237 publishing houses to participate in 31st Book Fair with 50 thousand titles

Damascus, SANA- Under the title “Book is a Building of Mind”, next Thursday the 31st Book Fair will start activities at the national al-Assad Library as 237 publishing houses from Syria and Arab and foreign states will take part in the fair with 50 thousand titles, according to Culture Minister Mohammad al-Ahmad. Minister al-Ahmad’s remarks came during a press conference held Tuesday at the building of the Culture Ministry to announce the Fair’s program and the accompanying cultural activities as al-Ahmad affirmed that the number of the participating publishing houses has been the largest ever till now. Al-Ahmad affirmed the Culture Ministry’s keenness on the success of the Book Fair and to make its current edition distinguished in comparison with the previous ones. He indicated that the program of the Fair is very rich this year as it includes holding symposiums, poetry evenings and lectures to honor a number of elite authors, in addition to screening a number of films and showcasing a bunch of the unique scripts. The Minister also referred to the huge pressures which have been imposed on the Syrian publishers throughout the terrorist war waged against their homeland.