Get Your Rights Subsidised by KITAB and the
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage
Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, is one of the world’s most rapidly modernising
cities, with a pace of development unparalleled in any other major metropolitan centre. At the same
time, it is fast becoming the hub of the Arab book trade for publishers and distributors in the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) region.
KITAB – the joint venture company between the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage
(ADACH) and the Frankfurt Book Fair that is responsible for organising the Abu Dhabi International
Book Fair (ADIBF) – takes immense pleasure in announcing that Spotlight on Rights (SoR) will continue
in 2010. The 2009 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair saw the highly successful introduction of this
new subsidy scheme, with more than 200 Letters of Intent signed during the six days of the fair
for titles ranging from children’s books to educational literature, history and social science, as well as
many other areas of interest.
In 2010 the scheme will once again be open to all stand-holders and officially registered trade visitors
attending the ADIBF (from 2 – 7 March). The scheme is scheduled to conclude after ADIBF 2011.
There are no restrictions on the type of book for which a subsidy can be sought; however, each
applicant will be limited to a maximum of 10 applications per year. Applications may be for translation
rights to or from the Arabic language in print and/or electronic form. Applications may also be
considered for the licensing of Arabic/Arabic rights from one country in the region to another.
However, applications for translation rights into and from the Arabic language will be given priority
by the judging panel.
Each subsidy will be for the amount of US$ 1,000 as a contribution towards the license fee or royalty
advance payment negotiated between the applicant and the rights holder for the first printing/first
digital issue of the licensed edition. The subsidy will not cover any supplementary costs such as the
purchase of production material or the re-clearance of copyright permission from third parties for
the use of images or text.
Applications may be submitted for books for which initial discussions take place at the ADIBF, or for
projects which were under review prior to the event but where detailed licensing discussions take
place at the ADIBF.
Application procedure:
- Signing and submission of an initial letter of intent by the prospective licensee and licensor to the project organisers during ADIBF 2010.
- Submission of the detailed application, to be completed by the prospective licensee on a form provided by the project organisers, not later than 4 weeks after the end of ADIBF 2010.
- The contract between rights holder and licensee must be signed and a copy must be submitted to the organisers within 4 months of the end of the ADIBF.
On approval:
- 25% of the subsidy will be paid to the licensee upon receipt of a copy of the complete signed license contract between the licensee and the rights holder by the project organisers. The balance will be paid upon submission of 3 finished copies of the licensed edition to the project organisers after publication.
- If the licensed edition is not published by the agreed contractual deadline, the licensee will be required to refund the initial subsidy payment to the project organisers.
- The licensee will be responsible for remitting to the rights holder the full license fee/royalty advance and any subsequent royalty payments as contractually agreed between the licensee and the rights holder.
- The logo of the programme must be printed in the licensed copy together with the following acknowledgement: “This edition has been produced with a subsidy from the Spotlight on Rights programme in Abu Dhabi.”
For more details and applications contact:
Alexandra Bueltemeier, Project Manager: rights@kitab.ae
