Special Features
Kalimat promotes Emirati children’s books at Frankfurt Book Fair 2012
Kalimat, the Sharjah based award winning publishers of Arabic children’s books - will be participating in the Frankfurt Book Fair 2012, the largest book exhibition in the world, which is taking place from the 10th until the 14th of October in Germany. Tamer Said, Business development manager for Kalimat commented, "After its groundbreaking achievement in children’s literature across the Middle East, and particularly in the UAE, Kalimat is planning to expand its services, and we are looking to sell the publishing rights of a number of our titles to publishers internationally."The drive towards establishing knowledge-based economies that is currently being witnessed in a number of countries is paving the way for increased mutually beneficial literary collaborations and as such our participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair affords us an excellent opportunity to make contact with a large number of the publishing stakeholders from different regions.
Kalimat will also be making use of the opportunity of introducing its most recent titles to the international market and promote Emarati children’s books, which include Ouhibou Alami ’I Love My World’ by Kifah Bu Ali, Kayfa Sirtou Koubaat Souf,’How I Became A Wool Hat’ by Salma Koraytem, Rihlat Dana ’Dana’s Trip’ by Salha Ghabish, Saati Al Zahriya ’My Pink Watch’ by Fatima Sharafeddine, Hina Yashtahi Al Jamalou Al Lougaymat ’When the Camel Craves Dumplings’ by Maitha Al Khayyat.
With over a hundred publications to their credit since its inception five years ago, Kalimat focuses on producing books that the children of the UAE and the region can relate to, with vibrant illustrations and stories that talk about the value of family, relationships, simplicity, and happiness
Tamer went on to comment that "They were especially pleased to be part of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair as the spotlight will be on children’s and young adult media. As well as known children’s author Astrid Lindgren said, "What the world of tomorrow will be like is greatly dependent on the power of imagination in those who are learning to read today."
The 2012 edition of the Fair will gather experts in children’s and young adult books from all across the globe in one spot, and is planned to be the world’s biggest launch pad for new children’s and young adult content.
The Frankfurt Book Fair awaits more than 7,000 exhibitors this year from all across the globe, with diverse new customer groups in attendance and more than 3,200 events. Among its various activities, the Frankfurt Academy - an organisation dedicated to addressing every aspect of creating and exploiting content - is hosting four conferences to help international publishers find their way in the digital world, as well as the two-day event, StoryDrive, to highlight the potential for cross medial cooperation.
Kalimat - meaning words - is a publishing house dedicated solely to publishing and distributing high-quality Arabic books for children up to 16 years. With a portfolio of internationally acclaimed authors and illustrators, Kalimat’s extensive range of books highlights traditional Arabic culture alongside the modern challenges faced by today’s children, with the aims of engendering a life-long love of reading and Arabic literature among Arab children. It was established in 2007 and has already managed to produce over a hundred titles many of which have won international book awards.