World Book Day: The Digital Book's Place in the Publishing Chain
On the occasion of World Book Day and on the sidelines of the 38th International Book Fair, MIP Livre and clik2read organized a panel discussion titled "The Digital Book: What Place in the Publishing Chain?" on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, from 4 pm to 6 pm at the French Institute of Tunisia's stand at the International Book Fair in the Kram Exhibition Park.
The Digital Book Complements the Printed Book
During the panel, the focal point of the discussion was that the digital book will never be in competition with the printed book. This point was first addressed by Aslen Ben Rejeb, President of Conect, and author Dorra Fazaa, who reinforced the idea that digital and traditional books complement each other. Ben Rejeb also mentioned that, just like artificial intelligence, the digital book will not necessarily eliminate jobs, but rather give birth to new ones.
The State of the Publishing Industry in Tunisia
The lack of importance given to the publishing industry in Tunisia was also addressed. Author and publisher Hichem Kacem affirmed that the book chain does not exist in Tunisia. Moreover, the absence of reliable figures concerning the publishing industry in Tunisia, such as the number of books published or sold, and the number of bookstores in Tunisia, was highlighted. In contrast, Morocco has at least 50 annual literary awards, while Tunisia has only 2 or 3.
Upcoming Competition for Authors
At the end of the event, Mourad Boubaker, General Director of MIP Livre and Co-founder of clik2read, announced a competition to be held from May 15 to September 30. Authors are invited to fill out a form and upload their book to the website, and a winner will be selected. Further details will be communicated soon.
