Is there a market for Arabic literature in Europe?

The challenges of cracking the European book market are a perennial source of discussion for Arabic publishers at the Frankfurt International Book Fair.

The litany of issues are familiar, from a lack of quality translations and associated grants to the general indifference of European publishers to Arab authors unless your last name is, say, Mahfouz or Al Aswany.

This year’s iteration, which ended on Sunday, highlighted the issues further.

A host of Arabic authors and publishers withdrew their attendance in protest against the book fair’s move to cancel the pre-arranged LiBeraturpreis award for Palestinian author Adania Shibli, in light of the Israel-Gaza war.

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Shibli, who was to be honoured for the novel Minor Detail last Friday, subsequently cancelled her engagements at the book fair.

So where to now?

Will the heightened emotions caused by the escalating conflict permanently stymie the chances of modern Arabic literature from reaching the bookshelves in major non-English European markets such as Germany, France or Spain?

Judging by the panel discussions and interviews with publishers and translators at the book fair, an appetite for Arabic literature remains, providing the best stories are found.

What is the right Arabic book to translate?

And what these are is a subject of debate.

Veteran Egyptian publisher Sherif Bakr says there is no formula for an international Arabic bestseller.

As general manager of Cairo's 48-year-old Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing, he says Arab publishers need a laissez-faire approach to producing and promoting their titles.

“There is sometimes this trend by certain Arabic publishers to push a particular kind of book and then dedicate a lot of resources to it, instead of trying to focus on releasing a variety of works covering different topics,” he tells The National.

“Publishing is about learning and relearning. Once you think you know something the market changes and you have to adapt. So this notion that a particular Arabic book about a certain subject is guaranteed to sell in a specific market is inaccurate.”

Bakr describes how pure gut instincts resulted in his company releasing a pair of successful books translated from Arabic into a European language and vice versa.

“With the Egyptian football team playing in the 2018 World Cup, I realised we should do some kind of biography on (Egyptian football player) Mo Salah.

“So we did one relatively quickly called Mo Salah: The Story of a Hero that became a big hit in Egypt and translated into three languages including Spanish,” he says.

“While one of my biggest Arabic sellers last year totally surprised me in that it was a small book translated from Finnish called The History of Arrogance.

“Now, do both of these examples prove to you that I am a genius? Not really, while I have an idea about what books are worth pursuing, it’s really all about putting out as much variety out there and letting the people and market decide what is best.”

Hartmut Fahndrich, the German literary scholar who translated the works of Egypt's Salwa Bakr and Syria's Zakaria Tamer, in addition to the aforementioned Naguib Mahfouz and Alaa Al Aswany, is opposed to Bakr’s approach.

Speaking as part of the Arabic Literatures in Europe event, one of three panel discussions organised by the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Fahndrich says commercially savvy Arabic novels don't resonate in Germany.

He points to 2010's I want to Get Married by Egyptian blogger Ghada Abdel Aal and 2005’s Girls of Riyadh by Saudi novelist Rajaa Alsanea as examples of commercially driven works tanking upon translation.

“I don't want to leave an impression that I am permanently pessimistic. But from what I see, the big publishing houses in Germany have not shown any real interest in Arabic literature and I doubt the usefulness of this notion of marketability,” he says.

“These two books didn't make German publishing houses rich so as a result cheap literary things from the Arab world were sold and it had no impact.”

Fahndrich, instead, points to the commercial success of German translations of books by Tayeb Salih, the late Sudanese novelist known for his seminal 1966 novel Season of Migration to the North to show how quality Arabic literature can cut through abroad.

“Now why did his work do well? I don't really know,” he says. “Perhaps it was the good reviews it received.”

The need to connect

Such exposure is what Anne Millet from France hopes to achieve as manager of Leila, a website promoting the translation and distribution of novels by Arabic authors residing in Europe.

Founded by international literary organisations, authors and academics, as well as partly funded by the European Union, Leila launched this month and is an impressive resource guide for interested publishers.

More than 50 Arabic novels – including 2022 International Prize for Arabic Fiction-winner Bread on Uncle Milad's Table by Libya's Mohammed Alnaas – are highlighted with excerpts in various European languages and contact details for author agents and publishers.

“We are not an institution per se but a project built on the common observation between our partners that there is a lack of translation of Arabic literature to European languages from Arabs living abroad in Europe,” Millet says.

“While there is awareness of the richness and diversity of these works over the last 15 years, it is not enough.

“We want to find a way to make these works from the Arab diaspora visible to European publishers,” she says.

Some of these connections could be formed in Abu Dhabi next year.

In a book fair session organised by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre – one of the organisation’s marquee industry events – the International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries has been promoted as the ideal forum for foreign publishers to learn more about the Arabic literary scene.

Held on April 28, the event is a precursor to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair which begins the following day.

“A lot of publishers find the Arabic market confusing and tricky,” says Carlo Carrenho, a Brazilian publishing consultant based in Sweden who attended the congress this year.

“A lot of it is down to the different countries, all of which have their own publishing industries and regulations, not to mention the different dialects.

“So the congress in Abu Dhabi is really an ideal situation, for me at least, to get an understanding of the region, make connections and really give the industry the attention it needs.”

And if that doesn’t work, perhaps controversially cancelling a prize-giving ceremony for an internationally acclaimed Arabic novel could also do the trick.

Originally released in Arabic and translated into English in 2020, Minor Detail has received unprecedented exposure since the Frankfurt International Book Fair pulled the plug on the event, with articles covering the fallout in major international newspapers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian.

Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek even took to the podium during the book fair’s opening ceremony to decry the decision as “scandalous.”

Despite throwing up genuine concerns regarding the role of literary events in times of conflict, Bakr sees opportunity.

“In this current time there is a focus on the Arab world and our present situation,” he says.

“So my advice to my fellow Arab publishers is to find your best books and voices and really push them.

“Even in Adania Shibli’s case, I hope her agents can use the situation to not only push the book but the issues that it discusses.”

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