Sharjah Book Fair fees are too high, say exhibitors

SHARJAH - The decision taken by the organisers of Sharjah Book Fair to charge exhibitors Dh600 for every publishing house's books they distribute has drawn flak, with the former terming the fee as unfair.

by

Afkar Ali Ahmed

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Published: Thu 8 Dec 2005, 9:47 AM

Last updated: Mon 6 Feb 2023, 9:57 AM

"In Al Ain and Abu Dhabi book fairs, we didn't have to pay anything to display books of various publishing houses. This decision will not only limit the variety of books available at the fair, but will also affect our profits," A.M., an exhibitor said, pointing out that the rent for the stall alone was Dh18,000.

Defending the decision, Dr Yousif Aydabi, Director of Culture and Information Department, said the fee was being charged only to attract the publishers themselves to participate in the fair rather than through their distributors.


A University bookshop said they had to pay separate fees for different branches of the same publishing house, which authorised it to distribute books.

Speaking to City Times, Dr. Yousif Aydabi, Director of Culture and Information Department said that the department charged the fees with a view to attracting publishers to participate in the fair themselves rather than authorising distributors.


"Here we look for those who value the books and not treat them as products. That is why we wanted to eliminate distributors from the scene and encourage publishers to participate directly," he elaborated.


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