Dammam ∙ The Al-Sharqiya Book Fair opened at the Dhahran International Exhibition Center (Dhahran Expo) as it reaches out to the world of letters. Over 350 pavilions display the latest editions of publications from 500 Saudi, Arab and international publishers for lovers of reading and literature.
Organized by the Literature, Publication and Translation Commission under the Ministry of Culture, the book fair will continue till the 11th of this month. More than 140 art and cultural programs have been arranged for 10 days along with book exhibition and sale. Titled Exhibition, Culture, Civilization and Art, the festival of writers and readers is the first book fair of its kind in the Eastern Province.
The final days of the fair will also feature seminars, symposiums, dialogue sessions, workshops, poetry evenings and poetry recitals performed by the Saudi National Orchestra. King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (ITRA), the cultural partner of the book fair, will organize a special cultural program in connection with the fair. The fair also includes qualitative and unique cultural programs along with the expansion of children’s cultural activities. Local, regional and global speakers, debaters, intellectuals, writers and literary and cultural representatives will participate.
The CEO of the Commission, Dr. Muhammad Hassan Alwan said. The fair will open a unique window for publishers and writers from different parts of the world to showcase their latest literary, scholarly and scientific publications. He said that the fair will also provide an opportunity for visitors and book lovers to meet writers and literary figures at one place.
In 2023, the book fair program includes the first book fair in Saudi Arabia, one of the flagship events of the Al-Sharqiya Commission.