SBA Virtual Book Club

Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) has launched a virtual Book Club that hosts renowned authors in a series of live and interactive book discussions. The sessions are free to attend and scheduled to be held every fortnight.

Announcing the Book Club on Twitter, SBA said, “Books bear an unfathomable power to bring us together. A good story remains with us, like words engraved in stone. So, in the face of hardship, we read more, and we bring you the ‘SBA Book Club’.”

Khoula Al Mujaini, Director of Fairs and Festivals at SBA, commented that this initiative seeks to bring books and the culture of reading into people’s homes, and promotes Sharjah’s cultural project to broaden the people’s horizons and enrich their knowledge.

The first session was held on Thursday, 2 July with New York Times bestselling author, Joseph Finder, who entertained audiences with dialogue based on his thriller, House on Fire. The discussion was moderated by Emirati author Eman Al Yousef and was hosted on Zoom. The recording of the session can be accessed on-demand here.

The second session hosted novelist and poet Lang Leav, who rose to stardom as a ‘digital poet’ and became an internationally acclaimed author. She is credited with popularising poetry among a new generation of young readers. She spoke about her bestselling novel, Sad Girls. Moderated by Dr Afra Atiq, an award-winning Emirati poet who has performed, spoken and mentored across multiple international platforms, the discussion was held on Zoom on Thursday, 23 July. The recording of the session can be accessed on-demand here.

Information on upcoming sessions will be updated on SBA’s Facebook and Twitter pages.