Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF)

The 43nd edition of SIBF promises to be the fair’s biggest edition ever, claiming to show more than 1.5 million titles by 2,500 publishing houses from 112 different countries. There will also be a packed 12-day agenda of more than 1,350 activities – among them 47 live cookery demonstrations and no fewer than 600 workshops in creative writing for all age groups conducted in Arabic and English.

And there’s the return of the third edition of the Thriller Festival show-within-the-show (7-10 November) organised in partnership with Thriller Festival NY and featuring authors such as Ahmed Mourad, Amir Atef, Yehia Safwat, Saad Abed Al Badr, Mohammed Al Nasser, John J Nance, Isabella Maldonado, KJ Howe and Tess Gerritsen. There will be panel sessions, workshops (including a three-dayer led by Ahmed Mourad on writing thrillers) and of course book signings. This segment is building into a successful event in its own right and surely deserves its own identity away from SIBF …

SIBF runs 6 to 17 November, open daily 10am to 10pm (Fridays 4pm to 11pm).