Austin Macauley’s international publishing director, Jade Robertson, was interviewed by Publishing Perspective – a publication that features businesses that are shaping the book industry – on her recent visit to “Seminar on Arabic Literature in Translation” in New York City. We have been working hard to expand the presence of Austin Macauley at the new Sharjah Publishing City in UAE, and Ms. Robertson has been at the forefront from the beginning.  She is on an advance guard and always one step ahead of her fellow publishing executives, and constantly working to open new channels for Arabic and English Literature. We have loved the enthusiasm and interest of readers and authors in that part of the world. Ms. Robertson talked about our operations in Sharjah, this is what she had to say, “so our project includes both translating Arabic books into English and English books into Arabic. We’re concentrating to some degree, as well, on the educational sector, because we feel like these are people who want to read but sometimes have trouble getting the titles that are suitable for them.” After spending some time in the UAE, she has found her favorite thing about the region is that young kids are screaming for books, rather than playing video games or surfing the internet. “Kids are on their iPads [in Western cultures]” she says, “you worry a little bit, you know? Is the next generation going to keep reading?” Ms. Robertson says that being one of the first investor in Sharjah Publishing City, she is willing to help other companies that might have questions which she can answer. She feels that this program is of a kind which needs International expansion as it is “a place for one-stop publishing.” She also firmly believes that Sharjah “will have overtaken most of our offices and we’ll be doing more business through that one” but there is still a long way to go. Please take the time to read the complete interview here.