The 2013 Erbil International Book Fair, organized by the publishing house Al-Mada for Media, Culture and Arts, showcases more than a million books in their original languages. Erbil, the largest city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, is hosting the fair's eighth gathering, which opened April 2, in cooperation with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Culture and Youth.
The organizers this year deliberately chose not to feature books promoting violence or sectarianism. Al-Mada general manager Ghada al-Amili said in a statement to Al-Monitor, “There was a prior agreement between the Ministry of Culture and Al-Mada to limit extremist Islamic publishing houses. We imposed strict regulations and censorship on books that incite violence and sectarianism, and we succeeded in deterring the participation of these publishing houses, and for that we apologize to them.”
She added, “This year, more than 1.5 million original books were featured in the fair. They varied — from scientific to philosophical, translated and biographical and all other types — in a bid to meet the needs of buyers. We also provided extensive facilities to all participants to ensure a high level of participation in the upcoming years.”
Amili said, further, “More than 37 publishing houses from across 33 countries took part in this year’s fair.” Some Arab countries — Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia — took part for the first time. Space for this year's event exceeded 10,000 cubic meters.
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