Under the title “Youth and Future Knowledge”, the 48th edition of the Cairo International Book Fair was launched on 26 January, hosting literary works from 670 publishers from 35 Arab and foreign countries. With the aim of reviving the cultural scene in Egypt, small and big publishing houses released a variety of literary works that blended different genres including romance, sarcasm, thriller, horror, and science fiction.
This year, Dawen publishing house gave a chance for a big number of novice writers to introduce their first literary works to the Egyptian book market. By presenting a variety of books and novels including Blue Hole by Shady Farahat, that takes the readers onto a journey in the Blue Hole diving area in the Sinai, and Logharetm by Amir Atef, a thriller novel that questions how a writer can be a victim of the characters he creates in his books, the house encourages young talented writers to let their works get the spotlight. In addition, the house published a number of other novels such as La Zal Hayan (He is still alive) by Mohammed Farouk El Shazly, Carbon 14 by Mohammed Fouad Eissa, Manicure by Ahmed El Qady, and others that received waves of praise.
Meanwhile, Dar El-Shorouk has released a number of notable books from well-known writers such as Al Washm Al-Abyad (The White Tattoo) by Osama Allam, a novel that tackles a love story between an Egyptian immigrant in Canada and a black girl and the ethnic barriers that face them; Noor by Youssef Zidan, the novel in which he focused on women’s oppression in Arab communities; in addition to Alazeen Labaso Al Balto Al Abyad (Those who wore the white gown) by Hassan Kamal, a book that sheds lights on the struggles of doctors in Egypt in a sarcastic way. The publishing house also released Ahmed Khaled Tawfeek’s latest book The Mystery Behind Sentences, in which the writer conveys his personal experience in writing and gives tips on how to become a creative writer.
For the fifth time, the writer Shereen Hana’y has also chosen Al-Rewaq publishing house for publishing her latest novel Asfar Al Nhayat that tackles the destruction of nature and the laws of gravity, blending thriller, mystery, and entertainment. Similarly, after the great success of her novel Gawary Al-Eshk (Love Slaves), Rasha Samir has cooperated again with the Egyptian-Lebanese house for publishing her latest novel Alqaky Honak (I’ll Meet You There), in which she portrays the conflicts and hardships that encounter Yehya and Nelover’s complicated love story.
With Noon publishing house, Ahmed Younis, the radio presenter, managed to achieve a record by selling 10,000 copies of his first horror novel Nader Foda. The house has also published a number of horror novels including Al Maskoon (The Haunted) by Khaled Atwa, and Nag’ El Mawta’ (The Dead’s Resort) by Hussein El-Sayed. However, on the top of books published by Toya house comes Al Hayah Ala Sath Al Bateekh by Ahmed Atef, one of the popular social media sarcastic writers who managed to gain great popularity with his critical posts of some artistic works.
In such fierce competition where a huge number of alternatives can be found, the audience is always considered the biggest winner who will benefit from the various genres provided.
