Bookworms can get their fix over the next 11-days, 24-hours a day, at the UAE’s biggest annual book sale.
The Big Bad Wolf sale is now on at the Sound Stage Venue in Dubai Studio City. Those with VIP passes got an advanced chance to peruse the many books on offer the day before. The show offers nearly two-weeks of constant book shopping, with heavily discounted books some up to 80 per cent off.
The Big Bad Wolf sale has toured the world this year, moving between 32-cities and 10-countries including Indonesia, Korea, Taiwan, Pakistan, Myanmar and Malaysia.
The show was founded by Andrew Yap and Jacqueline Ng back in 2009, after learning of the low literacy rate in Malaysia. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Yap admitted that he didn’t read very much as a child.
“Growing up, I never had too many books. In many developing countries, books are not easily available. We launched the fair to encourage a reading culture among young kids.”
“Next year, we are hoping to expand to 45 to 50 cities in 18 countries, including India. In three years, we hope to be in 100 different cities,” Yap added.
The Big Bad Wolf sale was so successful in Yap’s native Malaysia that he soon went global. This year the sale is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Yap works closely with publishers, which is how the Big Bad Wolf sale manages to get such heavily discounted books.
“In Dubai, we displayed two million books last year. Based on our on-site research, we realised the most popular titles in Dubai are children’s books, and the second most popular ones are self-help books,” explained Yap.
Last year, the exhibition saw more than 150,000 visitors in Dubai.
