Success for Casa Árabe at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair 

It is one of the largest book fairs in the world, and the most important in the Arab world.

Casa Árabe took part in the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which was held from May 7-13, 2015. It is one of the largest book fairs in the world, and the most important in the Arab world. This fair is undoubtedly a meeting point that cannot be missed by anyone related with the book industry on an international scale. This year, the guest country was Iceland, and European countries sent a large number of representatives, as well as seeing an important presence of Arab publishing firms, mainly from Egypt and Lebanon.
 
Organized within the framework of the fair was an ambitious schedule of cultural activities related with Arab literature and culture, which took place in the different spaces and auditoriums at the fairgrounds. It is satisfying to verify that many of the Arab authors who took part in these conferences and debates had been at Casa Árabe at some time throughout the past year. This was the case with Egyptian author Sonallah Ibrahim, Iraq’s Sinan Antoon and Moroccan writer Mohamed Bennis, who have all presented their latest works at Casa Árabe.
 
Amongst the planned activities, we should highlight that there were a significant number of events related with Spain. The Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates in Spain, Ms. Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al Otaiba, gave a conference on the figure of Sheikh Zayed, in which she above all highlighted the close diplomatic relations between Spain and the United Arab Emirates. Iraqi poet Abdul Hadi Sadoun, a resident of Spain for years now, took part in the round table discussion titled “Iraqi Literature Today” and spoke to us about his upcoming novel, which will be set during the Spanish Civil War. Moreover, on Monday, May 11, an Arab-Spanish evening of poetry took place. It was moderated by the Egyptian journalist and writer residing in Spain, Ahmad Yamani, and included participation by Khulood Al Mullaa, Angélica Santa Olaya, Nujoom Al Ghanem and Raúl Campoy, who recited poems in both Spanish and Arabic.
 
Casa Árabe, invited by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, had a stand of its own at a privileged location within the fair, where it received a large number of people interested in the Spanish language and Casa Árabe’s work, which drew the positive attention of many Emirati visitors to the fair. The General Director of Casa Árabe, Eduardo López Busquets, had the opportunity to introduce the institution at one of the most important spaces within the fair, during an interview held by poet Mohamed Bennis, who has collaborated with Casa Árabe on various on several occasions. Similarly, Elena González, Casa Árabe’s Programming Coordinator, took part in the debates of the Multaqa Literary Salon space, with a talk on the cultural activities put on by Casa Árabe.
 
Also having been given out within the framework of the fair were the prestigious literary prizes, the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards. This year, the Spanish language was included within various prize categories for the first time ever. Although no Spanish authors or works won, it is important to highlight that the book Leer la Alhambra. Guía visual del monumento (Reading the Alhambra: A visual guide of the monument) by José Miguel Puerta Vílchez, published by the Alhambra and Generalife Board of Trustees and the Edilux publishing firm, was amongst the three finalists in the category “Arab Culture in other languages.”