Regional Publishing Trade Converges at Abu Dhabi Book Fair; Cervantes and Classical Arabic

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair’s 35th edition will open September 13 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, running through September 18 and bringing together publishers, rights buyers, translators and trade professionals under a programme that blends consumer-facing cultural events with the commercial mechanics of the regional publishing industry.

Organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, the fair shifted from its original April dates to September following consultations with publishers, international partners and UAE authorities over travel logistics, overseas participation capacity and publishing supply-chain timing. That calendar change carried a notable commercial consequence: the 20th Sheikh Zayed Book Award ceremony, previously a standalone event, will now take place during the fair itself, though the specific date remains to be confirmed.

The fair’s structure is worth understanding clearly. Entry is free to registered attendees on the public side, while the professional layer serves as a marketplace where industry players assess regional trends and negotiate rights deals. This dual architecture is what makes the event function simultaneously as a cultural institution and a trade platform.

Three curatorial anchors shape the 2026 programme. Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote, published in two parts in the early 17th century, has been selected as the Book of the World. The Spanish novel, which follows an ageing nobleman convinced of his knightly status as he travels with his companion Sancho Panza, is widely regarded as foundational to modern fiction. Two dedicated sessions examine its reach: Cervantes and the Birth of the Modern Novel on September 14 traces its influence on subsequent fiction writing, while How the Arab World Read Don Quixote on September 16 maps the novel’s journey through Arabic translation and critical reception.

Al Khalil ibn Ahmad Al Farahidi, an eighth-century Arab polymath whose work shaped Arabic lexicography and prosody, has been named Focus Personality. Al Khalil Al Farahidi and the First Arabic Dictionary, on September 14, examines how he systematised Arabic sounds within a lexicographical framework. Al Farahidi and the Music of Arabic Poetry, on September 16, addresses his development of the metrical system that still underpins classical and contemporary Arabic verse.

The Balkans, encompassing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, will serve as Guest of Honour, with programming drawing on the region’s literary and cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, the fair’s treatment of twentieth-century Arab cultural history reflects the publishing sector’s sustained interest in literary-musical connections. Modern Poems that Shaped Arabic Music, on September 14, focuses on poetry associated with Egyptian singers Umm Kulthum and Mohammed Abdel Wahab and Lebanese performer Fairuz, examining how literary work informed some of the Arab world’s most recognised songs. A separate September 16 session explores the life and career of Egyptian singer and actor Abdel Halim Hafez, whose romantic catalogue secured his place among the region’s most widely heard performers. Cafe Riche: How a Cairo Landmark Where Arab Writers Made History, also on September 16, revisits the downtown Cairo institution that served successive generations of writers, artists and intellectuals.

The fair will mark its own institutional milestone on September 13 with Thirty-Five Years Forward: The Making of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, tracing the event’s development across three and a half decades as a regional and international publishing platform.

Additional programming reaches into the industry’s present anxieties. ChatGPT: Authors’ Experiences, on September 16, examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping the writing process for some authors, a question with direct implications for publishing economics and intellectual property. Algerian novelist Said Khatibi, recipient of this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction, will appear on September 18 in From Recognition to Readership to discuss his novel and its engagement with the Algerian civil war.

The Sheikh Zayed Book Award, entering its twentieth year, will honour several recipients at the fair. Egyptian novelist Ashraf Elashmawy won the Literature award for Births in the Zoo, and Moroccan researcher Mustapha Rajouane received the Young Author category prize. Lebanese actress and author Zeinah Makki will appear on September 17 to discuss her Arabic book Black Hole in a session titled On Writing Through Darkness.

Additional speakers and participants are expected to be announced in coming weeks, leaving the full commercial and programming scope of the September gathering still taking shape.