By Edward Nawotka The Board of the International Publishers Association (IPA) met in Paris yesterday and together with the 423-member strong Egyptian Publishers Association (EPA), issued a joint declaration calling on Egyptian authorities “to respect freedom to publish, to investigate the murder of journalist and publisher Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud, and to allow the establishment of an independent Cairo book fair, …
Updates from Egypt: Cairo Publisher’s Offices Attacked
By Olivia Snaije The chairman of one of Egypt’s largest publishing houses, Dar El Shorouk, said Mubarak loyalists tried to attack the offices of his independent newspaper, Al Shorouk, today in the upscale neighbourhood of Mohandeseen. In a telephone interview, Ibrahim El Mouallem said that pro-regime protesters attempted to storm the building but the guards, journalists and neighbours were able …
Arab, Western Publishers Have a Responsibility to Egypt
By Edward Nawotka For obvious reasons, if you want customer service this week from Kotobarabia, Egypt’s predominant e-book store, you’re out of luck. The lifting of censorship will bring a flood of new books, but it’s up to Arab and Western publishers to ensure there’s a pluralism of views. Ramy Habeeb, founder and CEO of Kotobarabia, who spoke to us from …
Should Extremist Views Be Available to Readers in Egypt?
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 …