A Week for the Readers
This week, the capital of turns into a city of books as thousands of readers, authors, and publishers gather for the Riyadh International Book Fair. The fair opens on 2nd October 2, Thursday, and runs through 11th October, Saturday, at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, a campus setting that underlines the Kingdom’s commitment to learning and public culture. It is organized by the Literature, Publishing & Translation Commission (Ministry of Culture). Entry is free with advance e-tickets.
The scale this year is substantial. Reports point to 2,000+ publishing houses from 25+ countries, alongside an expanded program of talks, signings, and workshops. For families, students, and industry professionals, the fair functions as a national meeting point, a place where Arabic literature stands confidently while international voices are welcomed in.
Guest of Honor: Uzbekistan
This edition welcomes Uzbekistan as Guest of Honor, bringing a Silk Road lens to the program. Expect showcases that connect Central Asian manuscript traditions and Islamic scholarship with contemporary writing, translation, and design. The Guest of Honor pavilion and related sessions highlight shared cultural threads such as calligraphy, poetry, history, while opening new conversations between publishers, researchers, and readers in Riyadh.
Theme: “Riyadh Reads”
The banner “Riyadh Reads” places the city itself at the heart of the narrative. It signals a confident, public reading culture: book buying paired with dialogue, study alongside discovery, Arabic literature alongside global exchange. As a message, it is simple and strong: Riyadh is presenting reading as a shared practice of everyday life.
Multilingual Titles at Riyadh International Book Fair
Readers will find Arabic at the center, alongside strong selections in English and other languages. Many booths carry translations, classics and contemporary voices, so titles travel both into and out of Arabic. This mix serves students, researchers, families, and visitors who read in more than one language. The result is a fair that welcomes multilingual readers without losing its Arabic heart.
Program Highlights
- Panels and conversations.
Daily stages feature regional and international authors in moderated talks, craft discussions, and thematic sessions. The schedule blends mainstream genres with specialized niches, from children’s literature and Arabic poetry to translation, history, and design. - Author signings and book launches.
Local and international writers meet readers in timed sessions throughout the week. Launches by Saudi university presses and cultural organizations add an academic layer that resonates with the venue. - Business Zone returns in 2025.
The zone brings together literary agencies, provides services to publishers, and features pavilions for governmental, financial, and entrepreneurial entities. It also hosts dialogue sessions and workshops on entrepreneurship, copyright, and licensing in the book industry. - Children’s and family programming.
Storytelling corners, interactive readings, and activity stations make the fair navigable for young readers. Families tend to cluster around late afternoons and evenings, so planning ahead is wise. - Pavilions and exhibits.
The Guest of Honor pavilion anchors cross-cultural content, while ministry bodies and cultural institutions present curated exhibits that link heritage with contemporary output. University and research stands offer catalogs, journals, and student-friendly titles.
Reading in Public: A Living Practice
Books as Civic Space
Book fairs are more than marketplaces. In Saudi Arabia, they function as civic spaces where people meet ideas in public. When readers browse side by side, families with strollers, students with notebooks, elders searching for a poet’s new edition, they practice the habits that sustain culture: patient attention, curiosity, and exchange. The Riyadh International Book Fair strengthens those habits by putting literature in the open, not only in classrooms or private libraries.
A Campus That Signals Access
The campus setting at PNU intensifies this effect. Hosting the Kingdom’s largest book fair at the world’s largest women’s university is a clear cultural statement: knowledge is communal, intergenerational, and accessible. School groups arrive with reading lists; university clubs plan meetups around panels; teachers and librarians assemble new resource sets; and first-time visitors discover how broad the Arabic catalog has become. The result is a visible, confident reading culture rooted in Arabic yet eager to engage with global publishing.
Guest of Honor and Cultural Exchange
Culturally, the Guest of Honor spotlight adds a second layer. Uzbekistan’s program invites visitors to read the region’s history and creativity through manuscripts, scholarship, and modern narratives. The exchange is two-way: Saudi readers encounter Central Asian perspectives, while Uzbek writers and publishers meet an Arabic readership that is young, digital, and invested in heritage. Over time, these encounters shape what gets translated, taught, and celebrated.
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