The return of the Frankfurt Book Fair after Riyadh, Amman and Istanbul.. the steadfastness of the publishing sector globally despite the challenges of the pandemic

Last year, the new Corona virus pandemic affected bookstores around the world, and many bookstores closed their doors, which severely damaged the publishing industry cycle, but the past few months have witnessed an unprecedented revival of book fairs and the publishing industry since the beginning of the pandemic.

After book fairs in Arab and European cities, including Baghdad, Riyadh, Amman, Stockholm and Istanbul, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest event of its kind, kicked off today, Wednesday, in its first public edition since the outbreak of the pandemic, in the presence of publishers from all over the world whose enthusiasm boosted the great sales of books during the health crisis despite fears From the shortage of paper supplies.

After a virtual version held almost completely last year, attendance activities return to this major forum in the global publishing sector, which takes place this week between Wednesday and Sunday.

However, some restrictions were maintained, including setting a maximum number of visitors of 25,000 per day, which is half the normal number, and requiring all those wishing to attend the event to have a health permit.

"We have not yet reached the stage of holding a book fair in its normal form", but this year's event represents an opportunity to "reconnect" in the sector after an 18-month hiatus from major professional fairs in this the field.

In the United States, sales of hardcover books increased by more than 8% in 2020, reaching their highest levels in 10 years, according to research group NBD.

This figure was driven by sales of books for teens and practical advice for adults, in light of the demand for publications related to cooking and handicrafts to fill the long spare time during periods of confinement.

In Germany, the EU's largest book market, libraries have upgraded their e-commerce operations, resulting in a 20% rise in online revenues of €2.2 billion.

Sales of audio and digital books also experienced significant growth.

And the director of the exhibition returns, noting that the books showed "a special popularity and ability to resist" during the Corona pandemic.

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Many programs are available digitally.

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— PubPerspectives (@pubperspectives) October 13, 2021

Year-end concerns

However, book professionals, whose annual turnover is close to $100 billion, fear that this positive performance will be a passing phase.

Like the automotive and household electrical sectors, they fear that they will pay the price for the global shortage of raw materials that is disrupting supply chains and negatively affecting the global economic recovery.

With the end of the year holidays approaching, which is of great importance to the sector, publishers are sounding the alarm about shortages of paper and cardboard, due to congestion in ports and the shortage of truck drivers who play a major role in deliveries.

"I am afraid that people will not be able to quickly get the book they want for the Christmas period," Jonathan Beck, director of the famous German publishing house CH Beck, told the financial newspaper Handelsblatt.

He also warned of the possibility of a rise in the price of books.

Although Germany appears to be on its way to bringing the epidemic under control, the health crisis is still weighing on the book fair: about 1,500 exhibitors from more than 70 countries will be present, far less than the number of participants in 2019 which amounted to 7,500 exhibitors from more than 100 country.

The number of writers who will personally attend the event in Frankfurt will not exceed 200.

The uncertainty about travel restrictions and virus-related concerns has discouraged many publishing houses and writers from coming, especially from the United States, Asia and South America.

Several activities for professionals in the publishing sector, including selling rights or translating works, will take place in a virtual format over the Internet.

Canada will be the guest of honor this year, in the presence of writers Michel Jean and Michael Karami, as well as Haitian-born novelist Danny Laveriere.

Margaret Atwood, one of the most famous Canadian novelists since the huge success of her story "The Handmaids Tale", also shares online.

Istanbul Fair

In Turkey, writers and organizers of the "Istanbul International Arab Book Fair" praised the transformation of its sixth session into a "world cultural festival" with hopes that it would become a bridge between Arabs and Turks, and that cultural exchange would expand between the two sides.

After stopping for two years due to the Corona pandemic, the exhibition returned, over a period of 9 days, filled with intense and diverse cultural activities, and concluded its activities on October 17.

This exhibition received 108,201 visitors, including 18,642 on the last day, according to a census of its organizers.

Arab theaters participated in the International Arab Book Fair (Al-Jazeera)

Under the slogan "Fly with Knowledge", the International Association of Arab Book Publishers and the Turkish Publishers Association organized this exhibition at the fair in Istanbul, with the participation of more than 23 countries and 250 Arab publishing houses.

"The Istanbul fair is getting bigger every time (cycle) and we aspire to be a bridge with two corridors of culture, science and literature between Arabs, their Turkish brothers and Arabic readers in Europe and the world," Mehmet Agir Akca, the exhibition's general coordinator, told Anadolu Agency.

For his part, the director of the exhibition's media center, Kamal bin Jaafar, said that the sixth session of the exhibition was "a global cultural festival outside the geography of the Arab world."

He added to Anadolu Agency, "The exhibition witnessed the presentation of more than one million books and more than 100,000 titles to the readers' audience, and nearly a hundred cultural events were held for famous writers, researchers and poets."

Bin Jaafar praised "the presence of scholars, researchers and a number of content makers on the communication sites, at a time when many visitors were searching for their desire for a good companion in the time (the book), so it was fun and benefit was achieved in a unique cultural atmosphere."

Many countries participated in the exhibition, most notably Turkey, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sudan, Algeria, Qatar, UAE, Iran, the United States, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Italy and Britain.