Nournews: At a time when Iran’s publishing industry is going through one of the harshest and most exhausting periods in its history, holding the Tehran Book Fair — even virtually — should be seen both as good news and as a major warning. It is a warning that if the country’s cultural policymaking continues with the same level of passivity and minimalism, there may soon be nothing left of the publishing industry to showcase at future exhibitions.
In the years when the Tehran International Book Fair was held physically, it was far more than just a book-selling event. Over past decades, it had become a “national cultural occasion” — an event that connected millions of people to books, dialogue, culture, and public life. Few book fairs in the world attract nearly one million visitors per day. The Tehran Book Fair served not only as a driving force for publishers, but for Iran’s entire cultural ecosystem — from writers and translators to booksellers, printers, designers, editors, and even culture-related side businesses.
This year, however, wartime conditions and the crises stemming from them have made an in-person exhibition impossible, leading officials at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to decide that the fair will be held exclusively online. The decision may be defensible and even necessary in principle. The fair will run from May 16 to May 23 with the participation of 2,300 publishers, and books will be offered to readers with a total discount of 25 percent. Fifteen percent of this discount will be provided by publishers, while the remaining 10 percent will come as a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. Under current conditions, maintaining the continuity of a cultural event is itself important, and the light of books must not be allowed to go out completely. The virtual fair may help offset part of the market stagnation, provide publishers with sales opportunities, and at least keep a minimum flow of books alive.
But the real question is this: in times of crisis, does the full capacity of the government’s cultural policymaking amount only to “virtualizing” the exhibition? At one of the most difficult moments in the history of Iran’s publishing industry, should the Ministry of Culture simply choose the easiest and least costly option and move on from the crisis?
The reality is that Iran’s publishing industry today stands on the brink of a silent collapse. Print runs have dropped to around 200 copies — a figure that is not merely concerning but catastrophic for a country with a population of over 90 million people. The prices of paper, printing, distribution, and advertising have risen so dramatically that books have effectively disappeared from the consumption basket of a large portion of society. Many publishers are now struggling merely to survive, not to promote cultural development. Bookstores are closing one after another, and writers and translators no longer see a clear future ahead.
Under such circumstances, although the virtual exhibition may be somewhat useful, it resembles more a temporary painkiller for a chronic illness that requires serious treatment. More than ever, the publishing market today is waiting for real and effective support policies — policies that can both revive demand for books and reduce production costs.
The government and the Ministry of Culture must accept that under wartime conditions, culture and books are not luxury goods that can be pushed aside. On the contrary, in times of crisis society needs cultural capital, social hope, and mental cohesion more than ever before — and books are among the most important tools for producing this capital. A country that abandons books amid economic and wartime pressures is effectively surrendering part of its cultural resilience.
For this reason, the government is expected to move beyond the role of passive observer and adopt more creative policies. Direct subsidies for book purchases, support for public libraries to buy publishers’ works on a large scale, aid packages for printing houses, investment in domestic paper production, smart and effective oversight of paper imports and confrontation with the paper mafia, more serious tax exemptions for publishing professionals, low-interest bank loans for publishers, and even the design of national book-reading promotion campaigns could all be part of this path.
The Ministry of Culture could also have turned this year’s exhibition into an opportunity for fresh innovation — from organizing extensive online sessions with writers and translators to transforming the virtual fair into a nationwide media event. Yet what has been seen so far appears more like minimal crisis management than an active and forward-looking cultural policy. Even the duration of the exhibition is extremely short and limited, when at the very least it could have been extended.
The core problem is that cultural policy in Iran still does not seem to view the publishing industry as a “strategic industry.” While in many countries the book market is considered part of national cultural security and soft power, publishing in Iran is often placed among the lowest priorities. The virtual Tehran Book Fair can help preserve a minimum cultural current in the country and should be supported. But if the event becomes merely an excuse to conceal the publishing industry’s deeper crisis, the problem will remain unresolved.
The truth is that books in today’s Iran need a “national rescue plan” — a plan that goes beyond holding a virtual exhibition and instead focuses on rebuilding the cultural economy and reviving society’s relationship with books. If the government intends to safeguard Iran’s social capital, cultural cohesion, and soft power in the difficult years ahead, it must understand that rescuing the publishing industry is a national imperative.
Nournews