Soonar 
More than 1,000 local, Arab and international publishing houses are displaying their products at the fifth Jeddah Book Fair launched on Thursday by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission under the slogan “Ports of Culture.”
The event, being held at Jeddah Superdome until Dec. 16, includes seminars, panel discussions, poetry readings, and workshops on the publication of comics and Japanese manga.
The inaugural day commenced with the attendance of France’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ludovic Pouille, who is leading a delegation from his country.
Pouille told Arab News: “It is a momentous occasion as the French pavilion is taking part for the first time at the Jeddah fair, and France is the exclusive participant with a dedicated pavilion, making it a tremendous honor and source of immense pleasure for me.”
According to Pouille, the French pavilion will have 15,000 titles from the nation’s biggest publishing houses.
During his visit, Pouille had the chance to engage with 12 Saudi students from King Abdulaziz University’s French language department.
France’s pavilion offers daily language courses for free.
Larry Lamartiniere, the director of Alliance Francaise in Jeddah, told Arab News: “France is very famous for its book culture. We at the Jeddah book fair offer daily courses for kids, teenagers, and adults from 5 to 7 p.m. at the pavilion. It is a chance to learn and explore more about the culture and the language.”
Pouille added: “People will learn French, read French because, at the end of the day, I’m a true believer in the dialogue of culture, and in the diversity, and what better symbol to diversity than the French pavilion here in the heart of the Jeddah book fair.”
Commenting on the role of reading in society, Pouille said: “I think that books today are more important than ever. Everybody is on the screen. Everybody is on the phone, taking a book, taking the time to read, either a kid or an adult. It’s absolutely essential. It brings you wisdom. It brings you knowledge, brings you openness. You need to read. That’s my message today to everybody.”
Leading French author Olivier Rolin is scheduled to have a book signing on Dec. 10.
To support independent, self-published writers, the commission has set up a corner called “Saudi Author,” which provides an opportunity to explore over 100 titles.
ROSHN, a PIF-owned giga-project and real estate developer, is a sponsor of this year’s edition of the fair.
ROSHN’s Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Ghada Alrumayan told Arab News: “The exhibition represents one of the ongoing efforts of ROSHN to enhance the quality of life for individuals and families through various means, including increasing knowledge, transferring cultures, opening avenues for research and innovation for society, and contributing to achieving the targets of Vision 2030.”
Children are offered edutainment activities through shows, theater, puppet workshops, and a writing and sensory play area.
Workshops on fashion, cooking, music, comic book creation, stop-motion and animation are also scheduled with local and international experts.
The manga and anime area at the fair has numerous interactive activities with several publishing houses selling books and collectibles.
Mohammed AlGasimi, organizer of the section, said 26 manga publishing houses, primarily from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Britain, are participating. The manga section features statues of iconic anime figures including Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen and Naruto Uzumaki.
The Heritage Commission offers visitors a micro exhibition to explore the nation’s history. The “Year of Arab Poetry 2023” initiative is also present at the fair through various platforms.
The Jeddah Book Fair is the third such gathering organized by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission this year, following Madinah in June and Riyadh in September.
The fair is open from 11:00 a.m. to midnight, except on Fridays, when it opens from 2 p.m. until midnight.