Sherif Bakr has hauled suitcases full of books to international fairs because shipping them cost more than printing them. That's the reality for publishers in Egypt, said Bakr, general manager of Cairo's Al Arabi Publishing and Distributing. He spoke at the Frankfurt International Book Fair about why Arabic literature rarely reaches foreign readers. The problem starts before anyone translates a single page. Foreign buyers first have to be persuaded to take a look.
"They don't know what to expect. They don't know what we have," Bakr told The National. "This is why we as an industry needed to extend the variety."
A Catalogue to Close the Gap
Bakr is trying to fix that through Arab Voices, a website that features contemporary literature from across the Arab world. The effort began six years ago with a printed catalogue of 32 Egyptian books, then moved online in 2026. Funded by the EU and launched in July, the platform offers foreign publishers a range of titles. Among them is "A Mask, the Colour of the Sky," by Palestinian author Bassem Khandaqji, winner of the 2024 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Others include Egyptian novelist Adel Esmat's "At the End of Time" and Nora Nagi's "The Fuel House."
The catalogue now reaches well beyond Egypt. "We now have fantasy, crime, women writing crime novels, women's literature, chick lit, literary fiction and award-winning books," Bakr said. It lists 200 titles from 22 countries. "We need to give more exposure to writers from across the region, not just the known ones or the famous ones."
Arab Voices isn't alone. Leila, an EU-funded European project launched five years ago, promotes contemporary Arabic literature from France. It offers publishers and translators a curated catalogue and resources, focusing on Arabic-to-French translation. At the fair on Thursday, the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre marked the first anniversary of its From Kalima to the World initiative and announced 14 new translation and international co-publishing partnerships.
The Cost of Being Overlooked
Bakr described a quieter kind of exclusion, built from logistics and indifference. "We would feel publishers don't reply to us, don't think of us as important," he said at a separate Frankfurt discussion on industry challenges. Foreign publishers and agents, he said, may underestimate the difficulties regional publishers face. Contracts often require free copies for authors, agents and rights holders in several countries. For Egyptian publishers, shipping those copies can cost more than producing the books.
Money itself can block a deal. Bakr recalled agreeing to a $100 advance with a Nordic literary agency, then struggling to move the funds because Egyptian bank officials at the time didn't understand the purchase of publishing rights. He ended up paying in cash at a book fair. Restrictions have eased, he said, but a $100 transfer can still incur about $40 in fees. "We don't have the same banking system," he said. "We have to be flexible and understanding."
What Comes Next
Bakr argues that curation is the missing piece. "Publishers need a selected, curated list. Something that they know is going to work with them. You can't just put anything," he said. Prize shortlists and winners offer a starting point, though he also considers books without such recognition. Success at home doesn't guarantee a book will cross borders. "Maybe it's very good locally, but it doesn't travel, or maybe it travels," he said.
He also urged Arab publishers to attend international fairs, where networking and rights negotiations matter more than consumer sales. The costs are real, he acknowledged, but the investment can pay off. "You have to talk to the publishers and convince them that this book stands up with the others."
After Frankfurt, Bakr plans to expand Arab Voices' outreach and make it a hub for publishing news and links to other initiatives. He won't measure success only by translation deals. "It's not that we have to have a KPI of how many translated books," he said. "You're building something. It's like soft power. It's about expanding the visibility of what's out there in Arabic literature. There are so many great stories out there, and we just want to help in that effort." The fair ends October 11.
Why This Matters: Whose stories get translated shapes how the world understands a region. Arabic literature includes work by Palestinian authors like Bassem Khandaqji, whose prize-winning novel is among the titles on offer, and by writers from 22 countries. When those voices can't clear basic hurdles, from unanswered emails to bank fees that eat 40 percent of a $100 advance, readers abroad lose access to how Arabs describe their own lives. Efforts like Arab Voices, Leila and From Kalima to the World won't resolve that imbalance alone. But they put writers before publishers, who can judge the books on their merits rather than overlook them unseen.