Sharjah International Literary Agency (SILA) has named Tamer Said as its next director, opening a new chapter in the agency’s roadmap to regional publishing.
One of UAE’s top publishing executives and former Managing Director of Kalimat Group for over 12 years, Said’s priorities in his new role will be to escalate the agency’s rights and translation initiatives across the Arab world, push further into cultural and scientific fields, and promote cross-cultural literary enrichment to the benefit of the regional publishing sector.
“This is an exciting time to be joining Sharjah International Literary Agency, which was set up during the pandemic but is now really starting to make its mark. There’s growing demand for Arab content around the world, just as Arab readers are hungry for international works. SILA will address these demands and develop a dynamic cultural pipeline to nourish and expand the Arab publishing sector while introducing more international readers to Arab culture and literature,” says Said.
During his tenure at Kalimat Group, Said helped the company grow by taking the group’s publications into new markets worldwide and building robust partnerships with international publishing houses.
Created in 2020 by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) under Chairperson Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, SILA has facilitated in enhancing communication between authors, illustrators, translators, publishers, and other stakeholders, helping transform numerous works for global readership. SILA also ensures protection of authors’ and publishers’ rights, stimulates the Arabic publishing market, and promotes Arabic literary and cultural content globally.
