The spirit of the original has to reflect in the visual copy, if it needs to be timeless, the panel conclude at the 44^th Sharjah International Book Fair               

Sharjah, November 9, 2025 

Transforming a novel into a successful television or cinematic work requires full collaboration of the author, the literary agent, and the producer in order to ensure that the spirit of the content is preserved and presented in a visually powerful way that resonates with audiences, agreed literary and production experts from the Arab world during a panel discussion titled “From Page to Screen: How Words Become Scenes that Captivate the World” at the 44^th Sharjah International Book Fair.

The esteemed panel comprised Director of the Sharjah Literary Agency Tamer Said, Producer Lama Al Sobh, and author-screenwriter, Nadine Jaber.  They stressed that Arab drama today must reflect the realities, struggles, and stories of people truthfully, steering clear of exaggeration and escapist scenes. All speakers added that the presence of specialised literary agencies will help build professional bridges between literature and the arts, protecting authors’ rights and ensuring the sustainability of creativity.

A seamless extension of creativity

Commenting on the symbiotic relationship, Tamer Said said: “The relationship between a novel and a dramatic work is not a separation between two artistic forms but rather a seamless extension of the same creative process. A novel as the written original can be reimagined into a visual work through a new medium or platform; a dramatic production has the ability to convey emotions visually and orally.” He emphasised that the role of the literary agent is pivotal in this process, as they understand the requirements of the industry well. They can serve as a link between the writer and the production company, ensuring proper management of the relationship and protection of the author’s rights,” pointed out Said.

According to Saeed, a literary agent’s role goes beyond negotiation and contract signing; it is a blend of professions — reader, talent scout, editor, and legal adviser. He will not only contribute to developing manuscripts but also reaching wider audiences. “Viewership is much larger than readership,” he noted, “and authors often do not have the time or expertise to deal with production houses.”

Turning text into screen is a responsibility

Producer Lama Al Sobh commented: “When literature meets visual art, it increases the responsibility of the talent, who must search for subtle details in the story. Turning a novel into a visual work requires condensing hundreds of pages into sounds and images that capture the essence of the original text. This  task is even more demanding than writing an original screenplay from scratch.”

She noted that the producer plays a crucial role in sustaining drama, starting with the selection of the right story—one that will endure in the audience’s memory. She emphasised that works adapted from classic novels have a higher chance of becoming timeless themselves.

Drama as a mirror of society

Author and screenwriter Nadine Jaber stated that writing from a woman’s perspective gives her a broader scope for creativity, as she can well understand women’s emotions and experiences. She added that a writer lives through the psychological states of their characters in full detail, experiencing multiple, sometimes conflicting worlds. “A writer may not be evil in real life,” she explained, “but has to live the experience of being evil when writing about it. This immersion can be psychologically taxing, yet it is also the beauty of the profession—it allows the writer to live, through writing, all the lives they can imagine.”

Themed ‘Between You and a Book’, SIBF 2025 is underway at Expo Centre Sharjah from November 5-16. It features more than 300 cultural events led by 158 Arab and international guests, 750+ workshops in Arabic and English covering writing, editing, publishing, and creativity and 85 stage performances from 12 countries.

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Attached Images:

1. Tamer Said, Director of Sharjah Literary Agency
2. Producer Lama Al Sobh
3. Writer and screenwriter Nadine Jaber
4. General image from a panel discussion titled “From Page to Screen: How Words Become Scenes that Captivate the World”