The Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) will host several top Arab and international writers, thinkers, poets and novelists from Nov. 6 to 16 this year.

Ahmed bin Rakkad Al-Ameri, director of the fair, said at a press conference here that the guests include novelist Jeffrey Archer; A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former Indian president; actress Deepti Naval; Indian actor Kamal Hassan; American Steve Perry; Pakistan's Muhsen Hamed; and Ghassan Salame.

Other guests are poet and media representative Zahi Wihbi; novelist Yousef Al-Qaeed; poet Mohammad Ali Shams Al-Din; novelist Wasini Al-Araj; Sabir Yuhafiz; novelist Ibrahim Nasrullah; writer Ibrahim Issa; Fawzia Aldiria; writer Radwan Al-Sayyid; writer Huda Barakaat; Yumna Aleed and 130 other prominent people.

Al-Ameri said the fair has become one of the Arab world's biggest events since its inception 31 years ago. There would be a diverse range of professional programs and activities, with hundreds of thousands of titles on display covering literature, science, culture and philosophy, he said.

The 11-day festival is expected to attract 1,010 exhibitors from 53 countries, including 23 Arab countries and 26 non-Arab countries, with Portugal, New Zealand, Hungary and Britain participating for the first time. Participants will exhibit 405,000 titles, 20,000 more than last year.

Publishers and distributors from Saudi Arabia will also participate. Saudi Arabia was the event's guest of honor in 2011.

“We have a lot of surprises for our audiences from across the world, in terms of cultural, children’s and cooking activities. This reflects the fair's position as a landmark event in the UAE and Sharjah,” said Al-Ameri at the press conference at Al-Qasba Theater.

The fair will have books in more than 180 languages. The organizers also announced a line-up of over 580 activities.

Lebanon will be the guest of honor this year in recognition of its contribution to Arab culture.

The press conference included Abdullah Al-Owais, chairman of the Department of Culture and Information; Abdul Aziz Taryam, general manager, Northern Emirate Region-Etisalat; Sami Alnimeer, consul general of the Republic of Lebanon in Dubai and the Northern Emirates; Rashid Saeed Al-Shamsi, director of scientific publishing in Strategic Visions magazine; and Khalid Al-Midfa, director general of the Sharjah Media Corporation.