President Kais Saied officially opened the 40th Tunis International Book Fair on Thursday, a 10-day event running until May 3 under the banner “Tunisia, Land of Books.” Organizers report that 394 publishing houses – 184 Tunisian and 210 foreign – are taking part, offering over 148,000 titles to the public.
Indonesia Featured as Guest of Honor
Indonesia is this year’s guest of honor, joining 36 other nations. According to fair organizers, the choice reflects Tunisia’s strategy to strengthen cultural bridges with Asia and boost mutual cultural exchange.
The intellectual program comprises 25 events, including 10 academic seminars and 15 panel discussions, featuring 150 Tunisian and international scholars and writers. Themes range from identity and heritage to contemporary challenges such as the pitfalls of translation, the relationship between fiction and cinema in Tunisia, and evolutions in poetry. Additional sessions will tackle digital piracy and intellectual property rights, alongside a special symposium dedicated to the thought of Ibn Rushd, marking the 900th anniversary of his birth.
Eight Awards Spanning Cultural Production
As in previous editions, eight prizes will be awarded across literary and intellectual creation and publishing – part of an effort to encourage national cultural output and stimulate innovation. Two awards focus on publishing, while six recognize literary achievement in the novel, short story, philosophical writing, humanities and literary studies, poetry, and translation from or into Arabic.
Honorees and International Guests
The fair’s organizing committee has chosen to honor a range of writers, poets, and researchers, including novelist Ezzedine Madani, heritage specialist Abdelrazak Karaakib, poet and writer Fadhila Chabbi, musicologist Mahmoud Guettat, composer Abdessalem Sahraoui, author Azza Filali, historian Mohamed Hassen Fantar, sociologist Tahar Labib, researcher Lotfi Issa, writer Farj Lahouar, and writer Arousia Nalouti.
International guests include Algerian novelist Said Khatibi, recent winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction; celebrated author Ibrahim Nasrallah; from Palestine, Nasser Basrour and Amna Mahmoud Abu Hotab; from Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Al-Samari; from Yemen, Habib Abdel Rab Sururi; from Morocco, Mohamed Mesbahi; from Egypt, Khaled Abol Ela, Bassel Ramsis, Reem Bassiouney, Ahmed Khaled Mustafa, and Mirna El-Mahdi; and from Iran, Abdollah Ghabishi. Other attendees hail from France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Russia.
Children’s Programming
With 75 participating institutions, 216 activities have been scheduled for children and young people. More than 173 organized school groups will visit the fair. Young attendees will meet artists and creators from various disciplines, who will share inspiring success stories and engage in dialogue with them.
TunisianMonitorNews (Dhouha)
