World’s biggest book sale sets up office in Sharjah

Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is not just about selling books, but a reading advocacy organisation.

The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) on Wednesday announced its partnership with the organiser of the world's biggest book sale, the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.
On the sidelines of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), the SBA and Big Bad Wolf Ventures Sdn. Bhd. (BBW) signed an agreement to expand the access of affordable books to all members of society in the Middle East and Africa regions. The two entities will facilitate their joint efforts with the establishment of a regional branch at the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone - Big Bad Wolf Sharjah, which will be in charge of the book sale and other regional operations.
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, chairman, SBA, said: "This partnership is our new step towards making good books more accessible to readers locally and regionally, and increasing sales of Arab and African publishers. Through this new venture, we will also be jointly boosting the circulation and movement of one billion books produced by nations in the MEA region in the next five years. By doing so, our aim is to widely introduce the literary products of individual nations in the said region to others to promote cultural exchange and appreciation."
"The SBA is delighted to partner with BBW - a company that has been spreading the love of reading in countries worldwide through the book sale. Through this partnership, we look forward to increasing the readers' access to high quality and latest content in Middle East and Africa", the SBA chairman added.
"We started organising the book sale in 2009 as we realised if we want to make changes, we need to create an impact to attract people's attention. We had a simple mission which we follow till now, to increase reading habits and to spread the joy of reading by giving access to large quantity of affordable books. We started organising the sale internationally in 2016 as we were working towards our mission to be a success and we are delighted with how well it was received by people from different parts of the world. Today, we are excited to be partnering with the Sharjah Book Authority as we walk hand-in-hand to further enhance our presence in the Middle Eastern and African countries," said Andrew Yap, co-founder of Big Bad Wolf Book Sale.
Jacqueline Ng, co-founder of Big Bad Wolf Book Sale who was also present at the signing ceremony, said: "We have always wanted to change the world, one book at a time and build a new generation of readers. We are constantly on the lookout for organisations or partnerships that support our mission to enhance our presence in a different region. Big Bad Wolf Book Sale is not just about selling books, but a reading advocacy organisation. Purchasing a book should not be luxury item or a privilege but a right regardless of their status. Through the partnership with the SBA, we hope with the network built, we will be able to bring the changes to more people from this region in a shorter span of time by creating the platform to inspire people by empowering them with knowledge to chase their dreams."
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah