The BA Prepares to Launch its 20th International Book Fair
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The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is preparing to launch the 20th edition of its International Book Fair, which will take place from Monday, 7 July to Monday, 21 July. The 20th edition is being held in collaboration with the General Egyptian Book Organization and the Egyptian and Arab Publishers Association, and is sponsored by QNB bebasata.
Prof. Ahmed Zayed, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, announced that this year's guest of honor is former Moroccan Foreign Minister and renowned intellectual Mohamed Benaissa. Mr. Benaissa was a former member of the Library’s Board of Trustees, who passed away in March 2025.
He added that around 78 Egyptian and Arab publishing houses are taking part in this year's fair, and that a children's pavilion has been set up, featuring more than 15 publishing houses specializing in printing and publishing children's books, in addition to another pavilion dedicated to old and rare books (Sour Al-Azbakeya).
A cultural program will be held on the sidelines of the fair that features more than 215 events, with the participation of nearly 800 speakers and lecturers. The events will take place at the Library in Alexandria, as well as at Sinnari House in Sayeda Zeinab district and Khadija Palace in Helwan.
This year's program features a number of conferences, seminars, and workshops addressing social topics that aim to support youth, women, and children, together with cultural topics on heritage, poetry, literature, technology, psychology, and sports.
It is worth mentioning that this year's fair will witness the distribution of the Grand Reading Competition awards launched by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The award ceremony will be held on Thursday, 17 July, in the Great Hall of the Library's Conference Center, in the presence of a host of writers, thinkers, and intellectuals.
This year, the Library is presenting a diverse collection of 33 new titles, including books, catalogs, periodicals, magazines, brochures, as well as the “Heritage of Humanity” youth series, which now comprises 80 booklets, in addition to its existing collection of 1,109 titles.