{"id":153139,"date":"2023-02-28T08:51:08","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T16:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/culture.org\/?p=149001"},"modified":"2023-03-20T13:27:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T13:27:32","slug":"reviving-reading-culture-in-egypt-initiatives-from-the-cairo-book-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/culture.org\/art-and-culture\/reviving-reading-culture-in-egypt-initiatives-from-the-cairo-book-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Reviving Reading Culture in Egypt: Initiatives from the Cairo Book Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 54th yearly Cairo International Book Fair happened amidst a severe economic predicament in Egypt, where the local currency, the pound, reduced in value by half, and inflation peaked at 21.9 percent in December.<\/p>\n

As a result, prices skyrocketed, and this has had a severe impact on the publishing industry. The rising cost of printing, compounded by the steep currency devaluation, has led to an increase in book prices by up to double.<\/p>\n

Due to this, books have lost their importance as people have to allocate their budget towards essential necessities.<\/p>\n \r\n \r\n \r\n \r\n

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Due to the fall in the value of the pound, the cost of paper used in book printing increased four times, leading to publishers reducing commissions and printing fewer copies of books.<\/p>\n <\/span>\r\n\r\n

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The situation has also affected publishing houses. Due to the fall in the value of the pound, the cost of paper used in book printing increased four times, leading to publishers reducing commissions and printing fewer copies of books.<\/p>\n

Wael al-Mulla, CEO of Masr El Arabia publishing house, explained that they were being selective in choosing books, only picking those they believed would be popular.<\/p>\n

Some publishing houses had to minimize their operations or even stop working until the economic situation improved.<\/p>\n

Even with the economic problems, over 500,000 people visited the 54th Cairo International Book Fair during just its first weekend. But with budgets being tight in Egypt, where inflation hit 21.9 percent in December, publishing houses fear that many visitors are not buying books.<\/p>\n

To encourage readers despite the economic crisis, some incentives have been introduced. These include the option to buy books in instalments using popular buy-now-pay-later services. State-owned publishers have also started selling discounted Arabic classics for under 30 pounds, which is equivalent to $1, to make them more accessible to the general public.<\/p>\n \r\n \r\n \r\n

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