the publishers will close the pavilions during the morning of April 25

The vice-president of the Union of Tunisian Publishers, Mohamed Maalej called for the extension of the International Book Fair. “ We are on the sixth day of the fair… We are over half its duration… However, sales are down considerably… This is 60% less than last year’s figures… We have informed the organizers of the thing, but our request was refused “, he said.

Speaking on April 24, 2024 during “Sbeh El Nes” by Jihen Miled on Mosaïque Fm, Mohamed Maalej indicated that several publishers were unhappy. “ The sales of some did not exceed 140 dinars… There is a big decline in sales… Usually, there are more visitors… There is a drop at this level… The period of holding the fair is a very bad choice… We used to organize it during the last week of April and the May 1st holiday… This year, we changed the date so that the fair took place after eid and during exams “, he added.

Mohamed Maalej claimed that major publishing houses had chosen not to participate in the book fair due to the initial postponement of the International Book Fair. The latter chose to participate in another fair held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. He pointed out the bad choices of the former Minister of Culture, Hayat Guettat, who was recently sacked. The representative of the publishers requested the extension of the duration of the fair until May 1 and to make more efforts in terms of advertising.

Mohamed Maalej assured that a meeting between the publishers and the organizing committee of the fair had taken place in order to inform the latter of the situation. The organizers chose to reject the publishers’ requests. Mohamed Maalej indicated that affiliates of the Tunisian Publishers Union will, as a protest, close all pavilions tomorrow, April 25, 2024, from 10 a.m. to noon. The publishers even raised the possibility of withdrawing from the fair.

SG