By Hani Shukrallah A year ago, in May 2004, Al-Ahram Weekly announced the suspension of the Books Supplement -- pending, as the final issue put it, a redesign that would introduce a new and different format. Today, we are delighted to welcome the appearance of the first issue of the new series. Now bearing the title of the Cairo Review of Books, the Books Supplement will be appearing monthly as a regular addition to Al-Ahram Weekly. The original supplement, which appeared every month for five years as a pull-out addition, ran for 60 issues, during which time it established itself as a high-quality Anglophone resource for those seeking information on books published on Arab, Egyptian and Middle Eastern affairs -- in Arabic, English, French and occasionally other languages. In addition to the contributions of Weekly staff, the supplement saw articles and reviews by some of the world's leading specialists on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. And this tradition of responsible and informed comment and analysis we intend to continue in the new Cairo Review of Books. It is our hope that the new publication, building on the high standards set by the old, will establish itself as a necessary port-of-call for readers worldwide -- thanks to the Weekly 's busy Internet edition -- as well as a welcome new addition to the Egyptian arts and cultural scene in its elegant new print format. The reappearance of regular books coverage after a year away heralds wider changes at the newspaper, some of which can be mentioned here. As is the case everywhere in the world, technological change, developments in the media and increased competition have led to alterations in the content, design and distribution of the news media, as new generations of readers make their needs felt and older ones make new demands. And since we at the Weekly have striven to be at the forefront of such change, the Cairo Review of Books is among recent efforts to accommodate such changes. Indeed since the foundation of the newspaper some 15 years ago, we have always sought to meet the highest possible standards of journalism, and to reach the widest possible cross-section of readers worldwide, exemplified in our being one of the first Arab papers to introduce an Internet edition in 1998. With its regular features on national, regional and international affairs, its political and arts coverage and its innovative approach to national and regional heritage and environmental issues, the Weekly has achieved an enviable reputation as an Egyptian and Arab resource, attracting many of the best journalists and commentators to its pages, and providing unique insights. Time, however, does not stand still, and with the paper's 15th anniversary in January 2006, many new features and sections are planned. Today's re-launch of books coverage is a part of this more general birthday upgrade; and we will, as always, keep readers informed as new features of the paper are made available, both in the print edition and online. When Hosny Guindy, my predecessor as editor-in-chief of the Weekly, whose presence and example is sorely missed by us all, accepted the responsibility of editing a new English- language publication from Al-Ahram, he made it clear that he could do so only if two conditions were met. The first of these was that the paper should continue the high journalistic standards for which Al-Ahram is famous, setting out to provide the English-language reader with objective, in-depth coverage of the Egyptian and Arab scene by drawing on the expertise of the paper's parent organisation. The second was that it should provide, through guest columns and on its opinion pages, a platform for the free expression of a wide range of different views and analyses, many of them from international commentators. Introducing the Weekly 's electronic edition in 1998, Hosny wrote that "we may safely claim that no other English- language newspaper from the Arab world provides as comprehensive and wide-ranging a picture of the manifold ideological, political and cultural currents which characterise the region today," and that "your feedback, on both the content and the form of our Web edition, will be invaluable in maintaining and developing the standards of the paper as a whole, both on the Net and in print." Today we can only salute and echo Hosny's words, while welcoming readers to the first edition of the new Cairo Review of Books. The Books supplement in its new format would not have been possible without the indespensible contribution of Mohieddin Ellabad, one of Egypt's most accomplished graphic artists and a talent whose presence is felt across the Arab cultural spectrum. Ellabad gave generously of his time and effort, offering his own facilities to the staff of the supplement free of charge. He not only advised on the concept and master design of the nascent Review, but made available his private archive of art work, especially Anna Boghigian painting on the cover and inside, for reproduction.
