Returning for its fifth edition this year, the Big Bad Wolf (BBW), the world’s largest book sale, will take place from April 7 to 16. With over 1 million books available, the sale will offer discounts of up to 75%, with select titles starting as low as Dh2. The event will be held at Dubai Studio City and will be free to enter, running from 9am to 2am.
“The books will be the superstar of the event,” said Andrew Yap, co-founder of BBW. “We have about 60—70 per cent new book titles as compared to last time and we have a lot more discounts.”
The theme for BBW this year is “Bigger and Gooder,” which Andrew explained is a play on words intended to emphasize the importance of reading. He mentioned that some customers pointed out the supposed mistake, but he emphasized that we are all constantly learning and growing. Reading helps us understand that such a word doesn’t actually exist, making it a powerful statement.
Majed Al Suwaidi, Senior Vice President of Dubai Studio City and Dubai Production City – TECOM Group, said that the event has become a staple of the group’s creative calendar, “Literature is such a powerful fuel for creativity, imagination, and curiosity. Big Bad Wolf promotes a love for reading that is essential to nurture in younger generations, especially in an increasingly digital world,” he said.
New additions
This year, the sale will have several innovations. “We came out with an ‘Unbelievable’ section where customers will find books for as low as Dh2,” he said. The section will offer unbeatable prices on select books.
In addition to the book discounts, visitors will have the option to purchase gift vouchers for their loved ones at the event this year. Andrew also mentioned that there will be a change in the layout of the hall, with elevated shelves replacing flat stacks to enhance the overall customer experience with a new look and feel.
The BBW now also has an office and warehouse in the UAE, which has contributed to making the books cheaper. “Definitely, it will bring our overheads lower,” said Andrew. “We will have more discounts and we are able to replenish books better.”
In addition to this, Andrew revealed that BBW will be more active all across the country. “We will have more events around the UAE,” he said. “When we say our mission is to make books affordable and accessible, it cannot be just Dubai. If you live in a small city outside of Dubai, you don’t have the same opportunities. So, we want to bring our books there. We will be venturing out into other cities as well.”
Customer experience
A key factor of the event will be the volunteers who will man the book sale. “We work with an agency who has recruited people from across several age categories to help out at the sale,” said a BBW spokesperson. “We train them well so that they know enough about the books we are selling. Several of them are returning volunteers because they enjoyed working with us so much.”
Visitors can browse through a wide variety of bestsellers, fiction, non-fiction, literature, cookbooks, children’s books, graphic novels, and more. In addition, the fair will showcase board games, colouring books, and collectibles, all under one roof. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale was conceptualised with the vision to promote literacy and reading among communities worldwide.
BBW is supported by strategic partner Dubai Culture. “We realise the importance of organising and hosting book fairs,” said Eiman Al Hammadi, Acting Manager of the Libraries Affairs Section at Dubai Culture. “This year we are focusing on how to how we can the reach the community on a very big scale. We are reaching out to kids in university and schools as well as their parents. It is not easy but year by year we are doing more work to reach different sections through the selection of books.”
