The question of how to build the Arab book market has been vexing publishers for years.
Is it simply a case of supply and demand?
Or are wholesale changes needed, from publishing practices to new education policies, for the region to achieve its true market potential?
According to two seasoned publishers — Egypt’s Sherif Bakr and Lebanon’s Shereen Kreidieh — a combination of both is required.
Speaking during a panel at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Wednesday, the duo said the Mena region book market faces systemic and cultural challenges.
Bakr, general manager of Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, says physical distribution remains a key stumbling block for the Cairo company.
"We are 100 million people in Egypt, so it's relatively not so big and not so small.
“But it is very difficult to send a book from Cairo to Aswan or Alexandria," he said in the session, organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, part of the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi.
"We are not so sure that it will arrive because the postage system is not reliable and people don’t put in an accurate address.
“This is just the problem within Egypt. In other countries in the region, there are challenges with censorship and sometimes the freight fee is more than the price of the book."
That said, Bakr is heartened by some of the initiatives that have been created to ease such logistical concerns.
He pointed to the growth of print-on-demand services in the Gulf, such as Lightning Source Sharjah in Sharjah Publishing City, as an example of some of the solutions needed.
"Print on demand is becoming a hot topic in the Gulf and it may solve some of the problems related to distribution," he said.
"We have to continue finding different solutions because we can't go the same way we are going because we will only achieve the same results."
Knowing your audience
Are we placing too much of the blame on distribution?
According to Kreidieh, founder of children's publisher Dar Asala, many of her counterparts also have to shoulder some responsibility for why books, particularly Arabic children’s literature, are not flying off the shelves.
Kreidieh recalled a study she undertook with Abu Dhabi’s Zayed University, on award-winning Arabic children’s books, which found they were appreciated more by adults than the target audience.
“Isn’t part of the problem that children are not really enjoying reading because the material we are giving them is not what they like?" she said.
Bakr cited a former stint as the general secretary of the Egyptian Publishing Association, where a commissioned study by the organisation found a low interest in reading among Egyptian youth.
"And the reason for that is when they think of books, they think school books. So for them, reading was horrifying," he said.
"I remembered asking a young person if he was stuck in a room with only a book on the floor, would he read it? He said no."
Kreidieh, who also holds a degree in elementary education from the American University of Beirut, says part of the blame lies in a rigid education system practised across the region.
"In most of the Arab world, the curriculum is too condensed and there is a lot of work to do.
“While in other parts of the world, like in Finland for example, children have a lot of time to play, they have beautiful classroom libraries and easy access to books," she said.
"Some of these methods I try to teach at schools, but teachers say they have too much curriculum work to do.
“And children, with their assignments and book summaries, associate reading with punishment. It's not something they enjoy."
The future is bright
Despite some of the challenges facing the industry, Bakr is optimistic the region will eventually gain its place as one of the world’s biggest publishing markets.
"I really believe we are the next biggest thing after China," he said. "If you look at the Cairo International Book Fair, for instance, you will find that two million people visit each year and that’s only one city.
"So if you look at the greater region, even if it’s a small percentage of the population that are consumers, that will still be a relatively big number in Europe. But this takes time, of course.”
Kreidieh says she's seen that potential physically and online.
“When you go to the book fair in Cairo, it is beautiful because you find all these kinds of networks of people, from parents to influencers, coming together in one spot.
“Social media is also playing a bigger role because people read the book, love it and share it and people come to fairs and order them.”
While the future looks bright, Bakr encourages future authors to experiment with various story formats.
"Don't fight against it but play with it," he said.
"Create it in whatever way it will work and grab the attention of people. Good content will never die and it can be transformed in many ways."
The Frankfurt Book Fair runs until Sunday, October 23. More information is available at www.buchmesse.de
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
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- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
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Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Key findings
- Over a period of seven years, a team of scientists analysed dietary data from 50,000 North American adults.
- Eating one or two meals a day was associated with a relative decrease in BMI, compared with three meals. Snacks count as a meal. Likewise, participants who ate more than three meals a day experienced an increase in BMI: the more meals a day, the greater the increase.
- People who ate breakfast experienced a relative decrease in their BMI compared with “breakfast-skippers”.
- Those who turned the eating day on its head to make breakfast the biggest meal of the day, did even better.
- But scrapping dinner altogether gave the best results. The study found that the BMI of subjects who had a long overnight fast (of 18 hours or more) decreased when compared even with those who had a medium overnight fast, of between 12 and 17 hours.
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
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- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
8 UAE companies helping families reduce their carbon footprint
Greenheart Organic Farms
This Dubai company was one of the country’s first organic farms, set up in 2012, and it now delivers a wide array of fruits and vegetables grown regionally or in the UAE, as well as other grocery items, to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi doorsteps.
www.greenheartuae.com
Modibodi
Founded in Australia, Modibodi is now in the UAE with waste-free, reusable underwear that eliminates the litter created by a woman’s monthly cycle, which adds up to approximately 136kgs of sanitary waste over a lifetime.
www.modibodi.ae
The Good Karma Co
From brushes made of plant fibres to eco-friendly storage solutions, this company has planet-friendly alternatives to almost everything we need, including tin foil and toothbrushes.
www.instagram.com/thegoodkarmaco
Re:told
One Dubai boutique, Re:told, is taking second-hand garments and selling them on at a fraction of the price, helping to cut back on the hundreds of thousands of tonnes of clothes thrown into landfills each year.
www.shopretold.com
Lush
Lush provides products such as shampoo and conditioner as package-free bars with reusable tins to store.
www.mena.lush.com
Bubble Bro
Offering filtered, still and sparkling water on tap, Bubble Bro is attempting to ensure we don’t produce plastic or glass waste. Founded in 2017 by Adel Abu-Aysha, the company is on track to exceeding its target of saving one million bottles by the end of the year.
www.bubble-bro.com
Coethical
This company offers refillable, eco-friendly home cleaning and hygiene products that are all biodegradable, free of chemicals and certifiably not tested on animals.
www.instagram.com/coethical
Eggs & Soldiers
This bricks-and-mortar shop and e-store, founded by a Dubai mum-of-four, is the place to go for all manner of family products – from reusable cloth diapers to organic skincare and sustainable toys.
www.eggsnsoldiers.com
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
The White Lotus: Season three
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
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- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
Desert Warrior
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Rating: 3/5
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Watch live
The National will broadcast live from the IMF on Friday October 13 at 7pm UAE time (3pm GMT) as our Editor-in-Chief Mina Al-Oraibi moderates a panel on how technology can help growth in MENA.
You can find out more here
