Similarity of Baghdad Book Fair with Tehran / Participate in international book fairs with the program
Farzaneh Fakhrian In an interview with IRNA cultural correspondent, he compared the Tehran International Book Fair with the book fairs held in the West Asian region, saying: “I think we should consider the fairs in West Asia and around us separately from other fairs, because these events are sales-oriented.” And basically, the space of copyright exchange, the professional behavior of the publishing industry and the publishing economy do not flow much in them. Most of the basis of their thinking and planning is exhibitions in the presence of the audience and the sale of cultural products (books). Those exhibitions do not focus much on the publishing profession and the publishing economy, the actions that we see in European professional exhibitions do not take place in regional exhibitions.
The director of Nakta Literary Agency, stating that the Baghdad Book Fair is very similar to the Tehran Fair in terms of form, continued: “Especially the location of the Baghdad Book Fair is similar to the venue of international fairs.” In these halls, like the shop space we have in the book fair, people walk and buy books. This exhibition, like the Tehran Book Fair, is held only in its title in the name of the people.
According to Fakhrian, the Baghdad Book Fair is not a big place and publishers did not participate in it professionally, so much so that some of the Baghdad Book Fair booths are like a warehouse where books are displayed. The officials of those booths had stacked the books. Their purpose in participating in that exhibition was to be present in that space.
Fakhrian compared the Tehran International Book Fair with the book fair to be held in Oman, saying: “The Oman Book Fair is in a better and bigger atmosphere than the Iraqi Book Fair due to the corona epidemic with some delays in March and due to the economic situation in this country.” held. The region’s Arab publishers from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq attended the event, and the atmosphere was more professional.
We should have a program in the international section of the book fair
Fakhrian stressed the importance of the measures taken in the international section of the book fair, saying: “Having a booth and a static presence in these fairs is not an issue.” We must have a plan in terms of content and know what plans we will go to if we want to participate in the Iraq or Oman Book Fair. Are we going to have a meeting or a book reading event at that fair? It should be clear which age group the audience is? Or are we going to have legal contracts with people active in the publishing field?
According to the publishing field activist, it is only after identifying issues and programs in international exhibitions that officials can plan to participate.
He continued: “While we participate in foreign exhibitions for which we do not have a special program and we only offer books in that space.” Even at the Baghdad Book Fair, we saw books on display at the Iran Pavilion that had been translated from Persian into other languages. I do not know exactly what the purpose of the officials was.
Fakhrian explained the solution to the effectiveness of the measures taken to participate in international exhibitions in other countries: Announce exactly what they are going to do in that exhibition.
The director of Nakta Literary Agency added: “International actions should be evaluated by regulatory bodies and individuals who follow this field.” But there is still no such issue. We do not know what it has been like for us to participate in book fairs in other countries, except to show ourselves in this field and be present.
The publishing space is not structured and specialized
Emphasizing that the international sector is not a professional in the Iranian publishing space, Fakhrian said: The publishing space does not have a structure and expertise. In the largest and most important publications in Iran, especially in government or semi-private publications that have been operating for many years, the international arena is not a strong sector. Tehran Book Fair will remain a store until we plan for international exhibitions and review the results.
“For example, the Frankfurt Book Fair is held in the early days for negotiation and exchange of views between publishers, and only in the last two or three days of the fair, books are sold,” he said, citing solutions taken by international exhibitions to separate sales from exhibitions. arrives. People only visit the exhibition in the last days, and other days are mostly dedicated to publishing activists. The Sharjah Book Fair in the UAE is also divided into two sections. In Iran, we must also consider laws to separate the store and exhibition section of this cultural event.
The activist in the field of publishing and literature continued: we must discover our conditions and plan accordingly. Many comparisons are instructive for us. We need to look at how we can reach the specialized space of publishing, an event that addresses the publishing industry. Here, our audience, ie ordinary people, are not looking to buy books and discounts, and the exhibition is supposed to talk about the process of producing and marketing books.