The second session of ‘Publishers Club’, a virtual discussion initiative organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), will be held on September 23 (Wednesday).

Titled ‘Selling Books in the Arab World in the Time of Corona’, the session will have Sherif Bakr, General Manager, Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, Egypt, in conversation with Emma House, Founder of Oreham House, on how publishers are coping with issues thrown up by the current situation, the challenges faced by Arab publishers and how they can leverage the digital medium to drive sales.

The session which will be streamed live from 6:00 to 7:00 pm via the Zoom video conferencing platform, can be accessed at the following link: https://bit.ly/2HiQh7v

Sherif Bakr has worked in publishing since 1997. He worked as General Secretary of the Egyptian Publishing Association where he was responsible of the Development and e-publishing committee for 4 years. Bakr is also a member of the Book and Publication Committee of the Supreme Council of Culture in Cairo, and part of the Egyptian Export Council for Printing, Packaging, Paper, Literary and Artistic Works.

Emma House has more than 25 years of experience in the book publishing industry. She founded the Oreham Group, a consultancy for international publishing, which focuses on research, events, business development and project management. House has held senior positions at the London Book Fair and the Publishers Association (PA) in the United Kingdom.

The Publishers Club virtual series is a part of SBA’s ongoing efforts to support and advance the publishing sector by bringing together industry professionals on a unified platform to exchange knowledge and expertise and discuss strategies to advance the sector globally, while presenting effective solutions for both common and unique issues being faced by businesses since the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic outbreak.