“But all the talk of the Arab Literary Renaissance becomes a bit one-sided in the western publishing arena when it’s the usual suspects – Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – grabbing all the attention while the grassroots events like Iraq’s Erbil fair, Morocco’s Rabat fair, et al, are relegated to footnotes, if they are noticed at all.”
Running 9-19 April this year, the Erbil International Book Fair, organised by the Al-Mada Foundation for Culture and Arts, celebrates the prominence and global recognition of the Kurdish language. Recent milestones, such as Kurdish becoming a primary language on Google’s search engine, help highlight its growing significance.
A Showcase of International Participation
The fair proudly reflects its international stature, with over 350 publishing houses from 22 Arab and foreign nations participating. For the first time, it will feature exhibitors from new regions, including neighbouring countries, the Maghreb, and the Gulf states, per the press release, which tells us the exhibition space of 20,000 square metres will house millions of titles.
A Hub for Cultural and Intellectual Exchange
The Erbil International Book Fair serves as a dynamic cultural hub by collaborating with the General Union of Writers and Authors in Iraq and the Iraqi Publishers and Booksellers Association. Highlights include:
Dialogue and Cultural Sessions: Examining translation and language issues with contributions from Kurdish, Arab, and international experts.
Specialised Workshops: Addressing the challenges and opportunities within the publishing industry.
Intellectual Forums: Hosting discussions on cultural and political topics, including regional dynamics and Iraq’s socio-cultural landscape.
Poetry Evenings: Celebrating poetic traditions and talents.
Book Signing Events: Offering readers the chance to interact with authors and collect signed editions.
Artistic Performances: Adding a creative flair to the festival atmosphere.
The View From the Beach
With 16 incarnations under its belt, the Erbil International Book Fair is a major MENA publishing event that goes almost completely ignored by the western publishing industry media.
This year it launches just as the Sharjah Booksellers Conference winds up and ends just before the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival kicks off – both absolutely worthy events for western publishing media to be focussed on, of course.
But all the talk of the Arab Literary Renaissance becomes a bit one-sided in the western publishing arena when it’s the usual suspects – Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – grabbing all the attention while the grassroots events like Iraq’s Erbil fair, Morocco’s Rabat fair, et al, are relegated to footnotes, if they are noticed at all.
If anyone is lucky enough to be at Erbil this year, or spots some local coverage that deserves a wider audience, do get in touch.
The global book market. It’s so much bigger than we think.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed,
