Arab World Unrest Pulls Book Fair’s Plug

With the Arab world in an uproar, the Cairo Book Fair has been abandoned. From The Guardian:

Literature has been caught up in the protests that have now entered their seventh day in Egypt. The annual Cairo book fair, due to have been held this week, has been abandoned, with many foreign exhibitors left stranded after failing to secure flights to take them out of the country.

The fair – the largest and oldest in the Arab world, usually attracting two million visitors and a host of authors – was due to be opened on Saturday 28 January by President Hosni Mubarak, who has hitherto raised the curtain each year. But with protesters demonstrating on the streets against his rule, and curfews imposed across the city, the event was summarily abandoned. The guest of honour, China, withdrew its delegation on the eve of the scheduled opening.

Read the full story in The Guardian here.