(12 May 2025)
ASSOCIATED PRESS – No use by BBC Persian, VOA Persian, Manoto TV, Iran International
Tehran, Iran – 9 May 2025
1. Various of visitors at Tehran International Book Fair
2.SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Amir Hossein Maghami, Tehran resident:
"People just love being surrounded by books, that special smell of books, and the people connected to publishing. Even the kind of shoppers you see here – people of knowledge – you get a good energy from them. It really lifts your mood."
3. Various of visitors reading books
4. Publisher Hossein Javid talking to visitor
5. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Hossein Javid, publisher:
"The biggest challenge we face is external, and it’s not just unique to our country. Generally, because of the rise of new tools for accessing knowledge, for entertainment, and for reading, naturally the number of people engaging with printed materials – like books, magazines, and newspapers – has declined. That’s a major part of our problem: a drop in readers. Another issue is the high cost of books, which doesn’t just affect readers. Publishers are also hit hard because when something becomes more expensive, people’s purchasing power drops."
6 Javid swiping card for accepting payment
7. Javid returning the card to customer
8. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Hossein Javid, publisher:
"Books, and cultural products in general, are not considered basic life necessities anywhere in the world. They usually fall into second or third place in terms of priorities for families. So the rising cost of books has been an ongoing issue in recent years. Publishers are trying to manage this, by cutting costs, reducing print runs, or coming up with creative solutions so that the audience isn’t hurt too badly and they themselves can survive."
9. Publisher talking to cleric
10. Various of visitors at booth
11. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Mohammad Reza Moradi, Tehran resident:
"Love and passion resulting from touching physical books is something different. Sure, online platforms and audiobooks have their own appeal, but I don’t think they can ever really replace the feeling of holding a book in your hands and experiencing that joy. That’s why I came here in person."
12.Various of visitors
13. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Alireza Seif, student:
"We have great authors, but the problem is the prices. Prices go up drastically every year. I was just talking to someone about this, the main issue is pricing. Publishers only print a limited number of copies so they can do reprints and raise the price. It’s not that there’s no interest; that’s not the issue. The issue is the purchase. A lot of people want to buy books, but they walk away disappointed because the prices are just too high."
14. Close of books
15. SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Alireza Seif, student:
"Another thing that this year is becoming more of a challenge is that some publishers, though not many, are unveiling books created with the help of artificial intelligence. That’s a new challenge. I think in the next five years, we’ll be dealing with books that are written or translated by AI. As AI improves, this will become more common, and it’s definitely something new we’ll have to reckon with."
16. Young men looking at their phones
17. Various of visitors
18.SOUNDBITE (Farsi) Amir Arabloo, writer and publisher:
"For us as independent publishers, the book fair is a huge help. Our books aren’t always available in every bookstore or through every distributor. So the fair is really valuable not just for sales, but also for introducing our work and speaking directly to readers."
19. Arabloo taking to visitor
20. Close of War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
24. Wide of venue
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