May 15, 2018
By Akhtar Qasemi
Earlier this month, the Forough Persian Bookstore and Publishing House hosted the 3rd “Tehran Book Fair, Uncensored” in Cologne, Germany. The traveling book fair, which started its tour in London on May 4, is currently stopping in 15 European cities and will reach its final stop in Rotterdam, Holland on May 27.
This year’s event coincides with the Tehran International Book Fair which ran from May 2 through 12.
Mehri, Nogaam and other publishing houses and bookstores organized the first “Tehran Book Fair, Uncensored” in London in 2016. Its success prompted the organizers to extend the fair to other European cities.
Publishers from Europe, Canada, and the U.S. have taken part in this year’s event. This is the second year that Forough has collaborated with other publishers including Mehr (London), Naakojaa (Paris) and Diar (Denmark) to organize the fair in Europe.
The following is Kayhan London’s interview with Hamid Mehdipour of the Forough Bookstore, who hosted the fair in Cologne, and Mehri Publishing’s Hadi Khojinian, who organized the event in London.
Akhtar Qasemi: Mr. Mehdipour, this is the second year that you’ve organized the book fair. What impact has it had on readers, writers, and translators? Has the event been able to attract more visitors than before?
Hamid Mehdipour: The fair has so far traveled through four European cities, Toronto and Los Angeles. It has been received enthusiastically by Iranians. It will go to 11 more European cities in the coming days.
Q: Is your involvement limited to organizing the fair in Cologne, or do you collaborate with Mehri Publishing on other projects?
A: Our esteemed colleague, Mr. Khojinian of Mehri Publishing, organized the first fair in London. We’ve had more writers and publishers working with us in the past two years.
Q: Recent data has shown that two to three percent of Iranians read books. What is your experience with Iranian readers living abroad?
A: We are encouraged by the number of Iranians who buy and read our books inside and outside the country.
Q: Don’t you think it would be better for the fair to have a permanent home rather than travel through different countries?
A: A touring fair can serve Iranians living around the globe. However, organizing an international event is a daunting task. It makes it difficult for publishers and authors to attend the event.
Q: Mr. Khojinian, how did you come up with the idea for this fair? Does it take place at the same time as the Tehran International Book Fair?
Hadi Khojinian: The idea for the “Tehran Book Fair, Uncensored” came from Nogaam Publishing House in London. Mehri and other bookstores and publishing houses helped to organize the first fair. Subsequently, it was held for two consecutive years in major European cities in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
Q: Do you include works by Iranian authors living abroad or only the publishers who are involved in the book fair?
A: Our goal is to highlight the works of Iranian poets, authors, and artists. Publishers who are outside Iran have been making these works available to Iranian readers. Author-publishers are free to submit their books to the organizers for review.
Q: Do all of the publishing houses outside Iran work with you?
A: Most of them do. We hope others join us in the future.
Q: Who does finance the fair? Does the money come from a cultural organization or the publishers themselves?
A: The publishing houses finance the fair. We don’t receive funding from any cultural organization. Fortunately, we haven’t had to pay for the venue so far. I’d like to take this opportunity and thank each and every one who has helped to make this fair possible.
Q: What are the negative aspects of a traveling book exhibition? How likely is it for the fair to find a permanent home in future?
A: We’ve received very positive feedback from our readers. To reach a wider audience, we plan to hold future fairs in major European, Canadian and American cities. It is not possible to secure a permanent site for the exhibition at this time. I hope to be able to organize a book fair like those in Frankfurt and London. But for the time being, we have to stay with the current format.
