Bloomsbury to Open in Doha
by Liz Thomson -- Publishers Weekly, 10/15/2008 10:41:00 AM
Bloomsbury, working in concert with the Qatar Foundation, has launched a publishing operation in Doha. Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP )will publish in both English and Arabic, focusing on books of "excellence and originality" in both the trade, educational/academic spheres. Titles will be published around the world by Bloomsbury and translation rights sold where appropriate.
Bloomsbury already has links with Qatar - the first edition of Q Finance: The Ultimate Business Resource will launch next year. This is an entirely separate endeavour, though it clearly builds on the bridges of the first and was first whispered about in Abu Dhabi this spring.
Bloomsbury CEO Nigel Newton will be chairman of the management committee; Kathy Rooney, joint MD of Bloomsbury Verlag, will have primary responsibility for its operation. An MD and publishing director, both based in Doha, will be recruited locally and it is envisioned that a staff of 12-16 will work out of the office there.
The move is the logical outcome of the work of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, founded in 1995 by His Highness Sheikh Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and his wife. Its central tenet is that a nation's greatest resource is its people, and to that end the Foundation set up an 14 million square-metre campus which is home to outposts of some of America's most prestigious universities, among them Georgetown and Northwestern. The first students graduated last year and Qatar now intends to harvest the fruits of their education.
Qatar has a high level of literacy, and the state, like its neighbors, has a rich tradition of writing and publishing. But as the world begins to recognize and read Arab writers (Alaa Al Aswany is perhaps the most obvious example) and attend Arab book fairs, there is both the opportunity and the need for publishing operations to grow, developing an infrastructure that will allow them to play on the world stage. BQFP will have a mentoring program, and staff - who must be fluent in English as well as Arabic - will have the opportunity for exchange visits and work experience in London and New York.
It is anticipated that the company will publish around a hundred books, half English, half Arabic.
