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Reza Najafi

A brief history of the Tehran International Book Fair.

The Tehran International Book Fair is one of the most important cultural events in our country, which is held every year in mid-Ordibehesht (May). It should be noted that this year, the 32nd edition of this fair was held a little earlier, from the 4th to the 14th of Ordibehesht, due to its proximity to the month of Ramadan. This event was first held in 1987 at the permanent location of the International Fairgrounds (which later turned out not to be so permanent). Until 2006, the Tehran International Book Fair was held at the same location, to the point where the organization and format of the event, as well as its timing and location, became a tradition.

In the year 1386, however, other events took place. In this year, the location of the exhibition was moved to the Grand Mosque of Tehran under the pretext of reducing traffic, which caused a lot of talk and disputes between the Ministry of Culture and the publishers and book lovers, especially considering the transfer of traffic from the northern part to the center of the city. Additionally, some other actions of the government at the time (under the presidency of Mr. Ahmadinejad) and the Ministry of Culture, such as efforts to separate and relocate foreign publishers to another location, as well as changing the timing and location of the media exhibition from the International Book Fair, were seen by many publishers and book lovers as an attempt by the government to weaken publishers and the media, and were met with resistance.

In the year 1395, the location of the exhibition was moved to the city of Aftab, located in the south of Tehran; a decision that was met with criticism. Finally, after two editions of the Tehran International Book Fair being held in Aftab, the location of the fair returned to the Grand Mosque of Tehran in 1398; without satisfying many book lovers who had grown nostalgic for the permanent location of the fair (located at the end of Chamran Highway) after nearly two decades of visiting it. Overall, the uncertainty of having a permanent location for the fair, especially after 32 years of experience, and the repeated relocation from the mosque to Aftab and vice versa, has been one of the criticisms of the book community.

A little about the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair.

According to the information on official websites such as the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the Tehran International Book Fair, with the slogan “Reading is Empowerment”, the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair was held from April 24th to May 4th, 2019 with the participation of 2400 domestic publishers (with 300,000 titles) and 800 foreign publishers (150 Arab publishers and 650 Latin publishers with 137,000 titles) from 30 countries in the Grand Mosalla of Tehran. Iranian publishers participated in this fair with 1400 new titles.

It should also be mentioned that this year, 73 publishers were banned from participating in this exhibition due to what the exhibition officials referred to as violations in the previous exhibition.

This exhibition was being held while there were concerns about the reception of the exhibition due to the ongoing floods in some provinces of the country and also discussions about economic sanctions. The increase in the price of paper to 50,000 tomans per bundle during the exhibition added to the worries of publishers to the point where talks of bankruptcy and closure of small publishers emerged. The rise in book prices and the astonishing decrease in the number of books at the recent exhibition were noticeable. According to many publishers, this year’s concerns are even more alarming than the issue of censorship, as the increase in prices threatens the printing and publishing industry of the country. Comparing the statistics of this year’s printing and publishing with last year’s shows a decrease of 100,000 copies at this year’s exhibition. While the Book House, as an official source, speaks of a 15% increase in book prices, many publishers are talking about a 100% increase by comparing the numbers.

It should be noted that this year, with the presence of a 200-member delegation, China was the special guest of this exhibition.

There were also banners in support of the Revolutionary Guards in the exhibition area, as well as various programs such as the “Islamic Resistance Celebration”, which were noteworthy.

At the same time, shortly before the exhibition was set up, the Tehran Writers Association protested in a letter to the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance against the ban on the distribution of several fictional and non-fictional works at the exhibition.

The following is mentioned in this letter: “Such decisions always remind us of the scars that each one brings a blurred memory of intentions to mind, which has an excessive desire to drive writers away from the people.” (1)

From the controversies of the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair, the withdrawal of the President, Mr. Rouhani, due to an unknown reason from visiting the fair and the presence of the Supreme Leader at the fair, and the spread of a video of him flipping through one of Ahmad Shamlou’s books on social media, which sparked a lot of online users’ opinions.

It is worth mentioning that, simultaneously with the Tehran International Book Fair, a group of Iranian publishers held a protest by organizing an exhibition titled “Uncensored Books” in several cities in Europe and North America.

A condensed version of critics’ perspectives.

If we overlook some minor criticisms such as the lack of clarity in determining the permanent location of the Tehran Book Fair and focus on the main criticisms, there are a few more points worth mentioning.

For foreign publishers, the first thing that stands out about the Tehran Book Fair is its distance from international exhibition standards. Experts have repeatedly pointed out that the Tehran International Book Fair is more of a bookstore than a place for publishers, writers, book distributors, and industry agents to exchange ideas. This criticism has even been acknowledged by officials, who are trying to improve the exhibition by implementing certain measures. For example, at the recent fair, officials announced that around 200 programs, including speeches and roundtable discussions, were held within the exhibition space. It should be noted that some of these programs, such as the celebration of Islamic resistance, have no connection to the book fair and have only added to the criticism.

The interference of various organizations in the Tehran Book Fair, such as the judiciary and the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence organization, and the pressure to confiscate or collect certain books, is another criticism that is widely heard. Many publishers believe that parallel and non-parallel institutions are involved in the organization and arrangement of booths and other details of the fair, which leads to chaos in the fair.

But what stands out and is heard the most among all criticisms, is the discussion of creating restrictions and bans for the presence of certain books and publishers in the exhibition, as well as the collection of titles of books that have already passed through the filtering process and have obtained permission, yet have become victims of a second filtering.

Officials often deny criticism, but sometimes they express it without hesitation. It is possible that auditors have been careless in their work and now, with the warning of other institutions and individuals, they can gather what has been overlooked by the supervisory authority and prevent it from being displayed in the exhibition or allow it to be present.

This year, as in previous years, we witnessed some restrictions and prohibitions at the Tehran Book Fair. As a sample, we mention a few examples. According to the report of the Hrana News Agency, Emad al-Din Baghaei, a journalist, has stated on his personal Twitter account that officials from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance have contacted the publishing house and banned the publication of the book “Execution and Retribution”. He says that this ban has also been imposed on the book “Religion of the State and State of Religion” by Mohammad Ghouchani.

In another tweet, Mohammad Bagher Haqqani Fazl, a student and researcher in the field of religion, reported on the disobedience of three clerics from Qom, known as “Arabic Evaluators,” in the booths and collection of some books on the philosophy of religion (especially the book “Lahut al-Tanzih”) and even at times some books on the field of medicine.

Furthermore, the novel “The Condemned” written by Keyhan Khanjani has been deprived of participating in the Tehran Book Fair (2).

According to the report of the Herana News Agency, regarding the controversies surrounding the virtual exhibition, it has been mentioned that the books “Rahaband” by Hamid Cheshmavar, “The Hanging Doll” by Hormoz Saadollahi, “I Had Gone to Hell After Hell” by Ali Karimi Kalaye, and “Sibilo Women and Beardless Men: Gender Concerns in Iranian Modernity” by Afsaneh Najmabadi, translated by Athena Kamel and Iman Vaghefi, have been banned from being presented at the exhibition. Additionally, the book “Dictatorship with Brown Eyes” by Roya Ebrahimi has also been deprived of being displayed at the exhibition. Furthermore, according to the late Kourosh Asadi’s wife, who passed away in July 2017, the fourth edition of his novel “Lost Clouds Alley” has been banned from being published.

Mona Barzoi, a poet and lyricist, has also announced on her personal page on Instagram about collecting a collection of her love poems from an exhibition.

Three books from Kavir Publications have not received permission for display and distribution, even though more than ten years have passed since some of them were published. These three banned books are “Religion and New Challenges” by Ebrahim Yazdi, “Jurists and the Iranian Revolution” and “The New Thinkers of Religion” by Seyyed Hadi Tabatabai.

It should be noted that on the first days of the exhibition, the committee for dealing with publishers’ violations issued twenty-five one-day suspensions or until the end of the exhibition for booth-holding publishers, and one booth, which according to officials was selling “smuggled books”, was completely shut down (4).

This note has also come to an end, but the story still remains and the people of the book are worried about the increase in astronomical prices, the suffocating fall of the economy, the bankruptcy of publishers, and the continuation of unjustified auditing and confiscation of published works in the current year.

Notes:

1. Why does Faraj Sarkoohi say that the Tehran Book Fair has turned into a “corpse”, Voice of America, 5th of Ordibehesht month, 1398?

2. A report on widespread censorship and prohibition at the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair, Herana News Agency, 9th of Ordibehesht month 1398.

3. طور که

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4. The rose, Hasan, a look at the 32nd Tehran International Book Fair, Iran Star, 19th of Ordibehesht month, 1398.