The 37th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF 2018) will see an elite group of authors and intellectuals from the entirety of the Arab world participating in a variety of cultural events during the 11-day fair from Oct 31 - Nov 10, organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) at Expo Centre Sharjah.

The illustrious guest list for the year includes HE Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE Minister of State; HE Rashid Abdullah Al-Nuaimi; HE Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi, UAE Minister of Infrastructure Development; HE Omar Ghobash, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to France; Algerian novelist Ahlam Mosteghanemi, winner of the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for Memory in the Flesh; and Palestinian-Jordanian novelist Ibrahim Nasrallah who won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (Arabic Booker).

Joining these authors will be Egyptian novelist and journalist Ibrahim Issa, who has over 35 books on art, politics, thought, biographies, short stories and novels to his credit; Egyptian writer and photographer Ahmed Murad, whose The Blue Elephant was short listed for IPAF in 2014; and Kuwaiti writer Dr Talib Al Refai, winner of Kuwaiti State Prize for Literature for Scent of the Sea.

Representing home turf in this edition are Emirati novelist and researcher Sultan Al Amimi; actor, director and academic Dr Habib Ghuloom; poet and journalist Sheikha Al Mutairi; lecturer and heritage coach, Badria Obaid Al Hosani; poet and novelist Salha Obaid Gabesh; poet and journalist Mohamed Al Braiki; wirter and researcher Dr Majed Abdullah Bushleibi; writer Eman Al Youssef; poet and writer Adel Khuzam; poet Khulod Al Mualla; poet Talal Salem; poet, writer and heritage researcher Ahmed Mohamed Obaid; poet and writer Bushra Abdullah; poet Hassan Al Najjar; poet Hamda Khamees; poet and researcher Abdullah Al Hadia; poet Mohammed Al Emadi and poet Huda Al Saadi.

From Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Mohammed Al Musallam, author of Fear, Orchards of Arabistan, The Epic of the Seven Seas, and Sakhab Al Khaseef (The Glowing Violet); and Mariam Al Ghamdi, the first Saudi Arabian woman to have established an art and media production house and the first Arabian woman to have produced a feature film on environmental protection; poet Jassem Al Saheeh, winner of the Souk Okaz International Prize for Eloquent Arabic poetry, will make an appearance.

Also from Saudi Arabia are academic and journalist Dr Fahad bin Abdullah Al Tayash; associate professor at King Saud University and editor in chief of Risalat Al Jameah newspaper; journalist Dr Mohamed Al Ghandour, one the most famous Arabic life coaches on YouTube; and critic and academic Dr Maysaa Zuhdi Al Khawaja, assistant professor, Arabic Language Department, faculty of Arts, King Saud University.

From Kuwait, Abdulwahab Al Sayed Al Refai, the most loved police fiction and sci-fi novelist in the Gulf; poet and playwright Fawziyah Showaish Al Salem; novelist Zuhair Kareem and media researcher Buthainah Al Naseri, both from Iraq, will be visiting the book fair.

A host of Egyptian intellectuals and writers, including author Midhat Al Adel; Dr Ahmed Amarah, psychology and bioenergy consultant; novelist and Spanish-to-Arabic translator Ahmed Abdullateef; novelist and researcher Rasha Adli Mohammed; novelist and drama-play write Saeed Salem; poet and author Mawra Mamoun and academic translator Sulaiman Al Attar will also participate.

From Sudan, SIBF will host academic sociologist Dr Haidar Ibrahim, Director, Arabic and Sudanese Research Centre and Editor-in-Chief, Kitabat Sudanya (Sudanese Writings) magazine; journalist and renowned poet, Rawda Al Haj, who was selected as the ‘Best Arabic Poetess’ by Poetry News Agency (PNA) in 2008, and has also won the Okaz Poet Award.

Representing Lebanon are writer and novelist, Alawiyah Sobh; and novelist and poet Antoin Al Duwaihi. From Palestine, author and novelist, Dr Al Mutawakel Taha, and Huzama Habayeb, author and storyteller will be joined by Moroccan guests, academic author, Dr Latifa Elbsair, professor at the University of Hassan II Casablanca; critic and researcher Naguib Al Ofi, who teaches literature at Mohammed V University in Rabat.

Joining this illustrious line-up are Dr Razan Ibrahim, professor at the University of Petra, Jordan; novelists Fadi Azzam, Nabeel Sulaiman, and Khalil Suwaileh from Syria; author Amin Al Zawi and Dr Mustafa Fasi from Algeria; author Al Habeeb Al Salmi from Tunisia; and Fawziyah Rasheed from Bahrain.

The upcoming edition of SIBF will offer a rich literary and cultural programme, featuring a vibrant mix of intellectual seminars, discussion panels, reading sessions, poetry evenings, as well as book signing ceremonies that will give book lovers access to latest the Arabic titles in the market.