25 authors to attend Sharjah reading fest

Over 25 well known authors will attend the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival that will run at Expo Center from April 15.  
The 11-day festival, themed Discover Friends for Life, will feature a diverse range of 1,694 cultural, educational and entertaining events. It will be attended by 175 literary and intellectual figures, prominent media persons and academicians as well as a number of top international chefs.
“The festival was conceived with the aim of developing children’s culture, skills and talents.  It also aims to engage all parts of the community in Sharjah’s cultural scene,” said Ahmed bin Rakkad Al-Ameri, director of SCRF.
The top authors include Britain’s Andy Stanton and Tony De Saulles and America’s Fawzia Gilani-Williams. 
Arab guests include Egyptian writer Amal Farah, winner of the UNESCO International Prize for children’s literature in the service of tolerance, Iraqi writer and poet Jalil Khazaal, Bahraini novelist Abdul Qader Aqeel, Egyptian writer and poet Samir Abdul Baqi, Syrian magazine editor Bayan Al Safadi (of Usama magazine), Egyptian writer, novelist and playwright Mahmoud Qassim, Omani writer Aziza Al-Tai, and Yemeni illustrator Bushra Al-Shahari.
“This year, the festival will see the participation of 124 publishing houses from 17 countries, compared to 80 at the 2013 festival,” said Al Ameri.
He said that the festival would host an award-winning exhibition from the UK based organization 1001 Inventions.