Iran’s publishers, readers face a novel crisis as price of paper soars
TEHRAN: For literature lovers in sanction-hit Iran, a new novel has long provided a brief respite from a grinding economic crisis triggered by international pressure imposed over Tehran’s contested nuclear programme.
But now losing yourself in a good book is becoming harder, as cash-strapped publishers struggle because the price of paper is soaring.“If a 200-page novel sold for 400,000 rials ($1.60) last year, its price today is 1,000,000 rials ($4.10), most of which is the cost of production”, said Reza Hasheminejad, who runs the Ofoq publishing house.
Iran does not produce its own paper pulp for publishing so relies on imports, and while those are not under sanctions, they must be paid for in foreign currency. That means the price of a book depends directly on the fluctuation of Iran’s rial.
So publishers are not only slashing the number of titles published, but also cutting the number of pages of those they do print by shrinking the font size.
“Publishing has suffered a major crisis - which could become existential,” said Emily Amrai, collection director at the Houpa publishing house.
While publishers worldwide face growing challenges to the way people read and consume literature, Iran is facing an extra problem.
The US, under former president Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from a landmark accord to prevent Iran from acquiring an atomic bomb - a goal Tehran has always denied pursuing - with Washington then reimposing tough economic sanctions.
“As soon as the US sanctions were reinstated in 2018, the price of paper rose,” Amrai said.
Long-running negotiations to revive a deal with Iran continue in Austria, but until an international agreement turns the page, the impact of sanctions grows worse.
“The devaluation of our currency against the greenback, the global rise in the price of paper paid in dollars and the increase in the cost of transport - also paid in foreign currency - has plunged publishing into the doldrums,” said Hossein Motevali, owner of Houpa, which specialises in children’s books.
But as the crisis deepens, several small publishing houses have been driven out of business.