With a team of 21 authors and 600 titles, the guest of honour at this year’s 12-day event is proving its literature didn’t end with the ancients
Sharjah, November 6, 2025
You may remember Greece for Plato, Homer and the myths that shaped Western thought but at this year’s Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), the mediterranean country of Moussaka and Alexander is rewriting the script. As the Guest of Honour at the 44th edition, Greece is bringing a contemporary, diverse literary voice to one of the world’s largest cultural gatherings.
“It is a great honour for us to be here at the SIBF,” says Dr. Sissy Papathanassiou, translator, author and Head of the Directorate of Letters at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, who curated Greece’s national participation. “This gives us a big opportunity to promote our culture and literature to the Arabic world, because Sharjah is the melting pot for publishers, authors, and translators from across the region, from the Indian subcontinent, and from Africa.”
Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) under the theme “Between you and a Book”, the fair has become a magnet for millions of visitors and thousands of publishers over the years, solidifying the emirate’s global reputation as a beacon of literature and cultural dialogue.
From the classics to the contemporary
“When people think of Greek literature, they think of The Odyssey, of Plato, of Euripides – and they are right,” said Papathanassiou. “But there is so much more. Greece today has a vibrant contemporary literary scene. We have had two Nobel Prize winners, Giorgos Seferis (1963) and Odysseas Elytis (1979) in recent years, who both won the accolade in literature. We also are home to several authors whose works have been translated all over the world. That’s what we want to showcase here.”
Greece’s pavilion reflects that vitality – hosting book launches, poetry readings, children’s workshops, and joint events with the fair’s main cultural programme. The Greek delegation is among the largest ever at SIBF, with 21 authors who are part of a 75-member strong contingent of writers, translators, publishers and university professors, representing the country’s creative sector.
“We came as a big team because we want to make clear that Greek literature is not something of the past,” Dr. Papathanassiou added. “It is alive, modern, and constantly evolving.”
Translating friendship
The participation also highlights GreekLit, Greece’s national translation grant program, which supports the publication of Greek books in foreign languages – including Arabic. Several new translations are debuting at Sharjah this year, underscoring a growing literary exchange between Greece and the Arab world.
“We believe in translation as an act of friendship,” said Dr. Papathanassiou, who is also President of the Friends of the Analogio Society, an organisation promoting intercultural dialogue. “That is why we support translators and publishers. They are the invisible ambassadors of literature.”
‘Sharjah a global literary hub’
For Dr. Papathanassiou, Sharjah’s steadfast commitment to literature and culture have positioned it as a global literary hub, and SIBF 2025 has offered Greece a global platform to share its own with the world. “We both come from civilisations that value knowledge, dialogue, and storytelling,” she said. “This fair reminds us that books are not just about reading – they are about connecting. Both Greece and Sharjah believe in the power of words – in storytelling as a bridge between people.”
-ENDS-
Attached images:
- Dr. Sissy Papathanassiou, translator, author and Head of the Directorate of Letters at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
2-4: General images from Greece pavilion