Director of the Doha International Book Fair Jassim Ahmed Al Buainain said that the 34th edition of the fair, which opens on May 8, will be the largest in its history in terms of participation.
There will be 522 publishing houses from 43 countries, including 11 from the State of Palestine (this year's Guest of Honor), as well as a distinguished presence from various ministries, government and private institutions, and embassies.
Al Buainain explained that this year the fair will launch the inaugural Professional Literary Exchange Program, an ambitious initiative aimed at strengthening literary cooperation, exchanging publishing rights, and supporting translation efforts between Qatar and the global literary community. The winners of the Doha International Book Fair Awards for Publisher and Author will also be announced, in categories including: Outstanding Publisher (Local and International), Outstanding Children's Book Publisher (Local and International), Creative Writer, and Young Qatari Writer.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture today, the main stage at the fair will host numerous cultural and literary seminars featuring leading Arab intellectuals, while the Cultural Salon will offer discussion sessions and book-launch events. Two halls will host workshops on various cultural topics, and the fair's publications guide will list approximately 166,000 titles. For the first time, the fair will feature the Halabouni Book Market libraries from Syria, showcasing a collection of valuable books, alongside participation from several UK publishers. The children's area and theater will host a rich program of cultural and interactive activities, and will display publications from houses specializing in children's literature and educational books.
Al Buainain noted that the fair will provide many public services, including a Reading Guide service, a helpdesk, a porter service, and free public parking. He invited everyone to visit the fair to benefit from this major cultural, intellectual, and literary event, its diverse program of activities organized by the Ministry of Culture, and the valuable opportunity to interact directly with authors, publishers, intellectuals, writers, and poets from Qatar and beyond. The fair is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and on Fridays from 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Doha International Book Fair is one of the oldest and largest international book fairs in the region, renowned for the strong participation of Gulf, Arab, and international publishers. It first launched in 1972 under the supervision of the Qatar National Library, originally held every two years; since 2002 it has been annual. It gained its international character by attracting major publishers worldwide: from just 20 at the first fair to over 500 representing 40 countries today. Since 2010, each edition of the fair has featured a Guest of Honor country: beginning with the United States, then Turkey, Iran, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, Oman-and this year, the State of Palestine is the Guest of Honor for the 34th edition.
