The 2023 Riyadh International Book Fair wrapped up its 10-day run on October 9, after more than a million visitors had flocked to browse and buy books from the 1,800 publishers from 32 countries that exhibited. While not as well known as Sharjah Book Fair, which begins on Nov. 1, and with few English language publishers present, RIBF has grown substantially in the last two years. This year it chose the tagline “An Inspiring Destination,” which, as the Kingdom builds out its infrastructure and expands its culture and arts efforts, seems like a credible claim.
The Disney nook at the booth of Raff Publishing, a division of Saudi Research and Media Group
Co-located in the consumer-centric fair, the Ministry of Culture, which organized the event, held a publishing conference that brought together publishing experts from Saudi Arabia and across the MENA region, as well as from Europe and America, to speak on a variety of topics, from sustainability to entrepreneurship to AI. The live sessions were conducted in English and Arabic, with translators working in real time to accommodate panelists and audience.
Hazel Kenyon, Research Director at Nielsen BookData, gave a keynote presentation on global trends in book sales, presenting data collected through its expansion throughout South America, Europe and now, the MENA region, while Gareth Rapley, Director of the London Book Fair, discussed ways in which LBF plans to make Olympia more accessible in 2024. Bologna Book Fair’s Jacks Thomas was also on hand to talk about that Fair’s expansion into adult publishing.
A view of what’s selling, where, courtesy of Nielsen BookData
A discussion of the Power of Social Media and Influencers in Book Marketing that was moderated by CEO and founder of Bibliocrunch Miral Sattar, featured some Saudi influencers, like Sultan Almousa and Dr. Yossef Al Hassani, who has amassed an audience of 1.5 million bookish Instagram followers.
As well as influencers and book fair directors, a range of industry experts populated panels, from StoryFit’s Monica Landers and Simon &Schuster’s Brianna Yamashita, to Amplify’s Ken Brooks, author and Shimmr CEO Nadim Sadek, Bentech CEO Michael Johnson (via video) and entrepreneur Miral Sattar.
Publishing experts at the Professional Publishers Conference, part of the Riyadh International Book Fair 2023 (from left to right): Matthew Jones, Julie Blattberg, Miral Sattar, Nancy Roberts, Hassan Ali, Lorraine Shanley, Brianna Yamashita, Heather O’Connell, Hazel Kenyon, Monica Landers, Omar Chebaro, Jacks Thomas, Rashid Al Kaus, and Chantal Cooke.
Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture’s Literature, Publishing & Translation Committee, the curation of the content for the Professional Publishers Conference and the selection of speakers was supported by Omar Chebaro, Head of Sales and Distribution at Raff Publishing and Managing Director of Gotham Publishing Solutions, Julie Blattberg.
