At least 22 publishing houses affiliated with Churches and ecclesial institutions present in Egypt exhibited books and editorial products at the 52nd edition of the Cairo International Book Fair. Among the stands of Christian exhibitors, the one of the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of St. Macarius and that of the publishing houses of the Franciscan Cultural Center of the Catholic Church in Egypt stand out, presenting 18 new publications at the Fair, including some dedicated to the Virgin Mary and to the spiritual traditions of the Coptic Churches.
The liveliness of the Churches and ecclesial communities present in Egypt has long been expressed in the quality and quantity of initiatives promoted by various ecclesial realities in the publishing and media fields. The presence of a substantial number of Christian publishers at the International Book Fair hosted in Egypt eloquently confirms the willingness of operators in the sector to react and not succumb to the crisis in the publishing sector, aggravated in recent years by the pandemic. In the past, the exhibition spaces of the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo have hosted the “Coptic Book Fair” several times, a cultural event which on some occasions saw the participation of about forty publishing houses affiliated to indigenous ecclesial communities.
The one hosted in Cairo represents the largest and oldest international book fair organized in the Arab world. The Fair is usually held during the month of January. This year, due to the pandemic, the inauguration of the exhibition center was postponed to June 30th.
The Cairo International Book Fair is one of the biggest book fairs in the world, drawing hundreds of booksellers from around the world and about 2 million visitors each year. It is the largest book fair in the Arab world, as well as the oldest.[5] In 2006, it was the second-largest book fair in the world after the Frankfurt Book Fair.
