The 35th edition of the book fair is its most festival-looking yet, with more than 1,400 events in total and six stages for sessions alongside 1,350 exhibitors from 95 countries. The programme also brings together winners of this year\u2019s major Arabic literary prizes, musicians, artists and cultural figures, with notable sessions on Egyptian singer Nagat Al Saghira, Egyptian painter Inji Efflatoun, downtown Cairo\u2019s famed Caf\u00e9 Riche, the Egyptian actor and singer Abdel Halim Hafez, and the UAE\u2019s use of space diplomacy.<\/p>\n
Don Quixote has been designated Book of the World (a newly intriduced accolade this year), the 8th-century scholar Al Khalil ibn Ahmad Al Farahidi is the fair\u2019s Focus Personality, and the culture of the Balkan region is being celebrated as Guest of Honour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"