I’ll sign off for now—it’s been a great fair, with lots of good books and fascinating panels, on both the professional and the cultural programs.  I hope to see you all at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2011!

–Chip Rossetti

The Night Counter puts an interesting twist on the story of Shehrezade from 1001 Nights: in the novel, Shehrezade isn’t telling stories, but is listening to the tales of an old Lebanese-American woman named Fatima, who has ten days left to live. The narrative revolves around Fatima and her very dysfunctional extended Arab-American family over the course of ten days, with Shehrezade listening in the whole time. Coming from a background in screenwriting, she found her experience in Hollywood very helpful in writing the book: “Screenplays are formulaic by nature, and as a screenwriter, you have to work within that formula,” she says. “That training helps you to structure stories, and keeps you disciplined when writing fiction.”

What I found most interesting was the reception she said her novel has had: surprisingly, despite its subject, Yunis said she’s had very few responses from her fellow Arab-Americans, although plenty of other readers have written to her to tell her they recognize their own families in the story of Fatima and her offspring. In any case, like many authors, she is reluctant to have her work pigeonholed simply as “ethnic fiction.” She also assumed her book would appeal most to a female audience, but has been surprised to discover how many of her readers are male, at least based on the emails she’s received from readers.

One of the reasons the discussion was so enjoyable was that so many people in the audience had read the book and were genuinely interested to hear her talk about her work and what role her screenwriting background played in her writing. At the moment, she is writing a screenplay and finishing a YA novel, although she also has plans for another adult novel (“something totally different”). I’m looking forward to reading The Night Counter myself, once the fair is over and I’m back home.

–Chip Rossetti

This ambition reflects not only the success of the 2010 version of the Book Fair, and the prospects for next year, but takes into account all of the varied activities that are going on in the region, from the Abu Dhabi Library to the Abu Dhabi Literature and Publishers Club to United Printing and Publishing–all of which are geared at getting people to read.

Over the past four years, the ADIBF has grown immensely, with this year being the largest yet. More than 800 exhibitors attended the 2010 Fair, and the floorspace was 30% larger than it was in 2009. On Friday, more than 42,000 visitors flooded the aisles, taking in all of the various displays and all of the cultural events. 

There’s a lot more to explore at the fair in addition to the KITAB Sofa conversations and the Discussion Forum. Kids crowded into the Children’s Corner (wehre the KITAB Mobile Reading Bus is also on display) to see puppet shows, hear stories, and read while lounging on a pile of bean bags. Not that far away was the incredibly popular Show Kitchen, where celebrity chefs from around the world demonstrated how to prepare and serve a variety of foods.

The Ezone, which is new to this year’s fair, is giving the regional industry to the latest develops in the digitial world, from ebooks to print-on-demand, and a series of workshops on how to harness digital opportunities.  

Each of these programs is pretty spectacular on its own, but taken as a whole it’s clear that this is just part of a much grander general initiative to transform Abu Dhabi into the new publishing hub for the Gulf Region. The ADIBF is only part of this overall goal, which has two major tracks: the professionalization of the publishing industry and the cultivation of the Arab book culture.

On the professional side, the announcement of the creation of Abu Dhabi Distribution–an innovative new distribution company for Arabic titles–in of monumental importance and will most definitely improve the flow of Arabic literature throughout the entire Arab World.  

In terms of the social side of thigns, the Abu Dhabi Literature and Publishing Club is one of the most exciting new programs that was launched at the Fair. Throughout the year, this club will host a variety of professional and public programs, including publisher trainings, conferences on architecture, and conversations with world-famous authors.

During this final press conference, Khalid al Dhaheri, the manager of technical service for the Abu Dhabi Library, explained the incredible developments going on in this arena to get books into the hands of as many Abu Dhabi readers as possible. The National Library Initiative is centered around the idea of creating a social learning space and incorporating all different ways of interacting with the written word, from audio and e-books (the Library’s digitization project deserves an article of its own), to mobile libraries and high-tech library vending kiosks.

As ADIBF Managing Director Monika Krauss mentioned, “the content takes precedence over the form.” In other words, she’s less worried about the cup, and more concerned with the coffee. Or, put in more plain language–the goal of all these programs is to create great literature and get it in the hands of interested readers by whatever means necessary.

Kalima, the ADIBF, the new Club, the Abu Dhabi Library–put together, it’s quite clear that Abu Dhabi is well on its way to becoming one of the most important hubs in the Arab world for the production, promotion, and consumption of the written word.

–Chad W. Post

The key event in this one-day Focus on the Algerian Book Market was an overview presentation by Yassar Arafat Qana from the Algerian Ministry of Culture, who provided a great amount of data and information ranging from the history of publishing in Algeria, to ambitious new initiatives that are currently underway.

One of the most startling facts was the rapid growth over the past few years in the number of titles published in Algeria. In 2005, 2,265 total titles were released. That dropped slightly in 2006 before leaping up to 3,762 books in 2007. This is due in part to the fact that Algeria was the Arab Cultural Capital in 2007 and poured a great deal of money and resources into the publishing industry. To be more specific, this resulted in the publication of 1,221 books. What’s interesting though is that the number of titles produced remained at this level after the Arab Cultural Capital had moved on, with 3,955 books coming out in 2008 and over 4,900 in 2009.

A high percentage of these titles were schoolbooks–the one sector of the publishing market that isn’t open to private industry–but there were signficant increases in other sectors as well. It’s worth noting that although there are four National publishers, there is a huge number of private publishing houses in Algeria, with more than 560 officially registered and about 120 currently active presses. 

The 130-year French occupation of Algeria played a large role in both the stunting and the development of this healthy publishing culture. One lasting impact is the bilingual book culture, with titles being published both in French and in Arabic. On the flipside, Hachette’s monopoly (more or less) of the publishing industry hindered the development of both public and private presses for many years. This dominance of the market was especially felt in the schoolbook market, which may be one reason that in 1964, when Algeria created its first National Publishing House, it closed off the textbook market to private houses. Another date worth noting is 1989, with the vast majority of private publishing houses coming into existence after the new constitution was adopted.

Although there’s been a huge growth in the number of books being produced over the past 20 years, distribution remains a big obstacle. Bookstores are starting to develop in the area, but the Algerian market is subject to a lot of the same challenges found in other countries in the Arab World. But the creation of a National Book Center will definitely make a huge difference in the creation, publication, and promotion of Algerian literature.

One of the most impressive and ambitious new initiatives undertaken by the National Book Center is the national library program. Implemented in 2004, the goal is to build 1,562 libraries and reading areas across Algeria’s 1,541 municipalities by the year 2014. Hundreds have already been built, including 30 more in 2010, and it sounds as if the NBC will reach its goal.

And it’s incredibly important to solve the distribution system. Not just to encourage the futher development and professionalization of the Algerian publishing industry, but to serve a voracious reading public. And if you don’t believe that Arabs are interested in reading, check these figures from the Algerian Book Fair, which has been taking place every Oct/Nov since 1988: more than 1 million visitors attended last year’s fair, with over 120,000 coming each day to visit the 320+ exhibitors (over 190 from outside of Algeria) and look at the 138,000 books on display. I’d be surprised if an American book fair could reach those numbers, but regardless, this is proof that Algerians are readers, and it bodes well for the future development of the Algerian publishing industry.

–Chad W. Post