Saudi Arabia steps up participation at London Book Fair

He also expressed his gratitude to the Saudi Literature, Publishing, and Translation Commission, for its pioneering and innovative initiative that clearly contributes to boosting cultural progress in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Bringing Arabic works to a global audience

Dar Arab — a publishing house dedicated to translating Arab literature into English — was also among the key participants. Having an impressive list of translated Arabic works in its portfolio, the publishing house is working to get more and more Arabic works translated and introduce them to Western audiences.

Naser Al-Badri, an Omani poet and the founder of the publishing house, said: "On the first day, we received submissions related to an entirely new award which we launched jointly with Bait Al-Ghasham Foundation for Publication, Translation, and Advertising, named 'Bait Al Ghasham Dar Arab' Translation Prize".

"This prize represents Dar Arab's continuous efforts to enhance Western readership of Arabic books and build additional bridges that link Eastern and Western cultures and convert their differences into a type of intellectual and human diversity that enriches communication among communities and individuals."

"The prize also aims to give translators a chance to be recognised for their important work," he added.

Dar Arab met with several specialists interested in translation from Arabic and held fruitful discussions with them during which the latter expressed great interest in the prize, which encourages Western translators to step up their intellectual efforts dedicated to translation from Arabic.

On its part, the Kuwaiti Dar Souad Al Sabah Publishing and Distribution took part for the second consecutive year, with a prominent presence that introduced Arab literary, historical, and heritage-related works to European audiences.

The publishing house showcased various books in several languages, including French and English, that comprised several themes including Arabic poetry, literature, history, heritage, and a set of books that include the literary production of the Kuwaiti poetess and writer Souad Al Sabah, among other authors.

On a related note, the publishing house held an intellectual seminar on the critique of Souad Al Sabah's poetry at its pavilion. The seminar was presented by Al-Hawwari Ghazali, a professor at Paris-Sorbonne University.

On her part, Asma Farnan, director of the European exhibitions department in Souad Al Sabah Publishing, said: "Our publishing house has always been keen to introduce Arabic poetry and literature to the Western reader. Many of our works have already been translated into various international languages, and we discussed the possibility of distributing our books in Europe with some British publishers and distributors."

Challenges to translating Arabic works

Meanwhile, Abdulwahed Al-Alwani, the editor-in-chief of Al Muheet Publishing in the Emirate of Fujairah explained the difference between Arab and international book fairs.

"Arab book fairs help publishing houses sell their books directly to the customer cutting out middle-man companies who take up to half of the share of profits, whereas international book fairs are more about awareness, cooperation, dialogue and networking between publishers from various countries and cultures." 

"This is why very few publishers seek contracts for the copyrights of popular Arabic books, with even fewer successfully landing such contracts," he said, explaining that, in general, there is no big push to market Arabic books and sell their publishing rights in foreign languages.

He attributes this to several factors including the limited volume of intellectual books in the Arab world, a lack of confidence in published Arabic works, limited knowledge of marketing methods, and poor understanding of what type of books could garner interest abroad.

Well ahead of the fair, Al-Alwani diligently worked to set up meetings with specific publishing houses and successfully landed publishing deals at the fair, including some books released by Al-Muheet Publishing.

"I managed to close agreements on publishing some of the books released by Al-Muheet Publishing in European languages, and to sell the rights of their editions in other languages," Al-Alwani said.

"Most of these books are centred on Arabian Gulf culture and provide very interesting and extensive insights on places of interest and local cultures in these countries. The books will serve as useful references to researchers interested in such topics," he explained.

He believes translating these works and promoting them abroad helps raise cultural awareness and foster understanding and peace among global citizens.