French publisher Editions Gallimard banned from International Book Fair of Algiers

French publisher Editions Gallimard has been banned for unknown reasons from exhibiting at the 27th International Book Fair of Algiers to be held in the Algerian capital on 6th to 16th November.

Group chief Antoine Gallimard told the online book magazine ActuaLitté that the company had received a letter barring it from the fair, but “giving no explanation of the reasons or motives justifying the decision.”

In solidarity, Flammarion and other publishers owned by Gallimard’s parent company Madrigall will pull out from the event, Gallimard added.

French media suggest that plans to display the latest novel by Kamel Doud, Houris, could be behind the move. Published in August, it is a critical account of the Algerian civil war between government and Islamic forces in the 1990s, and the silence surrounding the hostilities under the 2015 Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.

The Algerian culture ministry issued a verbal instruction to “avoid everything that is French”, reports added.

The French Publishers Association (Syndicat National de l’Edition, SNE) said it “strongly regrets the exclusion".

Since the French language summit last week called for book professionals to bolster rights sales and co-editions between French-speaking countries, “this signal worries French publishers", the SNE added.

The International Publishers Association (IPA) in Geneva has also expressed concern.

Chair of the IPA’s Freedom to Publish Committee, Kristenn Einarsson, said: “It is extremely concerning to read that Gallimard Publishing has had its authorisation to participate at the Algiers Book Fair revoked unilaterally. This sends a worrying message about the ’freedom to publish’ situation in Algeria.”