Book Week is a time to remember the power of books.

Mahnaz Zabihy, in an interview with a reporter from the Iran Book News Agency (IBNA), explained that holding Book Week helps boost the bookstore market, adding: “This event is a kind of book celebration and festival. This event emphasizes that it’s time for books. All eyes and attention are drawn to books, and people talk about them.”

She continued by stating that during Book Week, more should be said about the problems encountered on the path a work takes to reach the audience: “Many countries support culture and provide subsidies to readers or publishers. Providing subsidies helps the market, determines the final price of books, and aids publisher production. I believe that the flow of support for publishers and readers should continue throughout the year and be fundamentally thought about, rather than just predicting provisions during Book Week; for example, anyone could make purchases with their national ID card throughout the year.”

Zabihy, explaining that both booksellers and buyers are mostly from the middle class, said: “By holding special programs, in addition to preserving the power of books, the emphasis should be on reading books. In my opinion, if we look at reading as recreation, not as a tool for learning and gaining knowledge, then we become interested, supporters, and avid readers.”

Regarding the activities of the Cheshmeh Bookstore, Karimkhan branch, during Book Week, she said: “We are holding 16 exhibitions in schools, companies, universities, and hospitals with the accompanying booksellers. The works have been selected with great variety according to need; however, audiences usually prefer to read novels, stories, essays, psychology, and personal development books. We have considered a 15% special Book Week discount at book exhibitions, specifically for books in the ‘Cheshmeh Cultural Family’ category; in addition, a 10% discount has been set for books from other publishers. It’s a very good feeling that during this week, interaction with audiences increases. The number of buyers increases, and more people turn to reading. The presence of cultural figures in bookstores on ‘Book Browsing Day’ is also very pleasant.”

Zabihy added, stating that setting discounts for books is not a good thing: “The contradiction here is that we, as booksellers, have to sell books with low profit; while in this profession, we also need to stay afloat. On the other hand, with increasing prices, books are among the first items to be removed from the shopping basket. As a result, we are delighted when we offer discounts and people buy more books, but there’s also the issue of loss. We need to think about this dual impact.”

She emphasized that in recent days, they tried to ensure Cheshmeh publications were collected on time and reached the audience during Book Week, saying: “Various other programs are also being held in other branches of Cheshmeh Bookstore to mark this event.”