So it was my last day at the ADIBF yesterday and time to do a final tour of the stands to find out about how everyone’s 2009 experience has been. From newcomers to old timers, Arabic booksellers to UK publishers, comments were overwhelmingly positive about a busy event that seems to be getting more professional and productive by the year...

Literary agent Andrew Nurnberg has signed up the Egyptian author Youssef Ziedan, winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Nurnberg agreed to represent the author six-weeks ago, and intends to offer English-language translation rights to his winning novel Beelzebub, when he returns to the UK from the Abu Dhabi...