The Riyadh International Book Fair is scheduled to run from 10 to 19 December 2026, according to Arab News, which reported the dates on 14 September. The fair has moved from its usual autumn slot, and Saudi Arabia’s Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission has opened registration for local and international publishers and other organisations.
Registration is open until 1 October, Arab News reports. The report is the only source for the new dates read for this feature, so the details below are attributed to it.
What has been announced
The new dates are 10 to 19 December 2026, which makes ten days, the same length as last year’s fair. The commission opened registration for publishers and other organisations that want to take part. The fair’s official X account, @RyBookFair, said that December brings people together once again through a shared passion for reading, according to Arab News.
The report does not give the venue, the theme or the reason for the move to December. It also does not name a guest of honour.
In brief, according to Arab News:
- Dates: 10 to 19 December 2026.
- Organiser: Saudi Arabia’s Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission.
- Registration for publishers: open until 1 October.
- Last edition: more than 1.38 million visitors.
Last year’s numbers
The 2025 edition provides the baseline. Arab News reports that it brought together more than 2,000 Saudi and international publishing houses and agencies from over 25 countries. It drew more than 1.38 million visitors, which the newspaper says was up 37 per cent on the previous edition, and sales rose by 20 per cent.
The 2025 fair ran for ten days under the theme Riyadh Reads and was held at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University. According to Riyadh Daily, citing the Saudi Press Agency, those dates were 2 to 11 October 2025.
Asharq Al-Awsat describes the fair as the largest book fair in the region by visitors, sales and programme. That is a strong claim, and a safer description is that it is one of the region’s largest, which the 2025 figures support.
A new place in the calendar
The move changes the shape of the Gulf’s book season. The Sharjah International Book Fair, now in its 45th edition, is scheduled for 4 to 15 November 2026, with Oman as guest of honour, according to The National. Riyadh’s fair now follows about three and a half weeks after Sharjah closes, rather than coming before it.
For publishers, that matters. A house that sells at both fairs now has two events in close succession, with Sharjah in the first half of November and Riyadh in the second week of December.
For readers, the effect is simpler: the Gulf now has a major book fair in the last month of the year.
Why the Riyadh fair matters
Book fairs in the Arab world are more than markets. They are where publishers meet authors, translators meet rights holders, and families spend a day among books.
The 2025 numbers show the scale of the event. More than 1.38 million visitors in ten days means an average of well over 100,000 a day, and the organisers reported sales up by a fifth.
The commission’s chief executive was named in October 2025 as Dr Abdullatif Al-Wasel, according to Riyadh Daily. No statement from him on the new dates was included in the report.
What is not yet known
Several questions remain. The venue for 2026 has not been confirmed in the report. Neither has the programme, the theme, or the reason for the move. A guest of honour, a feature of many Arab book fairs, has not been named in the September report, and readers should wait for the commission’s own announcement before assuming one.
Ticketing and opening hours are also not covered. The registration deadline of 1 October is the only date given beyond the fair itself.
Planning ahead
For publishers, the registration deadline is 1 October, so those who intend to take a stand should contact the commission directly. For visitors, the practical step is to hold the dates, 10 to 19 December, and wait for the commission’s announcements on venue, tickets and programme.
Because the move has been reported by a single outlet so far, readers should treat the December dates as announced rather than confirmed in full until the commission publishes its programme. Readers can also follow the fair’s official X account, @RyBookFair, which is where the announcement of the December dates was shared.
The fair’s move is a small change on paper. For a book lover in the Gulf, it adds another reason to look forward to the last month of the year.
Sources: Arab News, Riyadh Daily, Asharq Al-Awsat, The National