- When
- 4–15 November 2026
- Where
- Sharjah, UAE
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The 45th Sharjah International Book Fair takes place at Expo Centre Sharjah from 4 to 15 November. The organisers expect 2,673 publishers and exhibitors from 124 countries and promise 1,500 events and 106 guests, including writers, artists and intellectuals from 25 countries. This year’s Guest of Honour is Oman, and the theme is Made of Stories. The fair is organised by the Sharjah Book Authority.
When: 4–15 November. The organisers have not yet published daily opening hours; Expo Centre Sharjah lists the fair from 10:00 to 22:00 local time.
Where: Expo Centre Sharjah, Al Taawun Street, Al Khan, Sharjah, UAE.
Entry: free, with no advance registration needed. Some courses, workshops and shows require registration or booking.
Getting there: the organisers have announced free shuttle buses and extra parking; routes are yet to be published. Last year, shuttles ran from Al Rashidiya bus station in Dubai and from City Centre Ajman.
Programme: on the fair’s website.
What’s on
Oman brings 50 participants, including 41 writers and poets. Its Guest of Honour programme includes 15 cultural sessions, six children’s workshops and 20 artistic performances.
Guests include Kuwaiti novelist Saud Alsanousi, Lebanese writer Najwa Barakat, American speculative fiction author Nnedi Okorafor, British thriller writer Clare Mackintosh and Chinese novelist Liu Zhenyun. From 7 to 10 November, the fifth Thriller Festival, held with Capital Crime in London and Thriller Festival New York, brings together more than 12 crime writers, literary agents and screenwriters, including British authors Vaseem Khan and Abir Mukherjee.
New for visitors this year are Poets’ Corner, where visitors’ stories are turned into poems in Arabic or English; Future Hands District, an interactive learning space where children explore different professions; and a Cookery Corner with chefs from the Arab world and beyond. Three shows require advance booking: the musical When Memories Sing on 7 November, the family science show Impossible or Science?! on 8 November and the outdoor performance Waterland on 14–15 November.
The professional programme starts before the fair opens. The 16th Sharjah International Publishers Conference runs from 1 to 3 November, with rights meetings and more than 30 workshops on artificial intelligence, audiobooks and copyright, followed by the Sharjah International Library Conference from 7 to 9 November. Registration for the Publishers Conference closed in August.
