SHARJAH, 3rd November, 2026 (WAM) -- The 16th Sharjah International Publishers Conference is bringing publishers and rights professionals together through two complementary formats: scheduled Matchmaking meetings designed to support direct one-to-one business connections and rights opportunities; and the newly introduced Global Exchange programme, focused on themed discussions around markets, sectors and industry challenges.

The conference's one-on-one Matchmaking programme continues to provide participants with scheduled meetings focused on business development, rights trading and potential partnerships.

A regular feature of the Sharjah International Publishers Conference, these business-to-business meetings enable publishers, literary agents and other industry professionals to connect directly with potential partners from different markets, discuss catalogues and rights opportunities, and explore areas for future cooperation.

The matchmaking meetings are being held on the second and third days of the conference, complementing the broader exchange of knowledge and market insights at the event.

At a Global Exchange session, Rebecca Hart, Senior Relationship Manager at the British Council in London, said the platform provided an early opportunity for six UK publishers attending the conference for the first time to better understand the regional publishing landscape.

During a session for Arab and UK participants, the group met a literary agent from the region and discussed local agenting and rights-selling practices.

"It was a chance for the group to ask questions and learn more about how agenting and rights selling work in the region," Hart said. "I think they have come away with many potential future relationships and ideas."

She added that the British Council is supporting the UK publishers in establishing relationships in new markets and making the most of their first participation in the conference.

Another Global Exchange session focused on comics and graphic novels, bringing together participants from markets including Colombia, Kazakhstan, Sharjah, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and the United States.

San Mon Aung, President of the Myanmar Publishers Association, said the format allowed participants to address shared challenges rather than focus immediately on buying and selling rights.

"At Global Exchange, we are solving problems and discussing the challenges in each region," he said. "We learn from each other, share our experiences, and discuss how to find artists and develop the comics industry in our own regions."

Paolo Herras, President and Co-founder of Komiket in the Philippines, said the session also gave comics and graphic novels greater visibility within the wider publishing programme.

"This is an opportunity to start showing that there is a space allocated for comics and graphic novels, so that more publishers specialising in comics and graphic novels are encouraged to be here," he said.

US literary agent Janna Morishima highlighted the incredibly wide scope for unexpected connections. "You don't know what to expect, so any conversation could lead anywhere," she said.

The Global Exchange sessions will continue on Tuesday with a meeting bringing together Arab publishers and representatives of the British Council, led by Rebecca Hart, followed by a session connecting African publishers with an Asian delegation, led by Adibah Omar. The programme will also feature a meeting between Tamil-language publishers and their counterparts from the Arab world.

The annually held conference concludes on November 3 at Expo Centre Sharjah. Organised by the Sharjah Book Authority, this year's edition brings together 1,433 publishers from 126 countries for a professional programme spanning rights trading, market development, industry exchange and international collaboration ahead of the 45th Sharjah International Book Fair.