Madinah | July 31, 2025

In a city whose name has been linked with knowledge and writing since the dawn of Islam, the fourth edition of Madinah International Book Fair 2025 is underway, once again cementing the city's status as a hub of culture and knowledge, and embodying the Ministry of Culture's vision of making books a starting point for a sustainable creative economy.

The fair is organized by the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission as part of the "Book Fairs in Saudi Arabia" initiative, bringing together more than 300 local and international publishing houses and agencies, in addition to cultural institutions, government entities, and community organizations, participating in quality initiatives that boost the local publishing ecosystem and support Arabic content.

The fair offers a rich cultural program including:

  • Intellectual seminars
  • Panel discussions
  • Literary and poetry evenings
  • Interactive workshops
  • Book signings
  • Accompanying art exhibitions

All designed to cater to the diversity of the audience and its interests, turning a visit to the fair into a living knowledge experience that shifts books from being just a product to being a space for interaction and learning.

Bassam Al-Bassam, Director General of the General Publishing Department at the commission, affirmed that the fair is a strategic platform for the national publishing industry, through which the commission works to support Saudi writers and expand their reach locally and internationally, via print and digital publishing support programs, distribution initiatives, and translation projects.

He explained that the commission adopts a publishing policy based on diversity, openness, and creativity, resting on a flexible regulatory environment that stimulates cultural entrepreneurship, and contributes to empowering creators to turn their content into effective economic tools within the creative economy ecosystem.

This year, the fair goes beyond traditional publishing, offering a comprehensive cultural experience through an expanded children's area with 6 educational and entertainment corners, a daily storytelling theater, workshops in cooking and handicrafts as part of the "Year of Handicrafts 2025," alongside interactive youth activities aimed at boosting community participation in the cultural scene.

The fair's uniqueness stems from being held in a city with a profound historical connection to books and manuscripts, as Madinah was once a cradle of scholarly circles and Quranic transcription, and today reclaims its knowledge role through this platform, which blends authenticity with renewal, and heritage with innovation.

Within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, the Literature, Publishing and Translation Commission seeks to build a sustainable national publishing industry based on empowerment and global marketing of Saudi content, and to establish an integrated cultural infrastructure that makes the written word a tool for development and knowledge.