A mini book fair which opened last week aim to reinvigorate today's stagnant local book market, writes Rania Khallaf The Egyptian General Organisation for Books (EGOB) has gone ahead with its plan to hold a smaller version of the annual Cairo International Book Fair. The fair , which is being held in Giza and will continue until 25 of Ramadan, is being seen as an attempt to compensate publishers after the cancellation of the Cairo International Book Fair, scheduled to be held last January, after the outbreak of the January Revolution. Ahmed Megahed, the EGOB chairman, said that Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan had decided to participate, and that these countries would be represented by 11 publishers. About 74 publishers from Egypt will be taking part in the event, including Nahdet Masr, Al-Dar Al-Masriya Al-Lubnaniyaand some new publishing houses. The fair, inaugurated last Friday by Minister of Culture Emad Abu Ghazi, is in air-conditioned premises at Faisal, Giza, belonging to EGOB and contains 175 sections. According to Ahmed Abozayd, one of the participating publishers, the fair is well prepared to welcome book lovers at two daily periods, before and after iftar (breakfast), during the holy month of Ramadan. Megahed pointed to the unstable circumstances that Egypt was going through, and admitted he was anxious about book sales at the fair. Indeed, on the first day the turnout was in the hundreds. "But since it is a highly populated area I am hopeful the number of visitors will increase," Abozayd told Al-Ahram Weekly. Abozayed, 25, is co-owner of one of the newest publishing houses in Egypt, Kiyan, and he suggests that for the book market to flourish publishers will need to interact more with prospective readers. "We need to go to the target audience, not to wait for them to come to the book fair or book stores," he says. Abozayed also suggests that literary seminars and book clubs should be held in schools, factories and sports clubs. Perhaps, however, the timing of the fair is not appropriate, since in Ramadan people are usually busy with religious rituals, and if they are not doing that they are watching soap operas on TV. For some publishers, such as Abozayd, the book fair has not come on the right time. Although he decided to take part in part in the mini book fair, Abozayd said the response to the event did not seem to be very encouraging. Abozayed also believes the timing is bad since it is only four months to the annual Cairo International Book Fair. The only advantage here is the huge savings for book lovers compared with other book fairs. Entry is free, and publishers are offering considerable discounts on books. Megahed announced at a press conference held couple of days before the opening that the target of the mini fair was to invoke a renaissance of the political, artistic and cultural movement in Cairo. As well as books, customers to the fair are welcome to enjoy special cultural nights lasting until 1:00am. Cultural seminars are also being promoted as a feature, as with a typical book fair. Abozayed, one of the young revolutionaries who actively participated in the uprising, is urging the EGOB to support small-range publishing houses and to facilitate their participation at other international book fairs. The National Centre for Translation is also offering a 50 % discount on all books translated into Arabic from other languages. These books can be obtained at its premises at the Cairo Opera House. Although most Egyptians tend to allocate a huge budget for food during the holy month of Ramadan, this new event could herald a shift in attitudes, and perhaps the time will come when books are given a significant share of the Egyptian family budgets.
