A view of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, where the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair opens its 32nd edition on May 22. Image – Getty iStockphoto: Typhoonski
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Promising Digital Distribution for Arabic Content
Today (May 22), as the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair opens to run through Sunday, a company based in London called Arabookverse is announcing a distribution deal with Germany’s Bookwire for Arabic digital content.
Although the company’s site at arabookverse.com reports a “coming soon” message, Arabookverse CEO Ali Abdel-Moneim tells Publishing Perspectives here in Abu Dhabi that he has co-founded his company with two colleagues:
- Ahmed Rewihel, a former chief the operating officer of the Kitab Sawti Arabic audiobook startup acquired by Storytel in 2020
- Waleed Sameh, a former chief operating officer of the first ebook platform in the Middle East powered by Vodafone
Publishing Perspectives has requested verification of this arrangement from Bookwire’s Frankfurt headquarters and will update this story as appropriate.
Abdel-Moneim tells us that the Arabookverse contract with Bookwire has been signed this month and describes an agreement that “should focus on distributing and promoting” internationally Arabic digital content, including audio, on major world platforms.
Ali Abdel-Moneim
In a prepared statement from Abdel-Moneim, we read him saying that the agreement with Bookwire will enable Arabookverse “to utilize German technology and expertise in digital publishing to contribute to the development of the publishing industry in the Arab region.”
He goes on to say, “The partnership with Bookwire presents significant opportunities for Arabic creators to expand their reach to a global Arabic audience and address a key challenge in the Arabic digital publishing industry, namely monetization.
“Through this strategic partnership, our objective is to establish new avenues for monetization within the Arabic digital publishing sector.“
Abdel-Moneim added, “Our vision is to open new horizons for Arab content creators and producers to convey their creativity to the world as an important step towards developing the publishing and content industry in the Middle East region.”
Jens Klingelhöfer
And Bookwire CEO Jens Klingelhöfer says, “We’re honored to contribute our technology and expertise in digital publishing to support the development of the publishing industry in the Arab region and to help bring the creativity of Arab content creators and producers to a global audience.”
Publishing Perspectives understands that Arabookverse was founded in London earlier this year “by a group of publishing industry experts in the Arab region with the aim of supporting Arab content creators such as publishers, authors, and creative [workers] in digital transformation processes, as well as increasing Arabic digital content on the Internet, and building the largest catalogue of Arabic digital content globally.”
Company material says that Arabookverse “focuses on its strategic vision and plans to enhance the digital transformation of the publishing industry in the Middle East by opening up new horizons for Arab content creators, enabling publishers, authors, and creative [workers] in the Arab region to reach a global audience, and providing new display windows for Arab culture globally through digital publishing.”
More on Bookwire is here, more on its base market in Germany is here, more on markets in the Middle East is here, more on digital publishing is here, and more on distribution is here.
Publishing Perspectives is a media partner with Bookwire’s ‘All About Audio’ conferences.
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