The Beirut Arab International Book Fair has opened its doors on Thursday after a three-year hiatus. Although its 62nd and last edition took place in 2018, this didn’t help keep it out of the Lebanese disputes. Publishers were divided; some believed Beirut needs some hope and everyone should defy the current circumstances, while others thought the timing is not good and it would be better to wait until its annual date, in December. However, the Arab Cultural Club, the association behind the fair, decided to hold an event now, and another in December because ‘the long absence serves no one.’
For the first time, the Beirut Arab International Book Fair is missing prominent publishing houses including Dar Al Adab, Dar Al Saqi, the Arab Scientific Publishers, Dar Al Jadeed, Hachette Antoine, Dar Al Tanweer, and Al Mada Publisher. However, the absence of ‘whales’ could be beneficial for the small publishing houses, said Dr. Abdulhalim Hammoud, founder of Dar Zamakan, referring to the large, prominent publishers. Hammoud sees this fair as an opportunity the new publishing houses could use to meet the readers without competition. “Our house has five signing events and displays new books including one about Fairuz and another about Ziad Rahbani. Each one of the partaking publishers has six to ten signing events as well,” he said. “The fair could be seen as a failure because of the hard situation in the country. But we think differently. A three-year hiatus means piles of new titles, warehouses full of books printed before the crisis and the devaluation of the local currency, and sales for affordable prices. It's’ a great opportunity for publishers seeking to boost their sales. Our house partakes in the fair with four new novels, and we plan to sell the book for 100,000 LBP (around $5) while other houses are selling the book for 200,000 LBP (around $10)”.
