SHARJAH / WAM
Young visitors are flocking to the Emirates Publishers Association (EPA) stand at the ongoing 13th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) where under its ‘Manassah’ platform, the entity is showcasing a bouquet of titles in diverse genres by Emirati publishers.
Amongst the popular books at EPA’ stand, targeting children of all age groups, includes Scribbles, a creative narrative of UAE’s cultural, heritage and historical monuments; Life Is Beautiful, offering insights and solutions to life’s everyday challenges; and the popular classic, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
The EPA stand at SCRF 2022 is hosting 17 publishers who are showcasing 127 children’s and young adults’ books through the ‘Manassah’ project that aims to support the publishing sector in the UAE and enables Emirati publishers to benefit from a showcase platform.
The EPA stand hosted a book signing ceremony of Sidenotes to a Text Inspired by a Dream that Came True, a book published by EPA in celebration of the UAE’s Year of the 50th. The book is authored by 14 children who had participated in a workshop themed, ‘Youthful Writing’.
Other writers who had book signing sessions at the EPA stand included Bashayer Aarif (The Secret Life of Dubai’s Street Cats) and Maha Al Khillawi (Power Goggles), both published by the Dreamwork Collective.
Rashid Al Kous, Executive Director of EPA, said, “We are collaborating with our members to enrich SCRF with quality children’s and young adults’ books that nurture the imagination of young readers in a range of fields. Our titles that cover science, culture, and heritage, amongst others, offer readers the opportunity to choose topics that best suit their ages and interests.”