He made the remarks in an interview with the Tehran-based English-language newspaper Iran Daily.

“Tobias Voss, vice president of Frankfurt Book Fair's International Markets Section and a member of the fair's board of directors, recently visited TIBF. Frankfurt Book Fair (known in German as Frankfurter Buchmesse) is scheduled for October14-18.

Iran Daily conducted an interview with Voss. Excerpts follow:

IRAN DAILY: Would you please explain Frankfurt Book Fair's status in the world?

TOBIAS VOSS: Frankfurt Book Fair dates back to the middle ages and the era of Johann Gutenberg, who introduced printing to Europe in the 15th century. It is the biggest and most important book fair in the world. The London Book Fair is comparable to Frankfurt Book Fair. Publishers from 100 countries attend Frankfurter Buchmesse each year, but about 50 countries participate in London Book Fair annually.

I. D: How does the exhibition function?

The exhibition is held annually during five days in October. It is open to scholars and experts on the first three days, whereas on the last two days it welcomes the general public. The fair is dedicated to copyright exchange which is its most important aspect. In fact, Frankfurt Book Fair is a privileged venue for connecting international publishers to each other. It is attended by authors, illustrators and graphic designers. Over 7,000 exhibitors and publishers also participate in the fair.

I.D:Tell us about Iran's presence at Frankfurt Book Fair?

Iran has two pavilions with sufficient space. One of them is for the public while the other pertains to children's book. In addition, Iranian publishers can also have their own pavilions.

I.D: What is your opinion about 28th TIBF?

We have been attending TIBF since 2000. But it is the first time I'm visiting the book fair. After visiting different sections of the fair, I came to know that the expo has been well arranged. For instance, each hall is differentiated from others subject-wise and the list of publishers and exhibitors at the beginning of each hall. Thus, visitors know where they are going from the very moment they enter the fair. This subject is not taken into consideration in many of the international book fairs.

I.D: In your opinion, how did the people receive the fair?

When I visited Germany's pavilion where mostly German books were sold, I realized that university students greatly welcomed the fair. Public participation was also strong in other sections of the book fair. In other words, this fair will acquaint people with publishers, books and subjects.

Tehran book fair has two target groups: the general public and the professional and international visitors. The two groups have different needs. The former enter the book fair to buy books and get familiar with new topics available in the market, while the latter evaluate Iranian books to find new books which can be translated into other languages.

I.D: Did you select a book to be introduced to German publishers for translation?

Actually, we are not a publisher or a representative of publication industry. We are tasked with arranging and organizing book fairs. Thus, we do not buy copyright law from Iranian publishers. But if there are fine suggestions for valuable Iranian works, we can connect them to German publishers.

I.D: How do you evaluate the book fair in terms of content and level of publication?

Since I don't know Persian and most of the books are in Persian, I cannot provide an exact response to this question. After conversing with publishers, I realized there are high-quality English books there.

During the trip, I also visited Tehran's Central Book City whose quality was high. Thereafter, I'm contemplating the establishment of such book store in Frankfurt, too.

On the whole, I became aware that the quality of Iran's publication is at fine levels.

I.D: Can you explain a little on the status of publication in Germany?

Germany's publication is the second largest after the US right now. The publication market makes over €9.5 billion annually. Almost 100,000 subjects are printed and published in Germany in each year. A total of 5,000 book stores exist there.

Germany has 6,000 registered publishers of which 2,000 are active. Interestingly, only 200 publishers have the right to sell books to other countries. Therefore, German publishers sell almost 8,000 titles of books annually.

I.D: Which steps have been taken to help small-time publishers?

Actually, we have a fixed price for each book which is mentioned on the back cover. Book stores are not allowed to charge more or give a discount. The law is also applicable for online books.

The advantage of the fixed price helps protect book stores and small publishers. The reason is that we have a lot of big publishers and book stores and if they sell at lower prices, it will threaten small publishers.

Another positive aspect of Germany's publication industry is that we have an exceptional distribution network that is responsible for delivering the books which are ordered books within 24 hours.

Over 2,800 publishers from Iran and 65 other countries are presenting their latest publications at the 28th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF).

The fair opened on May 6 and will run until May 16.

The participation of international publishers in the ongoing book fair is a good opportunity to evaluate Iran's standing in book publication compared to those in other countries.”

Active Presence of Jews in Tehran Intl. Book Fair

TEHRAN (CHN) - Iranian Jews have had active presence in the international book fairs since 1979, enlightening on their religion Judaism.

The stand of the Iranian Jewish Association is decorated with ethical verses from the Talmud, the Torah and the Old Testament with themes of monotheism, peace and friendship, justice and humanity as well as an image of the tomb of Daniel the Messenger.
Speaking to IRNA, Arash Abaei who is an expert in Jewish religion said 10 items of books in Persian language are presented to those who visit the stand.
He said Persian-Hebrew Dictionary of Sulayman Hayyim is the latest work of the stand which is presented to those interested.
The visitors of the stand are mainly researchers and students, he said, adding that in addition to offering written materials appropriate answers will be given to the questions about Judaism. This would differentiate between the Jewish religion and Zionism and people will develop a better understanding of religious commonalities between Islam and Judaism, he noted.
He appreciated Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry for its good cooperation with religious minorities as well as putting the stand at their disposal on time