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This year, the dialogue has turned toward the fundamental forces redefining how stories are created, distributed, and consumed, digital innovation, environmental responsibility, and the empowerment of new voices.
The digital turn in publishing now extends far beyond e-books or online retail. Around the world, publishers are experimenting with immersive and interactive formats, merging words with multimedia, sound, and visual art to build layered, sensory narratives. Sharjah’s ecosystem has embraced this evolution, with local and international publishers exploring hybrid print-digital models that keep readers engaged across platforms and formats.
This creative convergence not only extends the lifecycle of a book but also redefines how cultural content travels ensuring stories from the Arab world reach wider, more connected audiences.
Artificial intelligence has entered nearly every corner of the publishing process, from editing and translation to design, audience analytics, and rights management. Yet, as highlighted during sessions at this year’s Sharjah Publishers Conference, the technology’s potential raises important ethical questions: how can automation coexist with artistic authenticity? How do we preserve creativity and cultural diversity in an algorithmic age?
Sharjah has positioned itself at the heart of this global debate, by bringing together industry leaders, technologists and authors.
In step with the UAE’s broader environmental vision, sustainability has become a defining benchmark for responsible publishing. Across the region, and particularly in Sharjah, publishers are adopting recycled paper, eco-friendly inks, and energy-efficient printing while exploring circular-economy models for distribution and waste reduction.
The message from Sharjah’s platforms is clear: sustainability is no longer optional. It is essential to the survival of an industry that both reflects and shapes the world it inhabits.
The growth of self-publishing and digital marketplaces is unlocking opportunities for new authors across the Arab world and beyond. Enabled by social platforms and online distribution networks, these writers are bypassing traditional gatekeepers to reach readers directly. Sharjah has long championed this democratisation of publishing, ensuring that diverse voices—emerging and established—find platforms to be heard and read globally.
The result is a more inclusive ecosystem where talent thrives, ideas cross borders, and audiences discover stories that reflect the diversity of human experience.
As the global book market becomes more competitive, publishers are turning to data analytics to understand reading habits and forecast emerging trends. The application of data has become central to decisions on commissioning, marketing, and translation helping publishers deliver precisely what readers seek while discovering untapped audiences.
At SIBF 2025, sessions dedicated to digital intelligence underscored how Sharjah’s industry partners are integrating technology to strengthen creativity, not replace it.
Sharjah has carved out a leadership role in advancing global publishing dialogue, through platforms such as the Sharjah Publishers Conference and Sharjah International Literary Agency, the emirate has become a trusted convener for cross-cultural collaboration and professional development.
This year’s Publishers Conference gathered industry experts over three days, leading directly into the Sharjah International Book Fair, which welcomes 2,350 publishers from 118 countries. Together, these events reflect a unified vision: to build a global publishing ecosystem rooted in innovation, ethics, and accessibility.
As SIBF 2025 unfolds, Sharjah once again demonstrates that the future of publishing will be written where tradition meets innovation. The emirate’s unwavering belief in the power of the written word—as a bridge between cultures and a foundation for knowledge, continues to guide the industry forward.
In Sharjah, books remain more than commodities; they are instruments of progress, empathy, and dialogue—proof that even in a rapidly changing world, storytelling endures at the heart of human connection.
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