In its 49th session, the London International Book Fair hosted Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority, and David Taylor, Senior Vice President of Global Content Acquisition in Ingram, in a panel discussion entitled “The Future of Book Makers in the World”, in which they discussed the experience of “Lightning Source Sharjah”, and the role of the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone in making qualitative leaps in the global publishing market.
During the session, Al Ameri stressed that Sharjah has become the center of the book industry and knowledge production in Asia and North Africa, with the visions and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, who believes in the power of the written word and the impact of culture on the renaissance of societies, and opening windows for dialogue among civilizations. .
He explained that Sharjah was a pioneer in the world in creating the first free zone for publishing, to bring regarding a radical transformation in the sector of knowledge production and the book industry in the world. To complete the translation, publishing, and distribution deals, and provided all the capabilities and infrastructure to overcome the challenges of publishers.
Al-Amiri indicated that the experience of working with “Ingram” in developing “Lightning Source Sharjah” is one of the most successful experiments in emphasizing Sharjah’s role in expanding the book industry market globally, through which “Ingram” is able to reach at lower costs and higher speed. To the Asian and African publishing market, by leveraging print-on-demand technologies.
He said: “Talking regarding the experience of (Lightning Source Sharjah and the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone) is a talk regarding an integrated climate enjoyed by the emirate, which represents the center of cultural movement in the region. The geographical location of the city of Sharjah, which links the African and Asian continents, and the strength of the Sharjah International Book Fair, the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, and the Publishers’ Conference, in addition to the integrated infrastructure, and the solutions it provides for storage, shipping, and printing.”
For his part, David Taylor spoke regarding the experience of working with the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone, explaining that following his visit to Sharjah, he realized the strength of the emirate and its potential to overcome global publishing challenges. He said: “Before working with Sharjah, we needed two to three weeks to provide a book that was requested in the markets. African and Asian books, and today it is provided in just two days, so the print-on-demand business model was more effective and stronger by taking advantage of the infrastructure and services provided by the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone.”
