The 34th Doha International Book Fair

The 34th Doha Book Fair opens May 8 with 522 publishers, Palestine as Guest of Honor, new awards, literary exchange, and rich cultural events.

on May 02, 2025

Doha, Qatar: Director of the Doha International Book Fair Jassim Ahmed Al Buainain stated that the 34th edition of the fair, which will open on May 8, will be the biggest in its history in terms of participation.

There will be 522 publishing houses from 43 nations, 11 of which are from the State of Palestine (Guest of Honor this year), and a prestigious representation from different ministries, government and private institutions, and embassies.

Al Buainain said the fair this year will introduce the first Professional Literary Exchange Program, a bold initiative to enhance literary collaboration, exchange publishing rights, and promote translation efforts between Qatar and the literary world. The recipients of the Doha International Book Fair Awards for Author and Publisher will also be announced, in categories such as: Outstanding Publisher (Local and International), Outstanding Children's Book Publisher (Local and International), Creative Writer, and Young Qatari Writer.

The main stage at the fair will have a range of cultural and literary seminars by top Arab thinkers, while the Cultural Salon will have discussion sessions and book-launching sessions, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement issued today. Two halls will have workshops discussing a range of cultural issues, and the publications guide to the fair will include around 166,000 titles. For the first time, the fair will present the Halabouni Book Market libraries of Syria, exhibiting a selection of treasured books, along with the involvement of a number of UK publishers. The children's zone and theatre will present an extensive program of cultural and interactive events, and exhibit books from houses that have a specialisation in children's books and education books.

Al Buainain said the fair will offer a host of public services, including a Reading Guide service, a helpdesk, a porter service, and free public parking. He invited all to come to the fair and enjoy this significant cultural, intellectual, and literary occasion, its rich programme of events hosted by the Ministry of Culture, and the precious experience of meeting directly with authors, publishers, intellectuals, writers, poets from Qatar and abroad. The fair is every day from 9am to 10pm and on Fridays from 3pm to 10pm.

The Doha International Book Fair is one of the oldest and most prominent international book fairs in the region, famous for the high level of participation by Gulf, Arab, and global publishers. It was initially launched in 1972 under the patronage of the Qatar National Library, which was initially being organized every two years and since 2002 has been held annually. It acquired its global nature by drawing in prominent publishers globally: from only 20 at the inaugural fair to more than 500 from 40 nations today. Since 2010, every issue of the fair has had a Guest of Honor country: starting with the United States, then Turkey, Iran, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Russia, France, Saudi Arabia, and Oman-and this year, the State of Palestine is the Guest of Honor for issue 34.