More than two million visitors are expected to attend the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which is running May 22-28 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition in the U.A.E. and organized by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi. This is the 32nd edition of the annual fair, and it will feature some 1,300 exhibitors from nearly 90 countries.
The motto for the 2023 fair is "stories that never end," and the theme is sustainability, which coincides with the UAE’s Year of Sustainability, marking the country’s hosting of the annual COP28 conference on climate change in November. Turkey will be this year’s guest of honor at the fair, and several Turkish authors will participate, including Beşir Ayvazoğlu and Mehmet Hakkı Suçin.
This year, the fair has organized more than 2,000 events for the week, including the second edition of the International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries on May 21 and 22, and will focus on a full range of activities, from comic books to AI. The general professional program of the fair will offer 40 activities.
The Fair’s “focus personality” this year is the 14th-century Arab philosopher Ibn Khaldun. Tunisian historian and archaeologist Dr. Ibrahim Shabouh, philosopher Ahmed Barqawi, and British writer Anthony Sattin will discuss Khaldun's work and legacy.
The fair will also coincide with the presentations of the 2023 Sheikh Zayed Book Awards and the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, with winners participating in the fair. Other authors and personalities attending include Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist; Spanish philosopher and author Carissa Véliz; and Ali Tabrizi, director of the documentary Seaspiracy, one of Netflix’s ten most popular films in 2021.
