The 20th edition of Algiers’
International Book Fair is about to open its doors for a
week between 29 October to 7 November. During a press conference held on 25
October to help publicise the event - and which was live-tweeted - #SILA2015’s
Commissioner, M. Hamidou Messaoudi, communicated some important, and some strange, information
on the event’s scope and structure.
Here are some press conference highlights.
Numbers
The guest of honour this year is France, who is said to have invited a number of high flying speakers, and has organised a special series
of activities to mark its very own special edition. 53 countries in all will
participate to the event, and 25 thousand titles will be made available. Priority
has been given to new releases we are told, and to university and scientific
publications. The Commissioner highlighted that, this year, 54% of exhibitors are Algerians, possibly in
comparison to a majority of foreigners in previous years or to comfort public
opinion that this is an ‘Algerian owned’ event. The commissioner also added
that foreign exhibitors have been limited to 200 copies per book – limited to importing and
selling presumably. Algerian exhibitors are under no limitations or
restrictions. 910
publishing houses will take part in this edition, 10% less than last year. The
reduction is said to be due to a breach in regulations committed by previous
participants. The rule possibly invoked as breached is that unsold books
must be returned and declared within 48h.
Budget
SILA 2015’s budget has been cut down by half because of austerity measures now implemented by the government in all areas, not just culture. These
budget cuts will seriously hit the cultural scene from 2016. Cultural analyst Ammar
Kessab discussed the impact of budget reductions in his recent analysis where he announces that the budget
for culture has gone down from 437
million dollars in 2015 to 167 million dollars in 2016, a 63% collapse.
Access
Accessing SILA will remain free and open to all. The organisers had played
with the idea of introducing an entry fee this year, but the sheer number of
participants expected is too large to make this a manageable option. And that’s
a good thing. Books are expensive enough as it is.
Patrols
A ‘special delegation’ will be dispatched to patrol
book stands to check that no book incites to hatred or racism. No criteria for
what might class as such has yet been announced. Another patrol will do
its rounds to control that no theft is committed. The entire fair will further
be put under custom control.
Prizes
The Assia Djebbar Prize for the best novel in French,
Arabic or Tamazight will be given during a ceremony held on 4th November. No
short or long list the jury might have selected has been communicated to the public yet.
Special Spaces and Places
A space will be reserved for children, children
literature hopefully, and not just amusement.
No comic books will be present, FIBDA, the yearly Comic Books Festival in Algiers, is deemed sufficient
enough to promote the genre. A special reference was made to the Panaf’ spirit for which a special area will be
opened. No indication as to what this might mean has been given yet. It is also
promised that literature in Tamazight has been
given special thought and a special place. Tifinagh features prominently on
SILA’s poster for once.
The language question
With France as guest of honour, no doubt books in French
will massively be made available, as is the case every year in fact. In a
country where a majority naturally reads, writes and jokes in several
languages, what space will literature in Arabic and Tamazight be given?
SILA could be a wonderful place for literature in translation. From 53 languages into another 53 in theory at least.
But in reality, in what langue will these 53 countries, Algeria among them, promote their literature? For 7 days, will the world be turned into a French translation?
SILA could be a wonderful place for literature in translation. From 53 languages into another 53 in theory at least.
But in reality, in what langue will these 53 countries, Algeria among them, promote their literature? For 7 days, will the world be turned into a French translation?
We’ll have to see won’t we!
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