Peru debuts at Sharjah Book Fair as Oman takes guest spotlight

The latest:

Peru has joined the Sharjah International Book Fair for the first time, setting up an embassy booth of Arabic translations, cookbooks and children’s titles beside a reproduction of a Nasca ceramic vessel. The fair’s 45th edition opened at Expo Centre Sharjah and runs until November 15, with Oman as guest of honour and publishers from across the world filling the halls.

Details:

• The Peru debut: Alberto Farje, Peru’s ambassador to the UAE, said the booth brought books from three publishers and that talks are under way about expanding Peruvian participation next edition. The display includes Arabic translations of Mario Vargas Llosa, cookbooks and children’s books on the country’s heritage.
• The Nasca piece: Alongside the books sits a reproduction of a ceramic vessel depicting a mythological killer whale. The original was made to hold water by the Nasca culture, which flourished between 100BC and AD800 on Peru’s southern coast.
• Oman as guest: The Omani pavilion centres on intangible cultural heritage recognised by Unesco, including the khanjar dagger, horse and camel ardhah performances and the Al Azi poetic art. Figures dressed in traditional clothing from different parts of the sultanate are also on display.
• The oldest manuscript: Oman’s displays include a medical compendium by the physician Rashid bin Umayra Al Rustaqi and Majmoa Alsyar wa Aljawabat, a collection of biographies and answers dated to 1137 and considered the oldest surviving Omani manuscript.
• University collection: Abdulrahman Al Kindi, an attendant at the United Arab Emirates University stall, said the institution takes part every year and brought 12 manuscripts, spanning medicine, law and religion, from a collection of 600. They include 18th-century medical works, 16th-century archaeological notes and gold-leafed copies of the Quran.
• New stands: New at the university booth this year are dedicated stands for the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine and the College of Medicine and Health Sciences.
• Prize to be decided: The UAE Board on Books for Young People is presenting the shortlist for the International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature, which spans several categories and age groups including early readers and non-fiction. Winners are to be announced during the fair.
• The blind date: Sharjah-based Little Puffin Publishing House is selling books wrapped in brown paper under an initiative called Blind Date with a Book. Attendant Kyla Salvieio said buyers choose only language and whether the title is fiction or non-fiction: “It’s a mystery, you don’t know what title you’re going to get.”
• A collector’s view: Ruby Ali, a book collector who recently moved to Sharjah and says she owns more than $200,000 worth of books, praised the breadth of the collection and the prominence given to universities, calling it a way of connecting with future students.
• The wider floor: Publisher stalls carry new titles from around the world, including translations of Voltaire and Clarice Lispector alongside children’s books. Talks, panel discussions and workshops run in dedicated spaces across the halls.

Background:

The fair was established in 1982 and has grown into a fixture of Sharjah’s cultural calendar, held annually at Expo Centre Sharjah with publishers, universities and national pavilions occupying its halls.

Between the lines:

Peru’s first appearance, arriving with three publishers and talk of a larger booth next year, points to the fair functioning as an entry route into the Arabic translation market rather than a one-off cultural showcase. The university stands make the same case commercially: manuscripts and specialised titles double as student recruitment, as one visiting collector noted.

What’s next

Winners of the International Award for Arabic Children’s Literature are due to be announced before the fair closes on November 15.