The 37th edition of the Tunis International Book Fair will be held from April 28 to May 7 under the theme of "Fly with the wings of book."

The event will see the participation of 330 exhibitors from 22 countries; it will be organized as from 2024 in another space which is more suitable for such events, said Zahia Jouirou, academic, researcher and head of the Tunis Translation Institute. She is the first woman to take the helm of the book fair since its creation.

Iraq will be the guest of honor of this edition; a large delegation will be present at the Iraqi pavilion. Halls will be named after Iraqi cities: Babylon, Baghdad, Tigris and Euphrates.

Russia and Italy will attend the event for the first time in its history. Syria will make its return after an absence of several years.

A posthumous tribute will be paid to late Béchir Ben Slama (1931-2023) who initiated several cultural and artistic events, such as the book fair.

Over 100 events are on the agenda of the fair. Special focus will be placed on the development of reading materials and the general process towards digitization. Sustainable development, environmental issues and media will also take center stage.

More than 300 events geared towards children and teens are likewise scheduled with the participation of 18 countries; Latvia will be the guest of honor. Literature, storytelling, performances, dance, theatre and cinema are on the agenda at this side event with the participation of such countries such as South Korea, Indonesia and Bulgaria.

Visitors will have easier access to books on display, a total 500,000. An app will be installed at the entrance of the halls to help them find the books they are interested in.

The fair is organized by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, with partnerships of several Tunisian cultural institutions, such as the National Library of Tunisia (BNT in French) and the Tunis International Center for Digital Cultural Economy (TICDCE), as well as Arab institutions, mainly the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) which unprecedentedly takes part in the fair as a media partner and the Sharjah Institute for Heritage (UAE).