The fair will run for 10 days until November 17.

Dr Shaikh Sultan said: “Despite the participation of hundreds of publishers and hundreds of thousands of valuable books in our fair this year, we should not ignore some of the challenges faced by books and written material in general in these times.”

Speaking of the new multi-media landscape which digital publishing and social media have brought, the he said: “We believe that each has his own role and scope, and all of us as authors, publishers and intellectuals have to think of the best ways to maintain the balance of these roles and implement them quickly.

“We believe that publishing houses in the UAE and our region should keep up with this new revolution and innovate attractive ways to display ‘paper’ books and ‘digital’ books to encourage readers to buy them and read them in whichever way they prefer.”

The ceremony opened with the UAE National Anthem, followed by the recitation of verses from the Holy Quran and a short documentary film about the history of the Sharjah International Book Fair and the role played by Shaikh Sultan in the success of the fair, which has now become an internationally recognised event.

“Welcome to the capital of Islamic culture,” said Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Information in Sharjah. “We are still sowing seeds and we are delighted with the harvest that is coming now.”

Dr Shaikh Sultan honoured media man and poet Habib Yusuf Abdullah Al Sayegh, Chairman of Emirates Writers Union, with the Cultural Personality of the Year award. This was in recognition of his great efforts in spreading and developing the UAE culture and representing it on various forums, as well as his outstanding contribution to different cultural aspects at local, regional and international levels.

Dubai-based Explorer Publishing and Distribution received the Best Local Publishing House Award, while the Egypt-based Dar Al Fikr Al Arabi Publishing and Distribution was given the Best Arab Publisher award and the American Centre for Press and Cultural Affairs – US Consulate in Dubai – received the award for Best International Publisher category.

In the category of Best Emirati Author,  Dr Hamad bin Sarai won for his book Camels in the Land of the Ancient Near East and the Arabian Peninsula and Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim for his book Sugar Time.

The Best UAE Academic Book was won by Dr Salih Huwaidi Nasser for his study on Emirati short stories. No award was granted in the category Best UAE Book in  Production and Translation as no entrant met the criteria. In the category Best UAE Printed Book about the UAE, the award went to the Environmental Atlas of Abu Dhabi by Motivate Publishing.

The award for Best Arabic Novel went to Hala Kawtharani’s Ali al-Amercani (American Ali), while the Best Foreign Novel went to author Patrick Ness for A Monster Call.

The book, ‘Winning is Everything: A 10-step guide for Sure-shot Success written by Deepak Behl won the Best Foreign Book on Economics Award, while the Best Foreign Children’s Book Award went to Babar Maqbool for his book Stories of the Prophets.

The Ruler received commemorative plaques from the Sharjah International Book Fair and Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat) in recognition of his pioneering role in serving books, authors and writers and in honour of his sponsorship of this prestigious cultural event.

He also received the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Award for Outstanding Project in Libraries and Information Centers from Hassan Awad Al Surahy, President of the Federation.

The award acknowledges Shaikh Sultan’s efforts in establishing a number of public libraries in the UAE and abroad, and his outstanding contribution to providing local, Arab and Islamic research centres with original and rare books. Also, his continued directives of organising courses, programmes, workshops and activities related to research and training, putting the library at the core of cultural research have been lauded.

Dr Shaikh Sultan launched the Arabic edition of his book, The Myth of Arab Piracy in the Gulf, followed by a documentary film about the content of the book, including old photographs, some historical documents and letters. The book was published in English in 1989, and has also been published in Farsi.

afkarali@khaleejtimes.com