New HBKU Press Books Available at Muscat International Book Fair 2019
This year marks another consecutive year where Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press) participates in the Muscat International Book Fair with a booth showcasing the Press’s newest releases at the regional exhibition that hosts hundreds of other publishing houses from the Gulf and Middle East.
“HBKU Press is bringing over a hundred new titles to readers in Oman which validates our commitment to act as a platform for local Qatari and Arab talent and our commitment to help facilitate the dissemination of local narratives to different regions across the Gulf and beyond,” explains Rima Ismail, Outreach and Special Projects Manager at HBKU Press.
Dr. Nasser Al Mohannadi will kick off the fair with a talk on 22 February between 5:00-7:00pm detailing his 28 years of preparation and training that led him to become one of the first Qataris ever to complete a full Ironman race which is the topic of his best-selling book, How to Be an Ironman.
Beloved Qatari children’s author Muneera Saad Al-Romaihi is one of many Qatari authors whose books will be available at the fair. Her fourth book, Monsters are Afraid of Mama, stars a ‘supermom’ character who explains away simple childhood fears in a way that will have both parents and children alike sleeping soundly at night with all fear assuaged.
Other books by Qatari authors available at the fair those of established Qatari authors Jameela Sultan Almass Al Jassem, The Riyal’s Journey and The Ant Teacher, and Sheikha Al Zeyara, The Sultan of the Sea and The Farmer Who Saved The Village. First-time Qatari author Faten Al-Sulaiti’s book, Hairy Mary, will also be available for the first time in Muscat.
Horticulturalists will enjoy a stunning new series by Qatari author Shuaa Abdullah Al-Sada titled, Gardening in Arabia, that takes an in depth look at the various trees and fruiting plants unique to the Arabian Gulf region. Available in both English and Arabic, the books provide the scientific name of every tree and plant, along with their English names, a full description of the plant’s characteristics, and useful advice on where, when and how to cultivate them in your own garden, and how to treat their most common pests and diseases. Stunning photographs throughout will allow you to recognize the trees and plants and to enjoy their remarkable beauty.
Omani readers can also be privy the unique local perspective regarding the ongoing blockade against Qatar. The Gulf Crisis: The View from Qatar takes an insider look at arguably the most pressing issue in the region where fifteen Doha-based scholars and experts offer insider accounts of the ways the blockade has influenced Qatar’s economy, politics, and society; how it has impacted on regional and international diplomatic, security, and strategic relations; and how it has been covered in traditional and social media outlets.
“In addition to providing a platform for local narratives, HBKU Press is committed to translating best-selling and critically-acclaimed works from around the globe into Arabic in an effort to create channels of cross-cultural communication and the to contribute to the knowledge economy,” adds Ismail.
Newly available at the Muscat International Book Fair are the translations of 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kazuo Ishiguro’s collection of work. Ishiguro’s translated Arabic titles include An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains Of The Day (1989, winner of the Booker Prize), When We Were Orphans (2000, shortlisted for the Booker Prize), The Buried Giant (2015, which was a #1 UK bestseller), and a book of stories, Nocturnes (2009).
Additionally, Khaled Hosseini fans will want to stop by the HBKU Press booth to grab their copy of his latest, critically-acclaimed book Sea Prayer: a hauntingly-illustrated narrative written as a letter from a father to his son on the eve of their sea voyage to escape their war-torn homeland. The story, which has already sold millions worldwide, is available in Arabic exclusively from HBKU Press.
HBKU Press’s booth represents over nine years of the publishing house’s catalog of acclaimed works and innovative publications.
The Muscat International Book Fair was launched in 1992 and has contributed to the cultural movement in the Sultanate by developing into the country’s foremost cultural exhibition and a landmark cultural, intellectual and literary forum in the region.
HBKU Press will be at the fair in booth K12-13 (Hall 3) for its entirety from 20 February to 3 March, 2019.
