Kalam, Archer inspire the Sharjah book lovers

The center of attraction at the Sharjah International Book Fair on Thursday were A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former Indian president, and Jeffrey Archer, the British author, who spoke on different topics, but inspired hundreds of children and aspiring writers among the audience.
In Kalam’s three sessions, he took questions from the audience, interacted with students and signed copies of his many bestselling titles. Kalam said he was delighted to meet Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi on arrival in the UAE and was amazed by the effort of the Sharjah ruler to make the emirate a cultural center.
Kalam began his talk on the theme “Great books born out of great minds,” the main essence of which was that human beings use literature to make sense out of life experiences.
He said storytelling was a central component of leadership and cited India’s Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa’s Nelson Mandela for using the power of the written word to reach out to the people with their respective autobiographies.
Speaking to schoolchildren gathered at the event, Kalam encouraged them to start a small library with a minimum of 10 titles. In an interactive discussion, he urged the youth to strive for righteousness.
He also presented a keynote address, which shed light on his autobiography “Wings of fire,” on the influences and events in his early life that led him to become a public figure and leader in India.
He has published many books including “Target 3 Billion” which illustrates challenges in the development of rural India, and a recent autobiography, “My journey: Transforming dreams into actions.” Two previous titles, “Wings of fire” and “India 2020: A vision for the new millennium” have been translated into multiple languages.
Archer, whose books are global bestsellers with more than 270 million copies sold in 97 countries, shared his early days as a writer through a series of funny and sobering tales.
He offered advice to aspiring writers. “Get off your backside and keep writing,” the author told an audience member. Archer praised the Sharjah ruler for setting up the book fair.
Archer also described his writing process, which involves eight hours of longhand writing. “Have your own system,” he advised.
When he opened the floor for questions, the audience asked about how to get into print and his view on self-publishing. “A complete waste of time,” he answered. When students from the American University of Sharjah asked him about his mantra for writing, he said: “The Prison Diaries was easy. I had nothing else to do.”