Library owner supports local writers at Duhok book fair

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A young man from Duhok who owns a publishing house and opened a library in the city three years ago, displayed 70 book titles from his publishing house at Duhok's book fair, saying he exclusively supports local writers. 

“Because the writers who bring their books to us are Kurds, we only want to support them and their works at the exhibitions. The market is full of other works, but we only support local writers to make their works more visible,” Karzan Dewali, owner of Parez Library, told Rudaw. 

He said that his team also does linguistic reviews of books submitted to them and “the reviews are carried out by expert staff.” 

“We also have certain conditions, according to which we decide which books we accept. For example, we do not accept books that contain extremist and negative thoughts,” Dewali stressed. 

Eighteen libraries and publishing houses from the private sector in Duhok participated in the exhibition, which showcased around 200 different titles in Kurdish, Arabic, and English. 

“This exhibition is very good. It is a hope and an incentive to start reading books. We all know that reading books is a very good thing and can change people’s thoughts and behavior,” said Rojhat Ibrahim, a human development coach. 

The exhibition was opened by the Directorate of Media and Publications in Duhok province. All the participating libraries were in the private sector. 

According to the Kurdistan Region's General Directorate of Public Libraries, there are 92 public libraries in the Region that house over 850,000 books and journals. Most of these libraries are in Erbil province, followed by Sulaimani, Duhok, and Halabja.