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Bloomsbury has launched a Doha-based publisher, which will print both English and Arabic books for readers in the Middle East, in a joint venture with the private education organisation Qatar Foundation.
Dubbed Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, the firm will publish both adult and children's fiction and non-fiction, as well as educational and academic texts, Arabic classics and reference books. The first books are due to be published in March 2010. The publisher will also organise creative writing classes for developing writers with "leading educational institutes worldwide" and aim to advance translation skills into and out of Arabic.
A mentor scheme will also be set up to train publishing interns, both in London and Doha. As well as promoting home-grown talent within the region, Bloomsbury's founder and chief executive Nigel Newton said the firm planned to roll out top titles to the UK and other territories including the US, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. Newton, who will also chair the management committee of the new company, said: "Our brief is to identify literary talent and develop a knowledge transfer. It will be very much working in two directions, into and out of the region."
He added the firm would "absolutely" look to find international bestsellers such as Bloomsbury's own Khaled Hosseini, whose two books The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are in the publisher's top three selling titles in the Arab world. "There is a great tradition of literary writing in the Gulf and Middle East," he said. "We want to further that talent as much as possible."
Rashid Al Naimi, vice president of administration for the Qatar Foundation, added: "The creation of a reading, literary culture is part of Qatar's vision of a dynamic knowledge society with diverse and competitive global talents that we can export to the world. We look forward to the benefits that working with Bloomsbury will have for the region."
Alongside Newton, Kathy Rooney, joint managing director of Bloomsbury's German subsidiary, Berlin Verlag, will have primary responsibility for the new venture. The firm is actively recruiting for an m.d. and publishing director to be based in Doha.