Greece takes centre stage as guest of honour in SIBF 2025

“It is a great honour for us to be here at the SIBF,” says Dr Sissy Papathanassiou, translator, author and Head of the Directorate of Letters at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, who curated Greece’s national participation. “This gives us a big opportunity to promote our culture and literature to the Arabic world, because Sharjah is the melting pot for publishers, authors, and translators from across the region, from the Indian subcontinent, and from Africa.”

Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) under the theme “Between you and a Book”, the fair has become a magnet for millions of visitors and thousands of publishers over the years, strengthening the emirate’s reputation worldwide as a centre of literature and cultural exchange.

From the classics to the contemporary

“When people think of Greek literature, they think of The Odyssey, of Plato, of Euripides – and they are right,” said Papathanassiou. “But there is so much more. Greece today has a vibrant contemporary literary scene. We have had two Nobel Prize winners, Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979), who both won the accolade in literature. We also are home to several authors whose works have been translated all over the world. That’s what we want to showcase here.”

Greece’s pavilion embodies that vitality – hosting book launches, poetry readings, children’s workshops, and joint events with the fair’s main cultural programme. The Greek delegation is among the largest ever at SIBF, with 21 authors who are part of a 75-member contingent of writers, translators, publishers, and university professors, representing the country’s creative sector.

We came as a large team because we want to clarify that Greek literature is not just an artefact of the past,” Dr Papathanassiou added. “It is alive, modern, and continually developing.”

Translating friendship

The participation also highlights GreekLit, Greece’s national translation grant programme, which supports the publication of Greek books in foreign languages – including Arabic. Several new translations are debuting at Sharjah this year, underlining a growing literary exchange between Greece and the Arab world.

“We believe in translation as an act of friendship,” said Dr Papathanassiou, who is also President of the Friends of the Analogio Society, an organisation promoting intercultural dialogue. “That is why we support translators and publishers. They are the invisible ambassadors of literature.”

‘Sharjah a global literary hub’

For Dr Papathanassiou, Sharjah’s unwavering commitment to literature and culture has established it as a global literary hub, and SIBF 2025 has given Greece a worldwide platform to share its own with others. “We both come from civilisations that value knowledge, dialogue, and storytelling,” she said. “This fair reminds us that books are not just about reading – they are about connecting. Both Greece and Sharjah believe in the power of words – in storytelling as a bridge between people.”