Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing is set to start publishing books in spring next year, fulfilling its mission to help with knowledge transfer leading to a knowledge-based society. This was announced during a reception organised yesterday at the Museum of Islamic Art where dozens of members of the academic community gathered. The publishing house is a joint venture between Qatar Foundation and UK-based publisher Bloomsbury. “This is an initial step to publish a great range of books,” said Nigel Newton, Bloomsbury founder and chief executive, adding they would be publishing 100 books a year as part of a five-year programme. “The books, both in English and Arabic, would cover academic research, reference, non-fiction and fiction, educational school books and classic Arab literature,” Newton said. The books would be set for distribution around the world, enriching Bloomsbury and setting another milestone in Qatari education. The prominent publisher behind the success of the Harry Potter series will develop love for reading among children and facilitate knowledge transfer not only through their publications but also some initiatives in reading-writing development. As part of this initiative, Newton announced the ‘World Book Day Qatar’ happening on April 23. The one-day event, a UNESCO project observed in 90 countries, will see a number of activities which will involve primary students. Newton also announced the launch of Q-Finance: The Ultimate Resource in October this year. Q Finance will provide comprehensive print and online information resource for finance professionals, in partnership with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority. In an earlier interview, Kathy Rooney, Bloomsbury Managing Director, said they would be uncovering talents in Qatar through creative writing and a number of other tools. “There are many people already writing in this region who haven’t been uncovered,” Rooney said. Reading a portion of her work during the event, Maryam Al Subaley, a young Qatari writer fascinated the attendees with her modern and relevant point of view regarding issues confronting today’s society. Al Subaley, who works as a political researcher and writer, is one of a few who take up writing seriously. She revealed she is currently working on a novel about labour workers in Qatar http://thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local%5FNews&subsection=Qatar+News&month=February2009&file=Local_News2009021965436.xml

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar