The Damascus International Book Fair, also known as the Syrian National Book Fair has returned after a hiatus from 2020. This is the 57th edition of the fair. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa inaugurated the fair last Thursday February 5th. Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan also visited the inauguration. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are guests of honour in this edition of the fair.
In his speech, President Al-Sharaa extolled the virtue of knowledge and said that nations and people do more good the more knowledge they obtain.
The fair featured up to 500 exhibitors from across the Arab world and beyond. There are also many exhibitors from Turkey, and Europe particularly from France and small Arab independent publishers are present. Kurdish publishers from Syria are also present
Book fairs are a major lifeline for book publishers in the Arab world especially for small independent publishers who depend on book fairs for mass volumes of sales. Independent publishers were forced to abandon the Damascus Book Fair when the Syrian Revolution broke out in 2011. As the fair was absent in 2020, the Syrian book industry faced a massive crisis which is still reeling from today.
The fair is taking place at the Exhibitions City Centre and is open until February 16th.
Photos by Sana (Syrian State News Agency). You can read its feature here.
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