Saudi innovation on display at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

"As our team strives to attract leading authors, we are working together to highlight how we are applying global publishing best practices. We are also sharing our expertise as a multidisciplinary team working in the fields of editing, distribution, and marketing."

"We are seeking to sign partnerships and understandings that help develop the publishing house, especially in terms of digital transformation in the publishing industry, leveraging the presence of several companies and institutions specialised in e-books, audiobooks, and supported publishing programmes."

Al Sannan explained that the Saudi participation "also aims at surveying the latest reading trends through open communication with readers and visitors of all ages and interests, to develop databases and research that allows us to set up future publishing plans and identify possible shifts in the reading, authorship, and content realms in the Arab world."

Many other Saudi exhibitors also presented their cultural initiatives and projects.

A remarkable endeavour is the Itbaa (Arabic for "print") platform, a new self-publishing experience that allows an author to publish and request copies of their book at any time and any place.

Itbaa provides its services to readers, authors, and publishers using the state-of-the-art concept of print-on-demand. The initiative aims to become a Saudi-born printing and publishing platform servicing readers around the world and revolutionising the printing and publishing of books for authors.

All an author needs to do is upload their book to the platform and Itbaa prints it on an on-demand basis, without the need to print hundreds of copies for each edition.

Specialised pavilions

Another remarkable pavilion is Darah's, which showcased many publications, dictionaries, and collections relating Darah's history.

Established in 1972, Darah has been the leading institution for the curation, publishing, and translation of history, geography, literature, and heritage books revolving around Saudi Arabia and the Arab and Islamic world in general.

The foundation also produces research papers, studies, conferences, and seminars on the life of King Abdulaziz as well as the Kingdom and its rulers.

The NAUSS pavilion, on the other hand, showcased books on security matters, such as "International Cooperation to Fight Organised Crime" and "Studies on Sustainable Development" by Amer Alkubaisi and others.

Other titles included: "Psychological and Social Implications of Illegal Migration" by Ahmad Abdulaziz Alasfar Allaham, and many issues discussed in NAUSS' "Arab Journal of Forensic Sciences & Forensic Medicine" and "Arab Journal for Security Studies."

The establishment of NAUSS was first envisaged in 1972 when the first conference of the Arab Security and Police Leaders convened in Al Ain in the UAE for the first time.

Then in 1978, the second edition of the Conference of Arab Interior Ministers held in Baghdad issued a decision to establish the "Arab Institute for Training", which later became NAUSS, to conduct studies and research about societal defence against crime and offer training.

Diversity of publications

Hasan Muhammad Bamaibid from Dar Al Hadarah Publishers said: "We partook in the ADIBF this year with 320 titles handling various themes: general knowledge, legal, self-development, literary, and much more."

Each of these themes has its audience, says Bamaibid, which helps cater to various tastes.

On its part, Adwaa Al-Marefa stressed its keenness to participate in book fairs across the Arab world and the Gulf to showcase its literary, scientific, human development, and fiction publications.

Other pavilions were centred on children's books.

Turki Aldogaish from Kids Skills said: "We seek to develop kids' skills through play. One of our main objectives is to help treat speech impediments and learning difficulties."

Aldogaish says the institution publishes "play and learn" books in Arabic and English to maximise the benefit for children.

Arwa for Publishing, for its part, showcased several children's fairy tale titles, such as "Tea Party in Cinderella's Castle," "Under the Tree on Top of the Hill," and "Messages in the Mail – The Long-Shadowed Man".

A representative of the publisher said: "Our publications include children's books that offer both fun stories and valuable lessons," noting that the publishing house is always looking for ways to tell children's stories creatively to ensure that children will interact with the content.

Cultural participation

Many Saudi intellectuals and creators participated in this year's edition of the ADIBF.

Dr. Abdullah Alghadami from Saudi Arabia, a distinguished professor of critical discourse, spoke in a seminar entitled "Ibn Khaldun: Reflections on his Insights into Philosophy and Literature", to discuss the views and ideologies of Ibn Khaldun, the focus personality of this year's fair.

Saudi novelist Fatima Abdulhamid was also honoured for having her novel "The Highest Part of the Horizon" on the International Prize for Arabic Fiction shortlist.

Many Saudi creatives active in various fields also spoke at the International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries, which was held in conjunction with the ADIBF on 21 and 22 May.

They included Ibrahim Abbas, author and screenwriter whose novel "HWJN" was adapted into a movie; as well as Ali Ghamloush, Head of Originals at Shahid - MBC Group, who discussed science fiction novels.