TEHRAN The 14th Tehran International Book Fair opened May 8 with a total of 1460 domestic and 480 foreign publishers taking part in the annual exhibition. In comparison previous years, the number of exhibition visitors and participating publishers have increased considerably.

To understand the view of overseas participants, TEHRAN TIMES conducted the following interview with German Stephan Barthelmess of Frankfurt Book Fair, his compatriot Wolfgang Steinke of Frank & Frei Publishing Group and Swiss Greta Foeth from Literart organization.

Expressing his views about the 14th Tehran International Book fair, Barthelmess said, "The book fair should not be viewed as a mere market for selling books. Rather, the Fair should provide other attractions such as question and answer sessions in which both foreign and Iranian writers can take part and meet their fans. In that case, it could be effective in the promotion of literature."

"On the other hand, it is better to create an atmosphere in which the Iranian and foreign publishers can exchange their views." He continued, "We have not met any Iranian publishers. Most of the people we are meeting everyday are translators."

On the necessity of Iran's joining the Copyright Convention, Greta Foeth from Switzerland said, "If Iran continues to stay out of the copyright law it would be difficult for many foreign publishers to take part in the book fair in the coming years. Further more, since Iran does not observe the Copyright Convention, the fair is quite a one way stream."

"Book prices are too high for those interested. The restrictions imposed by the fair authorities limit the books to those published in the last two years." Ms. Foeth suggested that if the fair permitted older books which are not subject to constant updating to take part in the exhibition, the prices could be reduced considerably.

Wolfgang Steinke explained the publishing scene in Germany. He said Iranian writers Mahmoud Dolatabadi and Houshang Golshiri are well-known in Germany.