Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

Event Update

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024 will be hosted at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre at yet-to-be-specified dates. The event will take place as a face-to-face trade fair, with the hosting venue featuring the latest Covid-19 safety measures. The measures will include the 3G entry policy according to which attendees must present 3G documents, such as negative test results, before accessing the venue. Because of the recently instated travel bans, such documentation must be presented upon arrival in the United Arab Emirates as well.  

A Brief Overview of Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 

Want to educate yourself on the latest book titles and hottest authors? The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair provides you with access to the entire publishing industry in the MENA region. You get to connect with professionals involved in all facets of publishing, discover international and local authors to keep an eye on, and meet with thousands of book lovers. The Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre welcomes you in May to forge new connections and strike sizable deals! It is the perfect arena to gain respect, generate buzz and influence trends. 

GETA ltd understands perfectly how difficult it is to plan a business trip and handles every single detail so you don’t have to do a thing. We’ve sent thousands of exhibitors all over the world and provide affordable accommodation for trade fairs. Trust in our network of hotels in Abu Dhabi and book top hotels during the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. Our team makes the booking easy and affordable no matter what budget you’re working with. Stay in hotels close to ADNEC – the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. You’ve access to public transport and have an easy time reaching where you need to go. Large groups are welcome! GETA ltd can also help with rent-a-cars, airport transfers and stand construction. 

Why Your Visit Is Worth It?

One of the defining features of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is just how massive of an event it is. You do not have numbers as big as these anywhere else in the MENA region. If you’re eager to penetrate the region, this book fair opens the doors wide open. You’re guaranteed to meet with qualified buyers and top professionals. 

Take a look at the numbers from last edition: 

• 800+ international exhibitors
• 150,000+ international visitors
• 46 countries represented
• 104 virtual and physical sessions 

Industry Relevance 

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is the annual book event that has been gathering publishers, authors and book lovers in the Middle East since 1991. Held at the ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre), the fair is a unique meeting point for the MENA region and consistently shows the full breadth of the region’s publishing sector. The fair is a business hotspot for all members of the publishing trade. Exhibitors have a unique opportunity to make themselves widely known to the rapidly growing MENA market. 

One of the key features of the fair is the Professional Programme, which is designed to identify new MENA-region business partners for international publishers. The programme includes matchmaking opportunities for institutional buyers and focus groups for educational publishers, as well as support in establishing new partnerships between Arab and international publishers. The Spotlight on Rights Programme provides subsidies on book deals to further encourage partnerships in the long term. 

In 2019, the fair broke records by having over 500,000 titles on display, which spanned every possible genre out there. Book lovers could see the latest in fantasy, sci-fi, comic books, historic novels, popular science and biographical non-fiction across multiple languages. Enough to keep even the most avid reader occupied for the entire week. 

The eZone meets the demands of digital publishing by creating designated meeting spaces for its stakeholders, and holds virtual seminars and panels as a discovery tool for visitors to navigate all the offerings in the latest digital media, eBooks and audiobooks. The Illustrator's Corner highlights artists and illustrators from around the world and establishes valuable contacts. 

Each edition has a specific theme – the most recent being sustainability – and a focus personality. In 2023, the focus personality is Ibn Khaldun, who was a pioneering figure in modern sociology. Visitors can expect an in-depth look at his achievements in various scientific fields and literature as a whole. 

Who Are You Going to Meet? 

The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair functions as both a professional procurement platform and a vibrant festival for book lovers of all ages. Each year has a Guest of Honour country and for the 2023 edition this is the Republic of Türkiye, which has an incredible track record when it comes to its influence on culture, art, literature and publishing. The Türkiye pavilion has invited its top literary talent alongside major publishers and publishing elite. 

It’s also worth noting that the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is not just a platform for authors and publishers, but it also presents fantastic educational opportunities for young students. The fair runs a strong educational program designed to inspire and engage the next generation of readers. The Educational Programme includes virtual events and sessions for schoolchildren and university students. It provides an ideal forum for educators and educational publishers to come together, share ideas and do business. 

By bringing students to the fair, teachers inspire a deep love of reading by exposing them to the thriving global publishing marketplace stacked with books, and push young people to participate in publishing whether as future publishers, authors or artists. Another added bonus is the ability for educators to network with international publishers and discover new resources that can enrich their teaching practices. 

Additional Value of Attending 

The Professional Programme at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is an essential component of the fair's offerings for industry professionals. With over sixty industry-leading speakers and a wide selection of dedicated sessions, meetings, and panels, the Professional Programme equips trade visitors with all the necessary tools to gain thorough insight into the publishing sector in the MENA regions. 

ADIBF's Professional Programme has expanded for the 2023 edition. What visitors can expect are fresh initiatives aimed at fostering international connections. The information-heavy events cover all essential topics, including distribution markets, rights trading, literary trends, and technological developments. By the end, you’ll know everything there is to know about how publishing works in the Middle East and Northern Africa. 

The programme features expert speakers that tackle headfirst problems such as challenges in the publishing community right now; artificial intelligence being one of the most recent and worst in recent years.