Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — More than 1,700 publishing houses from all over the world have applied to participate in the Riyadh international book fair set to begin on March 14 under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, according to the fair's director general Mohammed Al-Otaibi. He told Al-Watan newspaper that the management of the fair was still finalizing the publishers who would be allowed to participate. We will close down the entries for participation on Jan. 29, he said, adding that the door will open for authors wishing to sign their books to apply on Tuesday and will continue until Feb. 22. Otaibi said the books to be signed should be the ones published in 2017-2018 and asked the authors wishing to sign their books to register on the electronic site of the fair. There will be a number of activities during the fair with the participation of the guest of honor, which is the Federal Republic of Russia, he said. He said the guest of honor would present a number of cultural activities. The director said there would be a number of workshops and seminars in addition to a special pavilion for children. He said there are 19 committees working in the preparation of the fair, in addition to the committees and support teams concerned with sideline activities. Otaibi said bar code registration would be obligatory on all participating publishers. No publishing house will be accepted without the registration of bar code, which will control the prices and show the volume of sales, he said. He also said the terms and conditions for the book prize to be distributed during the fair to the winning authors will be announced soon.