Qatari publishing houses book their place in industry

Qatari public and private publishing houses have made their mark in the publishing industry and the world of culture, and contributed to the promotion of the continuous cultural movement in the country, a number of officials said. In statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the officials stressed that the Qatari publishing houses have assumed a prominent position in this field, as a result of the selection of purposeful contents, quality printing, as well as the diversity of intellectual, scientific and literary content, leading to children's literature and other books to register a strong presence in Arab and international book fairs.
The Director of Katara Publishing House, Sheikha Shaikha bint Hamad al-Thani, said that the establishment of Katara Publishing House in 2018 embodied a pioneering step within the framework of the Katara Cultural Village Foundation's strategy to disseminate distinguished Qatari creations in culture, heritage and arts. She explained that the publications of the house received attention and demand due to its adoption of the highest quality standards, including production, printing and distribution.
It was also characterised by diversity in cultural production, as it included documentary and heritage works, fictional works and critical studies, especially the winner of the Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction.
She noted that the house, through its continuous participation in the Doha International Book Fair and Gulf and Arab book fairs, has strengthened its position in the Qatari and Arab cultural scene through its publications in Arabic, English and French. The Director of Research Projects at Qatar University Press, Reem Mohsen al-Athba, said that the publishing house represents one of the most important strategic initiatives of the university, embodies its mission, and is a scientific tributary for various national institutions, and a qualitative step in building a knowledge society, explaining that the publishing house since its establishment in 2018 adopts a policy based on the latest performance indicators and quality standards in the world of academic publishing.
She pointed out that the Qatar University Press highlighted, through a package of publications, the national identity and the country's tourist and environmental attractions, and was distinguished by its diversity and richness as it included Islamic studies, law, history, culture, heritage, politics, literature and linguistics, medicine and engineering, translation works, encyclopaedic works, forum and conference proceedings, a series of textbooks, a series of country studies, and a series of scientific theses.
The Executive Director of Hamad Bin Khalifa University Publishing House, Bashar Shabaro, spoke about the house's interest in publishing novels and biographies for adults, stories for adolescents and children, in addition to educational books for schools, academic books for universities and researchers, and information books.
He noted that the work of the house is not limited to the fields of literature and scientific research, but rather manages an electronic platform for content in an open access manner, as the house has proven its presence in the field of collaborative electronic publishing, to allow easy access to advanced global research in medicine, biosciences, healthcare, social sciences, Islamic and engineering and others.
The CEO of Rosa Publishing House, Dr Aisha Jassim al-Kuwari, said that the house, since its establishment in 2017, has worked to achieve a set of goals, the most important of which is encouraging Qatari authors, as new names have emerged in the world of writing and creativity with the establishment of the house, such as the writer Omar Al-Mir, whose publication at the Kuwait Fair won the best-selling book in 2019, the writer Mohamed al-Marri, the writer Maitha Sultan, and others, and this is a success for the writer, publisher, and cultural scene in Qatar, in addition to introducing the world to the Qatari cultural product through participation in various Arab and international book fairs, and presenting community initiatives that contribute to the cultural movement in the country, such as the cultural salon, the narrators house, and others.
Ibrahim al-Buhashim al-Sayed, founder and director of Dar Al-Watad for Books and Publications and Vice-President of the Arab Publishers Associations, said that the house, which was established in 2017, sets its sights on serving writers and readers in Qatar, in addition to encouraging young authors. It aspires to present everything that interests the reader in terms of useful material and appropriate output. The house is also interested in building various relationships with regional and international publishing houses to benefit from copyrights or specifications for books and their quality.
He pointed out that the house, since its inception, has attracted many Qatari writers and authors, in addition to Arab authors, whether residing inside or outside Qatar, from the countries of the Arab Maghreb, the Levant and India, where books were translated by the house into a number of languages. Writer Asma Abdul-Latif al-Kuwari, Director of Nabja Printing and Publishing, said that Nabja is considered the first specialised house for children's literature in Qatar, emphasising that the children's books presented by the house reflect the values that the child should be brought up on, based on the Qatari environment and heritage. (QNA)