JEDDAH, 9 March 2008 — With the launch of the Third Riyadh International Book Fair last Tuesday — which is exhibiting some 250,000 books by over 600 local and foreign publishers — news of the proposed Jeddah Book Fair is foggy.
Last September, officials from the Jeddah Literary Club told Arab News that they would organize an international book fair in the city in January with the support of the local business community. However, the club is still struggling to secure official approval.
“We are still following up on procedures to hold the Jeddah fair with several governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Higher Education,” said Abdul Mohsen Al-Qahtani, president of the Jeddah Literary Club.
He was unable to give a specific or likely date when the Jeddah book fair would be held. “We missed the first date set in January so we cannot announce another scheduled date until we get final approval from the government,” Al-Qahtani said.
Organizers promised literature fans that they would hold, for the first time ever, poetry and fiction readings as part of the proposed Jeddah book fair.
The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry last April pledged to support the event by offering its exhibition center free of charge for 10 days.
The Jeddah Literary Club is one of a dozen such clubs operating in the Kingdom’s big cities with the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Information. Each club receives an annual allocation of SR1 million in government funding — an amount that members say is insufficient for their activities.
“The need for culture is no less than the need for bread. All citizens should participate. Jeddah has successfully held many book fairs in the past and the Jeddah Literary Club’s initiative to hold a fair will surely take the event to a new level of originality,” said Muhammad Diyab, a Jeddah-based writer. “I don’t know what the reason behind this delay is.”
Jeddah hosted six book fairs in the past, with the first being held in 1994 and the last in 2006. These fairs were organized by private companies and generally lacked book reading events and other cultural activities that have made the Riyadh fair distinct.
“Not everyone can travel to Riyadh to buy books which are hard to find, or almost impossible to get, in local bookstores,” said Sarah Hammad, a Jeddah resident. “Even if I planned to go, I would be restricted to going on certain families days. It’s a big hassle,” she added.
Books banned in local bookstores can be purchased at book fairs, making them rare and much-coveted events.
Many Jeddah-based writers feel that the Riyadh fair is favored by officials, and that Jeddah will only see a fair if the literary club and the local business community join forces for Jeddah to have its own event.
