RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has signed a number of deals with international publishing houses to nurture literary culture in the Kingdom and promote Saudi works worldwide.
The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 2022 Riyadh International Book Fair.
CEO of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) Turki Al-Showair signed the deals with several printing, publishing and distribution agencies to expand the reach of the foundation’s publications.
Darah signed three agreements with prestigious Netherlands-based Koninklijke Brill (KB), an international academic publishing house established in 1683.
They were signed by KB senior publishing director Dr. Moritz H. Van den Bogert and Al-Showair, in the presence of Darah Secretary-General Dr. Fahad Al-Samari.
Darah granted the Dutch publisher an exclusive license to digitally display and sell the foundation’s publications – including a dictionary of literature and writers in the Kingdom – in Arabic and English around the world.
A third agreement included a limited and non-exclusive license from Darah to KB, to publish, market and distribute Darah’s magazine globally on digital platforms.
KB headquarters is in the Netherlands, but the publishing house has offices in Germany, Austria, the US, China and Singapore. Its publications focus on the humanities, social sciences, law and selected fields of science.
KB’s offerings include a reference platform for researchers and academics in Arab as well as Islamic history.
Al-Showair also signed an agreement with Dar Tashkeel Publishing and Distribution Company CEO Khalid Al-Otaibi to print, publish, distribute and translate the works of the “Our History is a Story” program, which was launched as an initiative by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The initiative witnessed several incubating training activities to artistically enhance the Kingdom’s history, enrich the literary field with historical works, nurture and refine creative talents, and support writers interested in narration.
Another non-exclusive contract was signed by Al-Showair and Khalid Bamohammed, representative for Print Saudi Arabia, providing printing and publishing services through its platform specialized in marketing and selling books.
Serving the Kingdom since 1972, Darah was established by royal decree to preserve Saudi Arabia’s historical wealth, its geography and its literature within the Arab and Muslim world.
It is a cultural institution that operates by collecting and classifying historical documents and other important works.
