A fair marking its fourth decade. A guest of honour from Southeast Asia. A forum on AI. An Averroes anniversary. Global publishing has never been more fun!
A Bold Choice for 2026
Forty years old this April, the Tunis International Book Fair has chosen Indonesia as its 2026 Guest of Honour – and in doing so, quietly made one of the more interesting statements in this year’s international book fair calendar.
Not France. Not the usual suspects. Indonesia: the world’s fourth most populous nation, home to 270 million people, a Muslim-majority democracy with a publishing sector that rarely registers on the western trade radar – and yet one that has been quietly building something significant.
The Scale of the Event
The fair itself is no small event. Thirty-seven countries, 394 exhibitors, 148,000 titles on display. The 40th edition runs 23 April through 3 May under the slogan “Tunisia, a homeland of books,” at the Kram Exhibition Centre under the auspices of President Kais Saied.
Eight awards. Ten conferences. Fifteen panel discussions. A major international forum on AI across the publishing chain – a conversation that, as TNPS readers will know, is as urgent in the Arab world as anywhere.
Intellectual Highlights
The Ibn Rushd centenary adds intellectual ballast: the 900th anniversary of Averroes, the Cordovan philosopher whose work bridged classical Islamic thought and European scholasticism, frames this edition’s commitment to open inquiry in ways that feel pointed rather than ceremonial.
Spotlight on Indonesia
But back to Indonesia. Its ambassador to Tunisia, Zuhairi Misrawi, frames his country’s participation under the theme “Books and reading are a path to paradise” – and describes the bilateral relationship as one of cultural diplomacy and shared heritage.
Books in Indonesian and Arabic. Folk performances. Symposia on Tunisian-Indonesian cultural connections. Even Tunisian-authored books about Indonesia on display.
The View From The Beach
This is soft power done through pages rather than platforms, and it deserves our attention as we acknowledge the publishing shift away from its traditional calibration to London, Frankfurt and New York.
As TNPS regulars know, book fairs remain critical infrastructure for Arab publishing ecosystems – distribution challenges and limited retail mean 47% of Arab readers prefer buying books at fairs. Tunisia’s own economic pressures, dinar depreciation and constrained purchasing power, add context to what this 40th edition is navigating.
A fair marking its fourth decade. A guest of honour from Southeast Asia. A forum on AI. An Averroes anniversary. Global publishing has never been more fun!
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
