The 30th Qatar International Book Fair coincides with the 2020 France-Qatar Year of Culture, so we can be sure France will have a strong presence in Doha in January, but on past performance it will be one of only a handful of non-Arab countries participating in the event.
Usually the Doha fair would be in December, but as reported here at TNPS back in June, there was no 2019 event as the fair has been pushed back to a regular January date for the foreseeable future, to avoid clashes with other events in December.
We’ll know more about the January line-up later this week when the Qatari Ministry of Culture announces the details of registered participants, but we do know there will be “a diverse range of books, cognitive media and e-books” alongside the usual array of workshops and events.
The Arab region is rapidly awakening to the possibilities and opportunities digital offers Arab publishers, and with Doha’s internet penetration amongst the highest in the world, at 99.6%, this tiny country of 2.7 million people is ripe for digital disruption in the publishing sector.
Visit the Doha International Book fair website here, although as of this posting it has not been updated from the 2018 event.
Follow on twitter: @DIbookfair
