Global Booksellers Unite at Landmark Sharjah Conference 2025

The Sharjah International Booksellers Conference broke all previous records with global participation soaring to new heights. The fourth annual event drew more than 757 publishing professionals, booksellers, and literary experts from 92 countries on April 7-8, 2025. This remarkable growth shows a jump from last year’s 550 attendees from 76 countries.

Sharjah Book Authority hosted the conference under His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi’s patronage, which strengthened Sharjah’s role as a cultural hub in the Middle East. Attendees benefited from keynote presentations, hands-on workshops, and specialized roundtable discussions that tackled current challenges and opportunities in the global bookselling industry.

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s opening address noted how booksellers worldwide are “finding new ways to strengthen their position—carving out niche markets, curating thoughtful offerings, and successfully blending physical and digital strategies to meet readers where they are.” She stressed that today’s bookselling needs more than passion—it needs “strategic thinking, financial literacy, digital fluency, customer insight, and community leadership.”

Publishers and distributors connected with attendees at 60 exhibition booths, which helped build business relationships worldwide. Conference moderator Jeremy Cammy captured the essence perfectly when he said “bookselling is not merely an industry; it is the soul of storytelling.”

Participants explored innovative strategies, eco-friendly practices, and ways to use artificial intelligence in bookselling operations. These talks showed the event’s focus on addressing the “fast-changing and often unpredictable landscape” of modern book retail.

Record attendance this year proves Sharjah’s growing role as a vital hub for global publishing. The city now offers an essential platform where professionals can exchange ideas and develop their skills in the literary world.

Global Publishers Forge New Distribution Partnerships at Sharjah

The Sharjah Publishers Conference hosted 2,993 matchmaking sessions about publishing and translation rights. Publishers from 108 countries connected at this global hub, which welcomed the Central African Republic for the first time.

His Highness Sheik Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi announced a new distribution company under the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA). This company will reduce local publishers’ operating costs and help them reach regional and international markets.

Rashid Al Kous, EPA’s Executive Director, explained, “The directive to form a distribution company will help restructure the existing distribution process and alleviate publishers’ financial burden”. “Many distributors’ high fees hurt sales.”

Lightning Source and the Sharjah Book Authority launched a major print-on-demand facility in Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone. This facility, one of the Middle East’s first large-scale print-on-demand operations, will improve content access by a lot throughout the region.

The Sharjah Book Authority held 37 high-level meetings with leading international publishers at the Frankfurt International Book Fair. These meetings focused on:

• Growing distribution networks in the MENA region
• Supporting translation rights exchanges between cultures
• Helping publishers adopt eco-friendly practices

The MENA book market’s value stands at AED 3.67 billion and could triple by 2030. These mutually beneficial alliances make Sharjah the region’s leading publishing hub. The emirate’s location offers excellent access to key waterways and resilient transportation infrastructure.

Ahmed Al-Kilani, UAE-based House 101 Publishing’s director, shared the effect: “In today’s world, where cultural barriers are blurring, the event has been instrumental in helping us establish meaningful partnerships”. Through these connections, his company secured deals to translate UAE works into seven languages.

Bodour Al Qasimi Announces New Publishing Initiatives

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi showed a new AED 10 million Sharjah Publishing Sustainability Fund (Onshor) that serves as the life-blood initiative during the conference. The fund takes a detailed approach to strengthen the publishing ecosystem through three well-designed tracks: Launch, Scale, and Disrupt.

“It is inspiring to see the first cohort of publishers start their journey with the Onshor fund,” stated Sheikha Bodour. “This program will realize the potential of new opportunities and voices in the publishing world that lines up with Sharjah’s mission to promote a thriving, eco-friendly ecosystem for creative talents”.

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry sponsors the Launch track that gives aspiring publishers essential resources and industry knowledge. The Scale track helps publishers who are ready to expand their operations through tailored business acceleration programs. The Disrupt track supports creative ventures that bring new models into the publishing ecosystem by promoting breakthroughs in publishing technology.

Sheikha Bodour witnessed a strategic collaboration between the Sharjah Book Authority and Arabookverse UK. This partnership will enhance the digital world through yearly production of audiobooks and e-books. A modern studio dedicated to high-quality Arabic audio content will also be established.

Ahmed Al Ameri, CEO of SBA, stated: “We are proud to support the next generation of publishers through Onshor. The SBA is committed to creating a winning environment for emerging talents”.

Visa (MENA Region)’s “She’s Next in Publishing” initiative, created with PublisHer – Sheikha Bodour’s global network, received special recognition at the conference. The winner received AED 183,597.02 and a Sharjah Publishing City license. All five finalists got access to a three-month mentorship program.

Sheikha Bodour’s opening address captured her vision: “As publishers, we must remind ourselves that we are not simply in the game of producing books for profit… We are also in the business of producing knowledge that keeps our societies together”.

The 2025 Sharjah Booksellers Conference proves the emirate’s rising influence in global publishing. A record-breaking 757 professionals from 92 countries showcased the event’s most important effect on international literary commerce. The conference achieved a soaring win with 2,993 matchmaking sessions that connected publishers worldwide.

Sharjah leads the publishing industry with its AED 10 million Publishing Sustainability Fund and trailblazing solutions like the print-on-demand facility at Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone. These developments and new distribution partnerships will strengthen the MENA region’s publishing ecosystem.

Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and the Sharjah Book Authority’s clear vision shapes global publishing’s future. Sharjah has become a vital hub where traditional bookselling meets innovative digital solutions. This sets new standards for international literary exchange and professional development in the publishing world.