The Sharjah Media City has some unique offerings to keep passersby hooked to its pavilion at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair
Sharjah, November 11, 2025
How would it be to design your own book cover even as the story idea is still developing or after the first solid draft and title are ready? It can be exciting and motivating especially for young writers, and the Sharjah Media City (Shams) pavilion at the 44th Sharjah International Book Fair has rightly gauged visitor psychology in setting up a fun AI-powered screen that generates bright, attractive covers with the writer’s image on it.
Shams is known for its commitment to support creative and media businesses by providing a hub for company setup, licensing, and business services. It is present at SIBF through a pavilion with three features – the AI screen for book covers, a podcast studio, and a screen with a QR code that invites children to participate in a storywriting competition, the results of which will be announced and awards presented before the book fair’s closing day on November 16.
The AI screen is a huge hit with children, says Noora Al Kamali, Advertising and Promotions Executive at Shams. “The AI generation tool is a new platform that can generate a personalised book cover with your own photo and prompt. We are doing it for the first time at SIBF and it is exclusive here. We do have this facility at our headquarters in Sharjah but it is only on request.”
The user interface is available in both English and Arabic. After the person’s name is entered, it will prompt for the book’s background picture – magical forest and whimsical character; spaceships, aliens and planets; cartoon animals and jungle setting; hidden clues, magnifying glass and the like for a mystery novel; fish, underwater castle and mermaids, and film studio lights and cameras. Depending on the selection, it can yield a cover with the title ‘Sunken Treasure’ and the author-protagonist in diving gear or a detective examining a map with a magnifying glass.
Al Kamali said: “Being a book fair where a lot of aspiring young writers are present, we understand this will be a popular concept. They can contact our creative team present at the pavilion and they can help them based on the content of their story and a rough impression of their cover.”
Shams also has a full-fledged podcast facility at its main office in Sharjah which entrepreneurs and startups can rent for a small fee, she informed. At its SIBF pavilion, the podcast service is being utilised by authors to discuss their books and experiences with writing and publishing.
Shams also has a media support system called Hekaya, an initiative to scout for writing talents and provide them with an opportunity to hone their scriptwriting and content development skills and thus empower young talents in the region.
Sharjah International Book Fair 2025 is a 12-day event, organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) under the theme ‘Between You and a Book’.
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