The 33rd edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair began on Wednesday with the arrival of a cavalcade of literary stars from the worlds of fiction, non-fiction and television.
A record crowd of more than 465,000 book lovers crammed the Sharjah Expo over the course of the first three days.
The turnout shocked even some of the highest-profile authors who are used to attending big gatherings.
“I am surprised by how big the fair is,” the Indian author Amish Tripathi said during his session on Friday. “I heard it was large but I never expected it to be on such a scale.”
A rock-star welcome for Dan Brown
The blockbuster American author Dan Brown received a royal welcome on Thursday, as he was escorted to the stage alongside Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah.
His session, Decoding the Book, was split into two sections. Brown first delivered a 40-minute speech, which was followed by a question-and-answer session.
His session was full of anecdotes, as he recalled his time as a creative consultant on the set of the 2006 movie version of his book The Da Vinci Code, which starred Tom Hanks as the hero Robert Langdon and was directed by Ron Howard.
"The wrap-up party was at this castle in Scotland and we all had to wear kilts," he said. "Before the party, I am in the hotel room with Tom and Ron trying to figure out how to wear it. I was having some trouble and Tom very kindly came over and helped me out. At that moment Ron said: 'Dan, when you started writing The Da Vinci Code, did you ever imagine that you would be in a hotel room in Scotland with Tom Hanks pinning your skirt?'"
A comic legend also appears
Arab viewers know the Egyptian actor Adel Imam from his comedy roles on film, television and the stage – and a lucky few had a chance to see the 74-year-old in person at a conversation session on Thursday.
Imam was more than up for it as he answered questions from the crowd.
As well as expressing interest in making a dark comedy on the current state of Egyptian society, Imam also poured cold water on the idea of writing a memoir detailing his five-decade career.
“It requires a lot of work and me speaking to people who remember certain things,” he said. “I generally don’t like depending on other people when it comes to doing projects.”
Imam’s dry wit did not fail him on stage – when a fan asked a particularly long-winded question, he shot back: “I don’t know what you are doing. Are you asking a question or telling me a short story?”
Gems from the lab
There were also several regional book launches during the weekend.
One of them was Alaa the Bounty Hunter, written and illustrated by Shihab Aldeen Al Musharaf as part of his tenure with the Creative Lab programme launched by Twofour54.
The book, from Hudud Publishing, is about a young bookworm searching for adventure.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported me, to take my idea and turn it into completed project,” Al Musharaf said at the launch on Thursday.
“I was privileged to have the support of Creative Lab. It was a very rewarding experience and I look forward to sharing my experience with the Creative Lab community.”
The Awards
Whereas most book fairs end with an awards ceremony, the Sharjah version began on a positive note with a host of awards being handed out to authors and publishers on its opening day.
Highlights included Souad Al Arimi, whose novel Draib Al Ghawyat won Best Emirati Book by an Emirati Creative Writer. The Best Emirati Academic Book award went to Youssef Al Hasan, for What Culture and What Citizen Do We Wish for in the Future?
The spiritual memoir Why I Still Carry a Guitar by the music legend Yusuf Islam (also known as Cat Stevens) won the award for Best Foreign Book. With the singer kicking off a world tour in Europe last week, his daughter Hasanah Islam accepted it on his behalf.
The Sharjah International Book Fair runs until Saturday. For more details, visit www.sharjahbookfair.com