Al-Araby Al-Jadeed
With the cancellation of Arab book fairs due to the outbreak of the novel "COVID-19" virus, the publishing industry in the Arab world faces many challenges that it has long delayed in addressing. These include authors lacking literary agents to manage their rights and interests, no distribution companies capable of delivering books to all Arab readers worldwide, and an inability to combat piracy and counterfeiting.
At a second level of the crisis, there has been a move towards digital publishing on one hand, and online distribution on the other, two issues that most Arab publishers have not kept pace with. However, several initiatives have emerged, including the "Arab Book Fair in Europe", whose first edition will launch next Thursday, the twentieth of this month, and will continue until the fourth of next month, with the participation of over twenty thousand titles representing approximately two hundred publishing houses.
The event is organized by "Nordic Digital World" in Sweden and "Lusail Publishing and Distribution" in Qatar, in partnership with the "Arabesqabazaar" platform, the "Copenhagen International Arab Book Fair", "Alwan Europe" magazine, and the Swedish "Alkompis Media Network". It follows several experiences, some of which have achieved considerable success and popularity.
It launches with the participation of over twenty thousand titles representing approximately two hundred publishing houses.
Most participating publishers are from Western countries such as Sweden, Germany, Austria, Norway, Canada, Turkey, and the United States, in addition to thirty-seven Arab publishing houses from Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan. Virtual visitors to the fair can browse its electronic platform to view presentations about books and their contents and order them in Europe and the Arab region, with the fair management providing free shipping services for all titles at competitive prices in Europe.
The fair includes a cultural program with the participation of a number of writers and researchers in virtual halls. A series of lectures, intellectual and literary seminars, and specialized seminars on children and the Arabic language in Europe will also be held.
Among the participants are: Bashar Shabaro, Secretary-General of the Arab Publishers Association, researcher and academic Khaled Ziyadeh, novelist Adham Sharqawi, academic Moamen Al-Anan, specialist in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, poet and writer Adnan Al-Ouda, musician Imad Al-Tamimi, researcher Al-Hawas Taqiyah, educator Majida Al-Jammal, children's literature writer Jikar Khurshid, plastic artist Yahya Ashmawi, and academics Tahseen Al-Mazik and Mohamed Al-Raji.
The organizers indicated that the fair is working on launching many initiatives that would support the spread of Arab culture in Europe, including launching an award for Arab publishers in Europe, in addition to launching a special initiative for digital books that will be alongside paper books, which will be displayed virtually through the first specialized European platform for Arab book fairs.
Source
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