By Edward Nawotka Now that Egypt is close to eliminating censorship and opening its citizenry to a plentitude of political and religious views, the question arises of whether or not it is appropriate to have books with the most extreme views on sale in bookshops. In today’s lead story, Ramy Habeeb argues against censorship, saying that all points-of-view should be …
Bloomsbury Qatar Editor Ahmed Alaidy Speaks from Tahrir Sq. Cairo
By Edward Nawotka We reached Egyptian novelist Ahmed Alaidy shortly after midnight while he was standing amid the hundreds of thousands of protesters in Tahrir Sq. in the center of Cairo. Alaidy, who works as an editor with Bloomsbury Qatar in Doha had come back to Egypt, initially to attend the now shuttered Cairo International Book Fair. “I could have …
Report from Cairo: Mid-East’s Biggest Book Fair Cancelled, 600+ Publishers Affected, Significant Sales Lost
By Oliva Snaije The 43rd Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) has been, of course, cancelled. The CIBF was due to open January 29 and continue through February 8, with China as the guest of honor. The cancellation of the CIBF will hit the bottom line of Middle East publishers, many of whom depend on book fairs to sell the majority …
In the Age of Censorship vs. Instant News, This is When We Need Literature the Most
By Edward Nawotka “I believe society has a right to defend itself, just as the individual has the right to attack that with which he disagrees.” — Naguib Mahfouz As discussed in today’s lead story, the mounting revolution in Cairo has shut down the Cairo International Book Fair. Meanwhile, those interested in developments are dependent on impromptu and conventional news …
Penguin Enters Arab Market with Joint Venture
By Hannah Johnson Pearson PLC announced today that its Penguin Group has launched a joint venture with Egyptian publisher Dar El Shorouk. The “Shorouk-Penguin project” will translate into Arabic 12 English-language titles from the Penguin Classics series, in addition to publishing up to eight original Arabic classics. The first titles will be available in early 2011. According to the press …
Second Careers, or Why You Never Really Leave Publishing
By Chip Rossetti In the fall of 2004, I was an editor at a New York publishing house, acquiring serious narrative nonfiction and history. I had been working in trade publishing for nine years. I had also, in the wake of 9/11, been studying Arabic in the evenings, going to a teacher’s house in the outer boroughs once a week …
Middle East Graphic Novelists Push Boundaries
By Chip Rossetti • Last week, we looked the market for comic books and graphic novels in the Middle East is small, but growing. • In this, the second part of our two-part series, we examine how graphic novelists in the Middle East are pushing the boundaries of publishing by tackling controversial topics in their work, but also paying a price …
Are Graphic Novels and Comics More Dangerous than Prose Novels?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story looks at how graphic novelists are pushing boundaries and challenging taboos in the Middle East. In one case, that of Magdy El Shafee’s groundbreaking Metro, the Egyptian courts objected to its depiction of corruption and criminality, fined the author and publisher, and had the book pulled from store shelves. Surely, this is not an …
Are There Still Topics Too Taboo for Fiction?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story by Chip Rossetti discusses the popularity of Essam Youssef’s heroin-fueled novel 1/4 Gram, which is set in the world Cairo’s high society. Some of the popularity of the novel is that it portrays a world — a taboo world — little seen by readers in the Arab world. The same could be said for …
Junkies on the Nile: Egyptians Addicted to Drug-Fuelled Debut Novel
By Chip Rossetti CAIRO: For the past two years, Egypt’s bestselling novel has been a story about a group of privileged young Cairenes whose comfortable lives are shattered by heroin. Weighing in at a hefty 635 pages, Essam Youssef’s first novel, A ¼ Gram, sheds light on the taboo problem of drug use among Egypt’s upper-middle class. Set in the …