happy in this contingent
atmosphere.
Rawi Hage will be in conversation with
Nezar Andary today from 17:4518:45
at The Tent.

Glass Half Full? Global eBook

Development in 2013
by Michael Bhaskar

Observing the great

distance between
expectations and reality
on this topicwhen
these expectations are
mostly personal ones and
not based on sources
in the classical sense of
the wordseems to be
a difficult undertaking,
necessarily prolonged by
error here and there. This
is especially true when
literature is construed as a
cultural practice and as an
expression of a particular
position on knowledge
and the world, and it
requires dealing with all the
different artistic trends in
literature that have been
dominant or are dominant
now, as well as literatures
diverse contents.

One of the enduring mysteries of ebook

development and sales is why some
countries seem to adopt the technology
faster than others. This isnt really a matter
of economic or technological development.
Take for instance Italy and the UK. Both have
similar economic profiles and are similar
technologically if anything the Italians, with
the highest mobile phone penetration rate
in the world and ubiquitous smartphones
and gadgetry are ahead. But proportionally
Britain, with the same population, reads
many many more ebooks than Italy.
You might then argue that this is because
Britons just read more, full stop. But
Germans, who read more books per head
than the British, also read far fewer ebooks,
although more than the Italians? Why should
this be so? Why do Australians read more
ebooks than Singaporeans, why is there
more excitement about ebooks in Brazil
compared to China?
There are a few factors at work. Firstly is
the driving force of Amazon. Countries with
a strong and well established Amazon
presence have been first in the firing

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difference with the UK could hardly be more

stark law makers and the public have no
interest in debating let alone supporting
the world of books. Since the symbolic
importance of the print book is less, the way
paved for ebooks greater.
None of these are hard and fast rules and no
one can pretend to fully understand all the
processes at work.
So, what will drive global ebook
development in the next few years? All of
the above obviously, and Amazon and its
strategic growth plan especially. What else?
Reading on mobile phones in India and
Africa is showing intriguing signs of taking
off. Samsung have become an almost
unequalled force in the world of technology
and it will be interesting to see if they can
leverage their mighty global reach in the
ebook space. Kobo are still in the mix and
Google Play is becoming a more vibrant,
exciting and commercially appealing
platform by the day. Sony and the Barnes
and Noble Nook will still be skirmishing for
market share. The competition between
all of these players, all of them with large
marketing budgets, will drive ebooks.
Ebooks are becoming accepted readers:
they are no longer exotic, but ordinary
consumer purchases like iPods. People now
understand ereading can complement and
work with print reading.

Around the world ebooks are no longer

exotic and big companies are key to
pushing the market forward
line for ebooks, as Amazon has invested
hugely in promoting and supporting their
Kindle system. The impact of having this
expensive, focused campaign cannot be
underestimated.
Secondly, countries with fixed price book
laws like many countries in Continental
Europe find it harder to launch ebooks.
The reason is simple: fixed price laws mean
ebooks are always the same price as print
books, meaning for a digital product are
extremely expensive. Consumers cannot
begin to understand why they should pay
the same price for an immaterial product

as a physical one and we can all understand

that. Open pricing markets like the US
and the UK make down pricing ebooks an
inherent part of the game and therefore a
more appealing customer proposition.
Lastly I think attitude has something to do
with it. Some nations revere the print book
more than others. In France for example
parliament regularly debates and, more
to the point, actively supports publishers,
writers, independent bookshops and reading
culture generally. Writers and intellectuals
have great public status and clout. The

In many territories pricing strategy is

becoming more nuanced and intelligent.
Publishers have a better sense of what
works, what margins are possible and what
drives demand. In general this means lower
ebook pricing which makes the transition to
ereading less of a compromise.
My argument about ebook development has
always been people either expect things to
happen too fast or too slowly; we were told
ebooks would be the biggest thing in the
world overnight or would never gain traction.
Neither was correct. Ebooks have seen solid
growth, now slowing in mature markets as
one would expect. Given the presence of all
the above factors, Id say the glass is half full
for ebooks around the world.
Michael Bhaskar is Digital Publishing
Director at Profile Books and Serpents
Tail. He can be found on Twitter as
@ajaxlogos. Hell be speaking today
in the eZone on the topic of The
Development of Digital Markets
Globally from 16:40-17:45.

23rd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

24 - 29 April 2013

As far as books are

concerned, things have
changed in the Arab world
and it is time we realize it,
affirmed Lebanese publisher
Bassem Chebaro, owner of
Arab Scientific Publishers,
the renown Lebanese
publishing house that
published The Bamboo Stalk,
winner of years International
Prize for Arabic Fiction
(IPAF).

Meet Lebanons Arab Scientific

Publishers, Publisher of the
2013 IPAF Winner
by Chiara Comito

Written by the 31-year-old Kuwaiti novelist

Saoud Al Sanousi, the book tackles the
hot issue of the difficult living conditions
of the Philippine workers in the Arab
countries, an issue that grows with urgency
year after year. He explains: The way to
promote books has developed. If we want
to promote a book, now we need to post
on Twitter and on the other social networks
talk about it. The readers have also
developed a new taste in literature. Now
they want to read novels about sentimental
relationships and current problems.
Chebaro is proud that Al Sanousi won the
award, stating that he knew the book was
going to win because it gets to the core of
what it is an real and widespread issue,

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both in Lebanon and in the Gulf Region, as

many people in the Arab countries avail
themselves of the help of Philippine maids
in their houses, said the publisher.
The book, he says had something special
about it that convinced him to publish
it a peculiar sensation or smell that
the Lebanese publisher looks for when he
selects new books to publish during the
year. It is very hard to choose between the
300 titles coming in for submission each
year. We receive a lot of pressure by the
writers who want their books published.
Usually we read the first 30-40 pages of
each book we get, and choose the ones
where we are able to feel that sensation. If
we experience that, we know that the book

When you
publish books
written by young
authors, winning
becomes much
more pleasant.

has the strength to be published and that it

will be successful. The Bamboo Stalk had
that smell.
Chebaro is also the publisher of the
27-year-old Jana El Hassans book I,
She and the Others, one of the six titles

shortlisted this year: When you publish

books written by young authors, winning
becomes much more pleasant, said
proudly.
Chebaro also said that additional copies
of The Bamboo Stalk will be published
over the next days, as more and new
orders have already arrived, and the
cover will boast of having won the IPAF
Award. Chebaro, who after the ceremony
was approached by a group of foreign
publishers wanting to get information on
the books rights, said that unfortunately,
as of late Wednesday, no English publisher
has yet approached him, though the book
is just the sort of book an English publisher
might do well by publishing.

23rd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

24 - 29 April 2013

Illusrtration of the Day: Heba Farahat

www.adbookfair.com

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