The Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre (ALC) is set to organise the fourth edition of the Al Ain Book Festival from 24th to 30th November 2025 at Al Ain Square - Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium and several prominent cultural sites throughout Al Ain city.

The book festival will offer visitors a comprehensive intellectual and cultural experience that celebrates books, narrative arts, poetry, and creativity.

The festival continues to consolidate Al Ain’s position as a distinguished destination for cultural and literary events, presenting a rich programme of interactive activities that draw inspiration from the city’s cultural heritage and its authentic values. It aims to engage various segments of the community, promote a culture of reading, and focus on the Emirati family.

The annual event also serves as a platform to celebrate Emirati authors and books, spotlight notable talents across all creative art forms, and showcase the city’s rich culture, connecting its ancient past with its bright future.

“The Al Ain Book Festival continues to achieve momentous success,” asserted Saeed Hamdan Al Tunaiji, Executive Director of the ALC. “It is a key element of our vision at the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, which aims to launch innovative and effective practical applications within the creative industries, leveraging their tremendous potential to meaningfully enrich our cultural identity.”

“The Festival has become a prominent model for drawing inspiration from Emirati culture and channelling it into creative products that celebrate Emirati writers and books, support the publishing industry, empower young talent, and engage all segments of society,” he added.

“With its diverse programme, this year’s edition of the festival adds a distinctive dimension to the Community Campaign to Support Sustainable Reading, which the Centre launched in February 2025 and is set to run until the end of the year,” Al Tunaiji noted. “The campaign aims to establish reading as a constructive habit and a sustainable part of daily life, while promoting the concept of sustainability in the cultural sector and advancing Arabic as a language of innovation, creativity, sciences, and arts.”

This year’s edition of the Al Ain Book Festival presents a diverse and integrated programme of activities inspired by Al Ain city’s cultural heritage, featuring literary, artistic, and intellectual events designed to appeal to all segments of the community. This further establishes the festival as a comprehensive intellectual forum and an annual occasion that showcases the city’s rich cultural scene.

Through its diverse programme of activities, the Al Ain Book Festival reaffirms its commitment to establishing the Arabic language as a fundamental pillar of Emirati identity, while contributing to Abu Dhabi’s cultural vision by organising landmark events that meet the highest international standards. This, in turn, reflects the UAE’s advanced standing in the international cultural scene and enhances Al Ain city’s presence as a vibrant bridge between heritage and contemporary creativity.

Last year’s edition of the festival (2024) recorded a remarkable turnout from publishers and the wider public, with more than 260 participation requests submitted, marking a 73 percent increase over the previous edition. 200 exhibitors presented more than 100,000 titles at the event, which featured over 200 cultural and literary activities targeting all segments of society and further cementing the festival’s position as a prominent cultural event on the local and regional maps.