Uqail, the manager of the Riyadh International Book Fair, has warned publishers that any “price fixing” will lead to the closure of their stands at the fair and a ban on any future participation. Al-Uqail issued the warning after reportedly receiving “numerous” complaints from visitors to the fair concerning a general rise in the prices of titles offered by some publishers, in contrast to other fairs around the world which offer reductions on books. “Publishers are bound by the prices stipulated on computers at the book fair,” Al-Uqail said. “Any variation from those should be reported immediately.” Publishers from Arab and other foreign countries at the fair, meanwhile, have praised what they regard as the “increasing openness toward freedom of opinion” in the Kingdom. “A lot has changed from previous years,” said Ibrahim Majdalawi, owner of the Jordanian Al-Majdalawi Publishing House, who has been coming to the book fair in the Kingdom for 25 years since the days when it was held at King Saud University. “The current site and exhibition hall are excellent and due to the good organization of the event lots of visitors have come,” he said. Al-Majdalawi described censorship as “insignificant”, saying that each publisher “sticks by what it sends to the fair”. “We are only concerned with the academic side of things,” he said, “and we haven't been prevented from introducing any book, nor have we heard of any publisher being prevented from including its books.” Senegal, the guest of honor at the Riyadh Book Fair, has meanwhile received a “very warm welcome” to the event, according to the manager of the Senegalese pavilion Khadeem Muhammad. “It's only to be expected from a brotherly country like the Kingdom, which has been known throughout the past for its generous welcomes,” Muhammad said. The Senegalese representation of 13 men and one woman have brought with them a range of works in French, Arabic and English, among them “Personal Meditations”, the work by African leader Abdullah Wad. Poet, publisher, and head of the Senegalese delegation Aisha Ransa said she was extremely pleased to be at the fair, and hoped to learn more about Saudi culture. “The Saudi women I've met have been wonderful,” Ransa said. The Al-Jouf Literary Club which has recently been in the news following an arson attack on its premises and a death threat to its chairman, has released three new works to mark the occasion, and urged writers to submit works to the club for publication, as the club seeks to step up its activities in response to what has been described as “barbaric attacks” against “cultural and literary enlightenment”. Many academics, literary figures and scholars have spoken out in support of the club since the Feb. 28 attack, including the Kingdom's Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, and chairman Ibrahim Al-Humayyed hopes the new titles at the club's stand in Riyadh will give new impetus to its activities. The works, Al-Humayyaed said, include collections of poetry by Malak Al-Khalidi and Najat Al-Majed, and a literary criticism study by Abdullah Al
