20th edition of Doha Book Fair opens books, expo, doha

Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage HE Dr Hamad bin Abdul aziz al-Kuwari opened last night the 20th Doha International Book Fair amid preparations to celebrate Doha as the Capital of Arab Culture 2010.

Dr al-Kuwari, who toured several pavilions at the exhibition, said that this year’s fair was more “diversified” than the previous year as several countries are participating for the first time in the annual event.

“We are very keen on making the Doha Book Fair as diverse as possible. It is our goal to make every round better than the previous one. Everyone can notice that more publishing houses are participating this year,” the minister told reporters.

“It is the first time that countries like Tunisia, Japan and Austria came to Doha Book Fair. We are pleased to see such cultural diversity in this place every year. There are publishing houses which participated in last year’s expo as the guest of honour, but they did not miss this year’s event,” he added.

The 10-day fair comes one day before the New Year which will witness a “cultural bonanza” throughout the whole year as Doha will be celebrated as the Capital of Arab Culture 2010.

A press conference was scheduled to be held by the minister next Monday to announce the details of the planned celebrations during 2010.   

“The next Doha book fair will be held in November as part of the ‘Doha - the Arab Capital of Culture’ celebrations,” he added.

The fair, which will run until January 9, has exhibitors from 24 countries participating with more than 76,000 titles in Arabic and other languages.

A noticeable and novel feature of this year’s exhibition is a 240sq m ‘Pavilion de la France’, managed by the French embassy, where eight publishers are displaying more than 2,000 classical and contemporary books.

The event’s opening ceremony attracted a large number of dignitaries, including heads of diplomatic missions in Doha, senior officials of the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage as well as book lovers.

An organiser at the “Pavilion de la France” said although the opening of the cultural event conflicted with Christmas and New Year celebrations in France, several prestigious French publishing houses were willing to participate in the event.

“We know that Qatar is not a French-speaking country, but it was a pleasure for us to attend this expo because we know that Qatar is open to the French culture,” the organiser added.

The Doha International Exhibition Centre, where the annual event is being held, will be open to public twice daily, from 9am-1pm and 4-10 pm.



http://www.gulf-times.com/site/t ... 36&parent_id=16

Poetry sessions held at book exhibition
DOHA: Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) and the Childhood Cultural Center (CCC), both sponsored by Qatar Foundation are jointly holding poetry sessions at their stand at the ongoing 20th Doha International Book Fair.
From December 31 to January 2, BQFP is organising “poetry slams’ for groups of varying ages to recite their original poetry in English and Arabic. A poetry ‘slam’ is when poets read their original work out loud to an audience. The audience votes and there is a ‘winner’ each evening.
The events reach out to the community at large and bring them both into the book fair as well as the art and love of the creative form. Poetry and the poetic tradition have strong roots in Arabic culture.  
In addition to the amateur poets reading each evening, BQFP has invited specific poets to participate in each age group to inspire the audience.
Four poets have been invited to take part in the poetry sessions including Foyle Young Poets Awardee Adhma Smart, 12-year-old prolific poetry writer Aya Said, Jordanian poet and editor Hussein Jelaad and Qatar-born writer Abdulla Salem.
The act of publishing and disseminating books of quality is an integral part of education and at the heart of reading and writing development. For more information about BQFP, or about activities at the Doha International Book Fair please contact: bqfp.events@qf.org.qa or 454-2431.
Held at the Qatar International Exhibition Centre, the 10-day Doha International Book Fair is the largest book fair in Qatar and brings together international publishers from North America and the Middle East to display their titles as well as sell books to the general public.
At this year’s fair, BQFP and CCC are hosting a joint stand with activities focused on encouraging the love of books and reading in children including book making activities and reading circles.
the peninsula