Bichr Bennani
Co-Founder of Tarik Éditions
With more than 100 titles in its catalog, Tarik Éditions, created by Bichr Bennani and Marie-Louise Belarbi, was founded in 1999. Its editorial field favors history, memory and current affairs, but also general literature.
What is Tarik Éditions’ area of expertise?
Well, initially we mostly focused on testimonials. Today, we can say that we move between literature and history.
What about translation in Morocco?
Regarding local translations, it is quite rare for an author to write in French and then translate his work into Arabic. Basically, we have around 70% of books in Arabic and 30% in French in the country. When it comes to finding other important works to translate, we are still a little behind. There is a real lack of humility, I think. We tend to underestimate foreign works, as if we were almost the best. Of course, there is translation assistance, whether from French cultural services or from the ministry, but despite this, it is still very weak.
In terms of production, do you encounter any particular obstacles?
As for printing, today we have local printing companies which are really efficient and of high quality. It may be a little more expensive than elsewhere, but in the end, with transport costs, it amounts to the same.
The big problem is really the distribution. Distribution is in free fall, which is very worrying. At the moment, French books are much better distributed than Moroccan books. Some bookstores make up to 90% of their turnover with French books, often imported. The distributor who distributes the foreign book refuses to distribute the Moroccan book. However, it is much more efficient than the one who claims to distribute Moroccan books.
What about bookstores?
We need to put what we call a bookstore into perspective. Around 90% of signs that display “bookstore” have nothing to do with books. There are only a few rare bookstores that live exclusively from the sale of books, but if we exclude school books, we will barely find four or five. Most others live 70% on school books and 20% on other products.
Hundreds are registered in the commercial register as bookstores. As a result, statistics from some public bodies give the number of these registered bookstores, but many have nothing to do with a real bookstore.
Tarik Éditions tried its hand at selling e-books. Where is the e-book market in Morocco?
The market is growing, but it is still very weak. We started, I would say, about 4 or 5 years ago, with Covid. I admit that I was a little reluctant at first… But ultimately, in a situation where readers no longer come to pick up books, we had to adapt and bring them what they want, whether on their phone or their computer. That said, for the moment, this does not yet represent 10% of our turnover.
Locally, there is no e-book distributor. We use platforms in Belgium and France for that. They are very efficient, but everything is done by machine. It’s a bit sad to say, but there is no longer any risk of error or cheating. We automatically receive reports on the number of copies sold, regardless of the country, whether in Kazakhstan or elsewhere. Whereas, for example, if we sell two copies in Oujda, we are not informed. It’s really a shame.
-Which countries buy the most Moroccan e-books?
France is in the lead, followed by Belgium, and, from time to time, we sell a copy in the United States, three in Germany, two in Sweden… It’s true that we have requests from everywhere, probably because that there are Moroccans all over the world.
The machine does not yet say whether the person who bought is Moroccan or Swedish. But I’m always amazed to see that you can sell a book in Mexico or Brazil, even if it’s not in large quantities.
As for sales in Morocco, it’s quite sad. For example, in Fez, we sell practically nothing, and that’s not just for us, it’s the case for all publishing houses. Basically, I would say that 75% to 80% of sales are made on the Casa-Rabat axis.
What type of publishing support would you find useful?
Since the 70s and 80s, subsidies have been distributed to sell books at an affordable price, but this has not really increased sales. In fact, I would even say that it was better during the 70s and 80s. Giving money to publishers is, in my opinion, a bad idea. This allows them to publish, but then they don’t account for the books they’ve published. So it’s a bit pernicious.
Today, the average print run is around 200 or 300 copies, which is ridiculous. The real challenge is reading! How do you get people to read? This is not by playing on prices, but by promoting distribution and contact with readers. We should start with school. I met students who, at the end of their bachelor’s or even master’s degree, had never read a single book outside of the school curriculum. This is absurd! Instead of subsidies, I would offer direct aid to readers, such as book vouchers for students. They could go to the bookseller, discover the books and leave with a title. We should also familiarize citizens, from primary school, with reading.
Other countries have already implemented compulsory reading systems in schools. Students must read one book from a selection and report on it. That really encourages reading. But for 50 years, nothing has changed. It is time to reflect on a policy that has not produced results.
Thus, helping the reader would benefit booksellers, distributors and publishers. Instead of selling 20 titles, we could sell 200 or 300, if the book is good. The publisher would then be encouraged to improve the quality of its publications. It’s not rocket science, you just need to get to the root of the problem. And this root is the reader. By supporting the reader, we would boost the entire book chain!
Murtada Calamy / ECO Inspirations
