The 15th edition of the Al Ain Book Festival has seen remarkable attendance from visitors of all age groups

The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) is hosting the 15th edition of the Al Ain Book Festival, which has seen a sizable turnout of people of all ages and interests buying books on a variety of subjects from 200 exhibitors’ selection of 100,000 volumes.

The most popular genres among festival attendees in Al Ain Square’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium were children’s books, general knowledge books, and literary works, which drew readers of foreign novels and translated books. The community’s desire to take advantage of the event’s offers, which seek to foster a culture of reading and knowledge in a setting that combines entertainment and education, is reflected in the high level of interest.

Families were especially interested in children’s and young adult literature, with parents remarking that the festival offers a great chance to encourage their kids to love reading by providing them with interactive books and illustrated tales that are backed by technology and intended to uphold moral and social principles.
The participating publishers, for their part, said that more people are realizing how important it is to support children’s education and foster their creativity and inventiveness.

At the Al Ain Book Festival, general knowledge books came in second place among the most popular books, drawing plenty of people who were keen to broaden their knowledge in a variety of subjects, such as physics, history, philosophy, and other cultures.

These books provided a wealth of information and education, allowing readers to delve into novel subjects that pique interest and lead to new discoveries.

Novels were also one of the most popular genres, with readers eager to discover new worlds and creative concepts showing a great deal of interest in both foreign and translated works. In this sense, novels were notable for tackling deep human concerns that represent the spiritual and everyday lives of many groups.

Notably, books that enable readers to immerse themselves in a variety of experiences from across the globe and transcend cultural and geographic borders were of great interest.

The Al Ain Book Festival audience showed a great deal of interest in specialized publications in addition to these well-known categories. These books included works on art, languages, religion, the social sciences, philosophy, and the history and culture of the United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf. The popularity of sports books, biographies, and pastimes among different visitor groups also demonstrated the festival’s cultural variety and capacity to accommodate a wide range of audience interests and preferences.

Al Ain Book Festival 2024 began with the theme ‘All Eyes on Al Ain’ in Al Ain Square – Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, where it will be held from November 17 to 23 together with other historical, cultural, and tourism sites across the city.

More than 200 events and activities are planned for this year’s festival, which brings together a notable collection of cultural, artistic, and poetic trailblazers from a variety of creative disciplines. The purpose of the event is to inspire community members, particularly young people and youth, to connect with and appreciate the rich history of Emirati culture and to foster a culture of reading.