DOHA: Religious, children’s and cooking books have emerged as the most sought-after at the ongoing book fair, Al Sharq reports.
The 25th Doha International Book Fair was inaugurated on Wednesday at Qatar National Convention Centre and runs until January 17.
It has allocated a large area for academic and children’s books popular in the US and the UK.
The number of visitors, including people from around the world, is more in evenings compared to mornings because of cold weather and schools close by afternoon.
The organisers expect the number to increase significantly in coming days, citing publicity by visitors through the word of mouth.
More people, especially children, will visit the fair as exams in some schools are expected to end soon, the organisers point out.
A record 432 publishing houses from 29 countries and 72 authorised companies representing publishers are taking part in the annual fair organised by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
This year, the fair is focusing on the Arab culture, with forums in evenings.
The ministry has prepared printed and electronic guides on books on display.
The printed guide does not include the books with no price tag and publishing dates. It lists 14,821 titles — 12,271 Arabic and 2,250 other languages.
The books with no price tag, published prior to 2014 or received after the deadline, will be included in a USB guide, taking the total number to 109,055 titles — 97,561 Arabic and 11,494 other languages.
The guide includes information such as the publisher’s name, country of origin, date of publishing, price tag (with 25 percent discount) and the number of stall at the fair.
The Holy Sail, the new novel by Abdul Aziz Al Mahmood, renowned Qatari journalist and author, is available at the fair.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud visited the fair on Thursday. He was joined by the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari and officials and dignitaries.
The fair is open daily from 9am to 1 pm and 4pm to 10pm and on Fridays from 4pm to 10pm.
The Peninsula
