Publishers admit that Arabic readers favor translated books. Every publisher has his own explanation of this phenomenon and the reasons behind it, but they all agree it’s not healthy. According to Rana Idris, owner of Dar Al Adab Publishing, people in the Gulf region are the top buyers of translated books, followed by Egyptians, Maghrebis, and Iraqis.
Waiting for a change of taste, publishers have nothing to do but fulfill the readers’ desire by providing the best-translated publications, especially that selling translated books is the only means to keep the Arabic book alive today.
