The German Embassy Doha and the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region cooperate with the Ministry of Culture and Sports to inform the audience of the Qatari capital on the German book market and present selected books in German, English and Arabic at the Qatar Germany 2017 Pavilion. Beside the Qatar Germany 2017 Pavilion various talks and presentations will take place as part of a varied program offered by the German institutions.

Together with its partners Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press and the Qatar National Library, the Goethe-Institut has previously organized two workshops for aspiring authors and illustrators of children’s books from Qatar. During the workshops, which took place over the course of a week, renowned German author and illustrator Ute Krause worked with authors on how to develop story lines and characters. She also worked with illustrators on how to depict these stories in a beautiful and playful manner. Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press, the Qatar National Library and the Goethe-Institut are pleased to launch the Qatari children’s book “Ashgar Al Hawaa,” authored by Dr. Jabr Al Noaimi and illustrated by Mahesh Kumar as part of these workshops in a panel discussion at the Cultural Activity Pavilion on 29 November 2017, 5 pm. Dr. Jabr Al Noaimi, Mahesh Kumar and Ute Krause will talk with Jameela Al Jassem from Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press on how they worked on their book project and what it takes to develop a flourishing idea into a printed and published book. The panel will be moderated by Ahmed Al Malki of the Qatar National Library. It will be followed by a book reading and signing by Dr. Jabr Al Noaimi at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press exhibition booth.

On the same day at 7 pm renowned German children book author and illustrator Ute Krause will be in conversation with TV presenter Crystal Tannoury. Ute Krause who has written over 20 children books and illustrated more than 400 children books will talk about her work as an author and illustrator. Several of her books have been translated into Arabic and are published and widely available in the Arab world. One of her books will be read in Arabic to school classes every morning at 9 am on the weekdays of the book fair. Renowned Qatari story teller Ebrahim Al Bishri will furthermore offer a story telling session for families who visit the book fair with their kids on Saturday, 2 December 2017 at 9 am. All story telling sessions take place at the Qatar Germany 2017 Pavilion.

Renowned German writer, translator from Arabic to German and literary critic Stefan Weidner will present his latest publication “Anti-Pegida” which is available in Arabic through the Fair Foundation in Katara at the Cultural Activity Pavilion on 30 November 2017 at 8 pm. In conversation with TV presenter Crystal Tannoury he will talk about his work as an author and translator for Arabic authors into German. Besides this talk he will also give a lecture at the same location on 2 December 2017 at 8 pm on the “Cultural Impact of Arab Authors in Germany”.

German manga artist Inga Steinmetz will talk at the Cultural Activity Pavilion on 2 December 2017 at 7 pm about recent tendencies in the German manga and comic scene and explain how she started her career as manga artist. Based on her latest manga she will talk about what inspires her, how she starts working on a new manga and what are the steps to follow from the first idea to the finalized book. Furthermore she will give workshops for school classes on 30 November and 3 December at 11 am and a workshop for teenagers that visit the book fair with their families on Saturday, 2 December 2017, at 4 pm. All workshops will take place at the Qatar Germany 2017 Pavilion. Inga Steinmetz also offers to draw visitors of the book fair as a manga character on three days: 29 November 2017 at 10 am, 1 December 2017 at 4:30 pm and on 2 December 2017 at 3 pm. These manga portrait sessions also take place at the Qatar Germany 2017 Pavilion.

And Palestinian-Syrian publisher Samar Haddad (Atlas Publishing) will visit the Doha International Book Fair to talk about publishing German books in Arabic on 3 December 2017 at 7 pm and read on 4 December 2017 at 7 pm from two German books that have been recently translated and published – “Qatna” and “Hoppe”. Both events take place at the Cultural Activity Pavilion and will be in Arabic. The book reading will be in Arabic and German.

The Doha International Book Fair takes place at the Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre from 29 November to 5 December 2017. The fair opens daily from 9 am to 9 pm, except on Thursday, 30 November 2017 when it opens from 9 am to 10 pm and on Friday, 1 December 2017, when it opens from 4 pm to 10 pm. All events organized by the German Embassy and the Goethe-Institut are free of charge and open to the public.

Qatar Germany 2017 Year of Culture is a yearlong program designed to deepen understanding between nations through the mutual exchange of arts, culture, heritage and sports, developed by Qatar Museums in partnership with the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, the German Embassy in Doha and the Embassy of Qatar in Germany.