After being suspended last year due to organizational reasons, the Tunis International Book Fair returns this month for its thirty-seventh edition under the slogan "Soar... with the Wings of Books," featuring 330 publishing houses from 22 countries. The fair, taking place from April 28 to May 7, will be held at the Exhibition Palace, showcasing over 500,000 book titles across various fields of literature, science, and arts.
Zahia Jweiro, the head of the organizing committee, highlighted in a press conference on Tuesday that "this edition will be an attempt to restore the international dimension of the fair by encouraging non-Arabs to participate." The cultural program includes over 100 events, including a seminar on "Writing and Digitization" and a seminar on "Writing and Trauma," which will focus on the role of writing in overcoming crises and disasters.
The program also features poetry evenings with participants from the UAE, Oman, and Syria, as well as discussions and signings of the latest works with the audience, alongside activities aimed at children and youth.
This new edition is named after Bashir Ben Selama (1931-2023), the former Minister of Cultural Affairs and founder of the Tunis International Book Fair, while the fair celebrates the famous sociologist Ibn Khaldun, whose image is displayed on the promotional poster.
Iraq will be the guest of honor at the thirty-seventh edition, presenting a cultural program that includes a variety of seminars, poetry evenings, and literary meetings with a large delegation comprising numerous intellectuals and artists, including artist Naseer Shamma.
