The cultural person of the year was a literary critic from Morocco, the new translation of “Thousand and One Nights” was awarded the prize

In previous years, the title “Cultural Person of the Year” was given to Kuwaiti writer Taleb Alrefai, who began writing under the influence of the novel “Mother” by Maxim Gorky, as well as a graduate of the Gorky Literary Institute, writer and journalist Ibrahim Al-Kuni, who lives in Switzerland. He was born in the Libyan desert and writes novels about the nomadic Saharan people, the Tuaregs. Al-Quni would ideally fit his novels under the current motto of the fair, as they are woven from desert stories.

Every year a new slogan is invented in Sharjah. The current one reads: “Created from stories.” The essence of it is that the stories we read and hear, with the help of which we learn reality and create our own worlds, greatly affect us. They form consciousness, language and memory. We pass them on to the next generations. The giant posters feature young people in cloth-style shirts. They have mini-book pages on their heads instead of hair.

This year, the cultural person of the year was Said Yaktin, a native of Casablanca, doctor of philology, winner of several literary awards, including the named Sheikh Zayed for his contribution to literary criticism. He has written more than 20 books on the peculiarities of the Arabic narrative, exploring the influence of digital media on the structure of text and the role of the computer in modern literature, which is seen not only as an incredible technical achievement, but as a reformer of our consciousness. The reader for Said Yaktin is not a passive being, but an active co-author.

The Moroccan researcher is devoid of scientific arrogance, open to a wide audience. At the meeting with the audience, Said Yaktin discussed what our own stories mean to us, which we tell our loved ones when we come home after work. We explain everything that happened to us during the day.

The Barcelona Publishing House, which translated The Thousand and One Nights into Catalan, has been awarded the Turjuman Award. It is established by the Sharjah Office of Book Publishing and is awarded for the best translation of a significant Arabic work into a foreign language.

The award was accepted by the publisher Valeria Pajes, who said that their book house translates into Catalan and Spanish Arabic and Russian literature, works of Central Asia. Valeria believes in maintaining a reasonable balance between paper and electronic books, in the fact that the book as an object remains the greatest humanitarian invention and will not go into oblivion in the digital age.

In September, Moscow signed an agreement between Russia and the UAE on the development of cooperation in the field of book publishing and translation of Arabic books into Russian and vice versa. So far, the presence of our country at the fair is not observed.

More than a hundred writers from different countries were invited to Sharjah. The top included two American authors – Daisy Rockwell, writer, artist, translator from Urdu and Hindi into English, and Nnedy Okorafor of Nigerian origin, who successfully composes fantasy. Among her fans were many young women and very young girls. Notable guests include British novelist Claire McIntosh, South African actress, children's writer, TV presenter and producer Salamina Mosese.

Readers met the popular Egyptian actor and writer Khaled El-Sawi. During the master class, he taught the audience the basics of oratory and improvisation, explained that a modern person is not enough to have a beautiful appearance for success. It's important to have character.

Among the guests of the fair are the famous Lebanese actor Rafik Ali Ahmad, who has repeatedly presented his work at major world festivals, including Cannes, as well as the artist, writer and poet Dr. Alia Muhammel Shiaib from Kuwait. She defended her thesis in the UK on the unusual theme of female body identity in the Koran.

This year, the representation of Peru and Ghana (they are located next to each other), the presence of several stands of Sudanese publishing houses was notable. The largest pavilion is still occupied by India, where hundreds of representatives of this country living in the UAE gather daily. Books are a great way to meet your countrymen.