Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press

Last updated

Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press (HBKU Press) is a publishing house based in Doha, Qatar. The press was initially managed by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and was founded as Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP) in 2008 until its transition into HBKU Press in 2015. HBKU Press is part of Hamad Bin Khalifa University which is under the wider community of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. It publishes titles that serve both an international audience as well as the larger Arab community publishing fiction, non-fiction, young adult and children's literature, and academic titles. They highlight local Middle Eastern and Qatari narratives and also translate books from other foreign languages into Arabic.

Contents

History

HBKU Press was established in October 2008 as Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing and headquartered in Doha as part of a partnership between Bloomsbury Publishing PLC and Qatar Foundation. BQFP was Qatar's first publishing house. [1] The partnership ended in December 2015 and BQFP transitioned into HBKU Press. [2]

Focus on Qatar and the Persian Gulf

Qatari authors

HBKU Press seeks to highlight the narratives and publish the work of local Qatari authors. [3] As BQFP, the company published Qatari Voices, a collection of essays by young Qataris. [4]

QScience

QScience.com is HBKU Press's online, peer-reviewed, Open Access scholarly publishing platform. Journals published on QScience include Journal of Information Studies & Technology, Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Journal, QScience Connect, Qatar Medical Journal, and the Journal of Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Acute Care. [5] QScience aims to make research more accessible and understandable to the general public. It was first launched in December 2010 and at the time contained more than fifteen specialized and multidisciplinary journals. [6] QScience published an overall 980 online research papers in 2013 of which 23% pertained to the field of health. [7]

Non-fiction

As a contributing member of the Qatar Foundation community and its academic institutions, HBKU Press publishes academic titles that help promote the work of local Persian Gulf academics and that are representative of the political climate and history of the Persian Gulf region, as well as works that provide insight to local perspectives on social issues.

Most recently in 2018, HBKU Press published The Gulf Crisis: The View from Qatar edited by Professor Rory Miller. [8] The book provides insider accounts from fifteen Doha-based scholars of the ways that the 2017 blockade on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt has influenced Qatar's economy, politics and society, how it has impacted on regional and international diplomatic, security and strategic relations, and how it has been covered in traditional and social media outlets.

Other notable works of non-fiction published by HBKU Press include the academic book Gulf Women, [9] a collection of essays that provides a greater understanding of the history of the Persian Gulf and the Arab world, as well as the history of Muslim women, and The Qatari Press in the Digital Age, which explores the impact of digital journalism on daily newspapers in Qatar.

Children's non-fiction educational books include Qatar Nature Explorer by Frances Gillespie [10] and the pre-reading series teaching words common to culture in Arab states of the Persian Gulf and the local environment: Silsilat Min Beati (My Environment Series) and Silsilat Rehlat Hayat (Life Cycle Series).

Commissioned books

HBKU Press also works on commissioned projects on behalf of Qatari institutions and clients who create books to serve the local or regional community. Examples include multiple projects with Msheireb Downtown Doha, most notably their volumes titled Gulf Sustainable Urbanism, a joint effort with Harvard University. [11]

Translations

HBKU Press is known for their contribution to translated works, especially the translations of foreign language titles to Arabic, and Arabic language titles to English. However, in recent years, HBKU Press has expanded the breadth of translated work beyond the Arabic/ English and translations have now become a regular part of HBKU Press's publishing mandate. They translate from English, Turkish, Chinese, Malayalam, Greek, French, Spanish, German, Catalan and Russian, into Arabic. Additionally, their original language works in English and Arabic have been translated into Portuguese, Czechoslovakian, Persian, and Norwegian. [12]

Under its BQFP identity, the company participated in the Annual Translation Conference. The first conference was held May 2010, in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar and moderated by best-selling novelist Ahdaf Soueif. [13]

HBKU Press has been aligning with a Qatari initiative run by the Ministry of Culture and Sports called the Year of Culture in which the Ministry chooses a country to exchange cultural displays with for the year. [14] HBKU Press gets involved by visiting the guest nation and establishing publishing agreements with the country's local publishers.

In 2018, the guest nation for the Year of Culture was Russia. HBKU Press translated Short Stories and Novels by Alexander Pushkin from Russian to Arabic.

HBKU Press has translated books into Arabic, including the complete works of 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kazuo Ishiguro, [15] and the complete works of Afghani-American author Khaled Hosseini. [16]

Book fairs

HBKU Press has participated in the annual Doha International Book Fair since the press's inception. [17] They also participate in book fairs around the world including the London Book Fair, Paris Book Fair - Livre Paris, Frankfurter Buchmesse, New Delhi World Book Fair, Amman International Bookfair, Kuwait International Book Fair, Beirut International Arab Book Fair, and the Muscat International Book Fair. [18]

Awards

HBKU Press is the winner of several awards for published works, authors, translators, and illustrators, most notably:

Related Research Articles

Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a US publishing office located in New York City, an India publishing office in New Delhi, an Australia sales office in Sydney CBD and other publishing offices in the UK including in Oxford. The company's growth over the past two decades is primarily attributable to the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling and, from 2008, to the development of its academic and professional publishing division.

Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Foundation (QF), chaired by Moza bint Nasser, has spearheaded Qatar's endeavors to establish itself as a leader in education, science, and cultural development on both a regional and global scale.

Moza bint Nasser Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation

Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned is the consort of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of the State of Qatar. Sheikha Moza is co-founder and chairperson of the Qatar Foundation.

The Gulf Times newspaper was founded in 1978 as the first publication of the Gulf Publishing and Printing Company in the capital city of Qatar, Doha. It is one of three English language newspapers in the country. It is published by Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, the former deputy prime minister and the former head of the Emir's court. The current chairman of Gulf Times is Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Attiya, while the editor-in-chief is Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka making the editor in charge K T Chacko.

Qatar Country in Western Asia

Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and shares its sole land border with neighbouring Gulf Cooperation Council monarchy Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital is Doha, home to over 80% of the nation's population.

Islam in Qatar Religion in Qatar

Qatar is a Muslim-majority country with Islam as the state religion. Salafi version of Islam is the state sponsored brand of Sunni Islam in the country, making Qatar one of the two Salafi states in the Muslim world, along with Saudi Arabia.

Doha Capital and largest city of Qatar

Doha is the capital of Qatar, and has more people than the rest of Qatar combined, with a population of 2,382,000 in 2018. The city is located on the coast of the Arabian Gulf in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor. It is Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs. It is the political and economic center of the country.

Qatar is a multi-religious society like most of the Persian Gulf countries with waves of migration over the last 30 years. Muslims form 65.5% of the Qatari population, followed by Hindus at 15.4%, Christians at 14.2%, Buddhists at 3.3% and the rest 1.9% of the population follow other religions or are unaffiliated. Qatar is also home to numerous other religions mostly from the Middle East and Asia.

Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sister of the ruling Emir of Qatar

Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is the sister of Qatar's ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and daughter of the country's Father Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. Al-Mayassa was declared the most influential person in art on Art+Auction's top-10 list and ArtReview's Power 100, and prominently appears on the Time 100, and Forbes' The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She was listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2014 to 2017 and 2021 by Gulf Business. Al-Mayassa serves as Chairperson of Qatar Museums, and it was reported by Bloomberg that her annual acquisition budget on behalf of the organization is estimated at $1 billion.

Qatar–United Arab Emirates relations Bilateral relations

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) share a naval border and are part of the Arabic-speaking Persian Gulf region. They are both members of the GCC.

Qatar Museums Qatar government entity

Qatar Museums is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at Katara, ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space, the Al Zubarah World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, and archaeological projects throughout Qatar, as well as the development of future projects and museums that will highlight its collections across multiple areas of activity including Orientalist art, photography, sports, children's education, and wildlife conservation.

Mass media in Qatar

The mass media in Qatar relays information and data in Qatar by means of television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Qatar has established itself as a leading regional figure in mass media over the past decade. Al Jazeera, a global news network which was established in 1996, has become the foundation of the media sector. The country uses media to brand itself and raise its international profile.

Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani serves as vice chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF), a private non-profit organization founded in 1995 by her parents Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, co-founder and chairperson of Qatar Foundation.

Hamad Bin Khalifa University, is a public university located within Education City in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development, was founded in 2010. The university began graduating students in 2014. It was named after Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, former Emir of Qatar. HBKU is based in Doha's Education City.

The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding is a Qatari literary award for translation from and to Arabic. The total value of the award is $2 million. It is named in honor of Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013. It is among the world's richest literary prizes for translation.

China–Qatar relations Bilateral relations

China – Qatar relations are the bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and the State of Qatar. China has an embassy in Doha, while Qatar has an embassy in Beijing. With diplomatic relations first formed in 1988, Qatar is a strategic ally of China, and the two countries maintain a strong relationship.

Qatari literature

Qatari literature traces its origins back to the 19th century. Originally, written poetry was the most common form of expression, but poetry later fell out of favor after Qatar began reaping the profits from oil exports in the mid-20th century and many Qataris abandoned their Bedouin traditions in favor of more urban lifestyles.

Cinema of Qatar Filmmaking in Qatar

Cinema in Qatar is a relatively young industry that evolved as part of the country’s plans to develop different local sectors with the aim of accumulating international recognition and status. Many major steps were taken to implement a long-term plan to develop the infrastructure as well as giving opportunities to local talents to have a platform that establishes their presence within the film industry with the support of the Doha Film Institute, and their various grants, workshops and festivals. The Qatar National Vision 2030 has three major pillars to development: human, social economic and environmental; this vision provides frameworks that enable the development of different elements within Qatar and its society; one of which is the high importance put on developing and cultivating artistic talents to represent and define Qatar on a global scale. Another important element in developing the movie industry is the influence and vision of Sheikha Al Mayassa who founded Doha Film Institution; the establishment of film as a mode of storytelling was imperative because it serves the purpose of granting Qatar a global presence through the talents that are supported and cultivated because of her initiative. The film industry plays a role in amplifying the Qatari national identity alongside the identity of the Arab world as a whole.

Amal Mohammed Al-Malki is a Qatari academic. In 2005, she became the first Qatari professor at an American university in her country's Education City when she was hired to teach at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. She is now the founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, the first Qatari to hold the title of dean in the nine-university campus.

References

  1. ↑ Harding, Sue-Ann (2014). "'But we don't read, Professor!' Translation, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, and building a 'vibrant literary culture'". Perspectives: Studies in Translatology. 22 (4): Abstract. doi:10.1080/0907676X.2014.948891.
  2. ↑ Charlotte Eyre (22 December 2015). "Qatar's QF and Bloomsbury end partnership". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Qatar Foundation - HBKU Press Launches Titles at DIBF 2018". Qf.org.qa. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  4. ↑ "Authors Suad Amiry and Randa Abdel-Fattah in Doha for BQFP's launch" (in French). Menassat. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  5. ↑ "QScience.com - - Most Cited Papers". Qscience.com.
  6. ↑ "QScience to adopt Rubriq's Independent peer review process to speed publication time and increase trust". Qatar Foundation. 17 February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "23% of Qscience articles are devoted to health". qatarisbooming.com. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Miller, Rory. "Gulf Crisis" – via Amazon.
  9. ↑ "Gulf Women: (English edition): Amira Sonbol: 9789992142684: Amazon.com: Books". www.amazon.com.
  10. ↑ "Qatar Nature Explorer Pack (English): Frances Gillespie: 9789992194041: Amazon.com: Books". www.amazon.com.
  11. ↑ "Gulf Sustainable Urbanism". gulfurbanism.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  12. ↑ "Home English - HBKU Press". Hbkupress.com.
  13. ↑ "Book Trade Announcements - Ahdaf Soueif Heads The First Literary Translation Conference In The Gulf". booktrade.info. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
  14. ↑ "Years of Culture". Qatar Museums.
  15. ↑ "Hamad Bin Khalifa University Press Publishes Long List of New Titles to Launch at DIBF 2018 - Hamad Bin Khalifa University". Hbku.edu.qa.
  16. ↑ "Qatar Foundation - HBKU Press Translates Famed Author's New Book". Qf.org.qa.
  17. ↑ "HBKU's CIS Exhibits at Doha International Book Fair 2018 - Hamad Bin Khalifa University". Hbku.edu.qa.
  18. ↑ "HBKU Press to take part in book fairs". Gulf-Times. 27 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "The Bamboo Stalk : Saud Alsanousi : 9789927101793". Bookdepository.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  20. ↑ "HBKU Press translator wins prestigious award". Qatar-Tribune. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  21. ↑ "ghenwa yehia". Amazon.co.uk. 2018-09-12. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "A Recipe for Home : Ghenwa Yehia : 9789927119835". www.bookdepository.com. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  23. ↑ "Bitter Almonds: Lilas Taha: 9781785412004: Amazon.com: Books". Amazon.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  24. 1 2 "HBKU Press' 'The Light of Hope' wins International Book Awards". www.thepeninsulaqatar.com.
  25. 1 2 3 "Four HBKU Press books named winners in 2019 IBA". www.thepeninsulaqatar.com.
  26. ↑ "American Book Fest". www.americanbookfest.com.
  27. ↑ "2019". www.hta.qa.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.