Abu Dhabi International Book Fair opens on Saturday at ADNEC

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, ADIBF is an initiative of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage in association with the Frankfurt Book Fair and is a leading marketplace for the book distribution and publishing industries.

The prestigious Sheikh Zayed Literary Award will also be presented during the fair, with more than AED 5.87 million rewarded to the writers, intellectuals, publishers and young talents whose works enrich the cultural, literary and social life of the Arab world.

Commenting on the Fair, Simon Horgan, CEO, ADNEC said,

"The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is one of the first major public events to be held at the new exhibition centre; it will be a great show, where culture meets commerce. Shows such as this, and announcements of major museum and art gallery projects, enable Abu Dhabi to build on its growing reputation the region's premier cultural destination."

The eight day event is free to the public and will feature a large book fair in addition to a professional program that includes international speakers, authors, seminars and events of interest to publishers, agents, distributors, librarians, writers and translators, editors and booksellers. There will also be a special focus on children's, educational, academic, scientific and medical publications, in addition to audio books and narrative fiction.

The Fair will additionally highlight the region's growing interest in translations by promoting the translation of classic and modern Arabic literature into English, as well as translation of English texts into Arabic.

Since the opening of Phase One of the recently completed Exhibition Centre in February, ADNEC has hosted many of the region's most important events. The multi-purpose venue boasts 28,000 square metres of exhibition floor space over seven interconnected halls, two luxurious conference rooms, 16 meeting rooms and a 2,000sqm food court. When fully complete in 2008, ADNEC will contain 55,000sqm of exhibition floor space making it one of the largest exhibition venues in the Middle East.