440 publishers from 25 countries confirm presence Saleh Shabraq Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) has announced that 440 publishing houses from 25 countries will participate in the upcoming Jeddah International Book Fair. The ministry's official spokesman, Saud Al-Katib, said the fair prioritizes local works and publishing houses over international ones. The book fair is scheduled to take place from Dec. 12 to Dec. 22 at the Events Land in South Obhur. "We will give the local thinkers and writers a place in the book fair. The ministry is proud of its Saudi writers and considers them the main bedding of the fair. The organizing committees is currently working on putting a program filled with literary activities," said Al-Katib. He added the fair targets all layers of society and all ages. "We have a corner for children, a corner for teenagers, a corner for young adults and a corner for adults. Governor of Jeddah Prince Mishaal Bin Majed is following up with the process of organizing the fair. he fair's vision is to be a platform for creativity and innovation and to be a platform for young writers to join in," said Al-Katib. A number of lectures, cultural seminars, story-telling and poetry sessions will also be organized during the 10-day event, he added. Al-Katib said the fair venue will be quite spacious with an area of 20,000 square meters. "Despite the number of participating writers and publishing houses, the venue has a lounge area for families and men. There will also be electronic devices to help you search for the book you want without going through the trouble of roaming the fair to find it," said Al-Katib. He also said the construction of the arena will begin soon. "The design of the arena has already been approved and we will allocate the participants booths soon. Egyptian publishers will occupy a large area with a total of 109 booths, Saudi Arabia will have 103 booths and Lebanon 71 booths," said Al-Katib. Jordan has 56 booths, the UAE 32 booths, Kuwait 23 booths and Syria eight booths, he said. "Tunisia, Algeria and Yemen have four booths each. Britain has three booths. Palestine, Turkey, India, Iraq, Bahrain, Sudan and Canada have two booths each. Italy, USA, Cyprus and Sweden have one booth each," said Al-Katib. He said the people can visit the website: www.jeddahbookfair.com and follow the event on Twitter @bookjeddah.
