5th Sharjah Booksellers Conference – Connecting the Industry

A Shared Commitment to Connecting Books with Readers

Her Highness Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), in her keynote address, said, “In an era when technology is transforming how content is created, discovered and trusted, what makes a bookseller indispensable? I believe the answer lies in the promise at the heart of our industry: to help the right book find the right reader; to guide people towards books that can inform them, challenge them, surprise them, or simply expand the way they see the world. In Sharjah, we hold that promise while staying open to the possibilities and potential of technology.”

Her Highness added, “Our mission is, and will remain, to connect books with readers, and to connect publishers and booksellers across markets, cultures and regions so that ideas and stories can travel further. That is why investing in people and building their capabilities is not optional. It is part of how we prepare this industry for the future.” The opening ceremony was attended by His Excellency Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, CEO of SBA, and board members of SBA, alongside officials and representatives of cultural institutions, publishing houses and bookstores from the UAE and around the world.

Cyrus Kheradi, Penguin Random House, welcomed the professionals giving them the conference overview. He said that bookstores are the final bridge between the author and the readers and facilitate discovery, service, business and are important connectors for continuity and hope. The conference addressed practical challenges involved in getting books into readers’ hands – from inventory management and in-store book presentation to e-commerce, digital marketing and demand analysis.

Supporting Sustainable Growth

Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publishing Services at SBA, said, “Through the Sharjah Booksellers Conference, we work to expand the range of markets accessible to professionals across the book industry. We seek to create new avenues for distributors and booksellers to connect with partners from different countries and commercial contexts. The broader the attendee network becomes on our event platform, the greater the opportunities for books to reach new markets and readers. This is what we seek to strengthen with every edition.”

Global Perspectives on a Changing Bookselling Landscape

Jaime Daez, Founder and Managing Director of Fully Booked in the Philippines, delivered a keynote speech during which he traced his company’s journey, which started with selling specialist architecture titles, and gradually became a multi-category bookstore business.

His story highlighted key lessons in understanding local readers, adapting to shifts in the market, improving store efficiency and responding to the rapid growth of e-commerce.

The Bookshop as a Haven Amidst Social Challenges

The conference also welcomed Oleksii Erinchak, Founder and CEO at Sens Bookstore in Ukraine, for a discussion moderated by Nadia Wassef, Co-Founder & Board Member of Diwan Bookstore in Egypt.

During the conversation, he reflected on opening his first bookstore in Kyiv just two months before the full-scale escalation, and how it subsequently evolved into a community space and cultural hub.

He discussed the challenges of sustaining a bookselling business amid the escalation, including sirens and electricity shortages, as well as his decision to open a larger bookstore on Kyiv’s main street to make books, reading and Ukrainian culture more visible.

Harnessing AI to Drive Book Sales

As part of the conference’s innovation showcases, Lisa Byrnes, Founder and CEO of Charisma Digital in New Zealand, and Sarah Arbuthnot, President of Supadu in the United Kingdom, delivered a presentation titled “Maximising Sales with AI-built Websites”.

The session explored how artificial intelligence (AI) can help make and turn a website into an integrated sales channel. Lisa guided the audience on how to direct AI and build websites for the book stores, while Sarah added that AI can support booksellers to help them understand purchasing trends, and the types of books their readers are buying. It can also support customer journeys and help bookstores extend their reach to wider audiences online.

PublisHer Pathways Programme Honours Its First Cohort

During the opening ceremony, Her Highness Sheikha Bodour, in her capacity as Founder of PublisHer, honoured the graduates of the inaugural PublisHer Pathways cohort, presenting completion certificates alongside Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner and Group Editor-in-Chief of Motivate Media Group, who collaborated with PublisHer on this milestone project.

Global Perspectives on Bookselling

Adi Ekatama, director of the publishing division of Gramedia in Indonesia, delivered a keynote address, tracing Gramedia’s evolution from a traditional bookstore into a broader retail business and its more recent return to bookselling at the heart of its identity.

He highlighted how changing reader behaviour, the growth of e-commerce and the rise of community-focused independent bookstores are reshaping the role of physical bookshops, with Gramedia increasingly positioning its stores as spaces for discovery, cultural engagement and community interaction.

Highlighting the continuing importance of physical bookstores alongside digital channels, he said: “Today we are choosing to be a bookstore again, because we believe the greatest purpose of books is to keep us human.”

Dr Brigitte Boulad of Diwan Bookstores delivered a presentation titled “Where Books Build Communities: Reimagining the Bookstore as a Cultural Hub,” exploring the role of bookstores in bringing readers together around books and strengthening their connection to the cultural life of their communities.

Dr Boulad highlighted Diwan’s Cultural Hub, a dedicated space within the bookstore that hosts talks on topics ranging from storytelling and music to fashion ethics and climate. She said the aim is to make subjects that may otherwise feel intimidating more accessible to people, while creating opportunities for communities to learn and engage together.

Workshops and Professional Meetings to Advance Practical Tools

The round table workshops covered topics including inventory management and demand analysis, improving in-store book displays, reducing book returns, developing e-commerce, building professional relationships with publishers and authors, and leveraging data and digital tools for marketing and reaching readers.

Topics related to the growth of independent bookstores addressed ways to diversify revenue streams, manage supply chains, and expand a bookstore’s impact without increasing its physical footprint.

Sessions also explored how to move beyond simply promoting books to building bookstores that become destinations for readers, how bookstores can attract people who do not regularly read, experiences in developing a shared national marketplace for independent bookstores, and the role of collaboration between publishers and booksellers.

Discussions also covered building reader communities around comics and organising children’s literature festivals that foster a love of reading, as part of a broader conversation about the role of booksellers in supporting the future of the book industry.

Andrew Yap, CEO of BookXcess (Malaysia) and Co-Founder of Big Bad Wolf Books, led the roundtable “Beyond the Bookworm: How Bookstores Can Win Over Non-Readers”, highlighting how store design, atmosphere and simple low-cost initiatives can encourage visitors to spend more time in a bookstore, become curious about books and ultimately engage with reading.

Ajay Jain, CEO of Kunzum Bookstores (India), led “The Bookshop as a Reading Movement,” examining the wider role bookstores can play in encouraging reading and building communities around books. He highlighted innovative practices which they recognized the readers by giving them certificates on the number of books they had read.

Aidai Maksatbekova, CEO of IQ Bookstores (Kyrgystan) on her topic- Practical Ways to Diversify Revenue for Independent Bookstores, spoke about different book clubs they had started for readers according to their age groups, and ensured these book clubs were well attended as their was a monthly subscription fee to them.

Elena Martinez, owner of Librería Serendipias in Spain, led “The Bookseller as Festival Maker: Creating Children’s Literature Festivals That Grow Readers,” focusing on how children’s literature festivals can help engage younger audiences and cultivate future readers.

Isabella Cretan, PR Executive, Carturesti (Romania), Booksellers as Ecosystem Builders: Strengthening the Future of Books- spoke about the book ecosystem as four connected – stages- creation, validation, encounter & readership. She also explained about the different grants, literary residencies and awards which supported the ecosystem.

Isabel Cristina Giraldo, Owner of El Retiro de Las Letras in Spain, led the roundtable “Growing Beyond Your Bookshop: How Independent Bookstores Can Increase Their Impact Without Increasing Their Size,” she said. “For me, growth is not necessarily about increasing the size of the bookstore. It is about expanding our connections with the community and making smarter use of the space we already have, so readers can find what they need easily, feel comfortable in the store and want to come back.”

James Killen, Director of Retail Operations at Manga Spot in the United States, led “Engagement, Discovery and Experience: Creating Community around Comics,” highlighting comics as a route to reader discovery, engagement and community-building.

Simon De Jocas, Advisor, Les Libraries (booksellers.ca) (Canada), building a National Marketplace for Independent Bookstores: The booksellers.ca, explained the story and the practices which has led to synergies and best practices to promote the book ecosystem and reach out to more readers.

Steve Jones, Dubai Mall Store Manager at Kinokuniya UAE, led “From Fandoms to Foot Traffic: Building Destinations for Passionate Readers,” focusing on the potential for bookstores to build stronger connections with readers around shared interests and fandoms.

He highlighted his experiences with case studies and innovative practices which led to strong bond with readers based on their interests. He focused on selling the experience, being unique, partnering with adjacent businesses.

These hands-on sessions gave participants the opportunity to discuss with experts the challenges facing their businesses, compare solutions implemented in different markets, and explore approaches that can be applied to bookselling, distribution and bookstore management.

Exhibitors from 29 Countries Represented Broad Cross-Section

The conference featured 65 exhibitors from 29 countries, representing a broad spectrum of organisations across the book industry. These included publishers, distributors, bookstores, literary agencies, translation and printing companies, as well as organisations specialising in children’s books, education, academic and technical content, book data and rights management, software solutions for publishers, and cultural and research institutions.

It also welcomed participants from Costa Rica, Zambia, Peru, Portugal, Ukraine and Kosovo for the first time.

Digital Tools and Arabic Book Distribution

Digital development sessions focused on the use of artificial intelligence to better understand customers and the role of metadata in increasing digital book sales. They also explored the use of social media to reach readers and the potential of print-on-demand services to make books available in wider markets.

Sessions on Arabic book distribution addressed growth opportunities, challenges facing distributors, and the role of logistics hubs in improving distribution operations. Topics included the impact of co-publishing on distributors’ work and how international book fairs can be used to showcase Arabic titles and expand their reach.

The conference concluded with business-to-business meetings that expanded opportunities for collaboration, alongside the “Meet a Mentor” programme at the PublisHer Lounge, which enabled participants to book one-on-one sessions with leading women in the book industry, discuss their professional questions, and benefit from their experience.