Four Malaysian books make huge impact in Frankfurt Book Fair 2017

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The four participants from Malaysia pose for a photo with the winner from Germany at the Frankfurt Book Fair. — Bernama photo

FRANKFURT: Four Malaysian books made it to the final list of the Beauty and the Book Award 2017 at the ongoing Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) 2017.

Malaysian delegation to FBF 2017 head, Abdul Wahab Ibrahim said despite failing to emerge as the winner, the four Malaysian book covers were listed on the 10 best designs.

He said the success served as the best platform for Malaysian book industry players when they advanced to the final stage with six other nominations from host country, Germany.

“Perhaps next year, we will organise a selection process at the national level and we will nominate one or two books that have the potential to win,” he said when met after the plaque presentation to the winners’ ceremony yesterday.

The Beauty and the Book Award 2017 won by Im Licht – Im Bild was penned by German author Bernhard C Striebel and published Edition Monhardt.

The four Malaysian books made it to the final list, namely Modern Mosques in Malaysia Between Regionalism and Eclectism by Wael A Yousef Mousa published by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM); ‘Alegori Rumah Api’ by Mat Luthfi (PTS); ‘Kias Tersirat: Perantauan Bertemu Melayu dan Islam di Dunia Melayu Benua’, penned by Herman Abdullah (Institute of Translation and Book Malaysia) as well as ‘Tulis! Jangan Takut-takut’ by Zamri Mohamad (Legacy Publishing).

Meanwhile, Edition Monhardt representative Stefan Monhardt thanked the audience for giving him an opportunity to win this competition in conjunction with FBF 2017.

“The idea is very interesting, as we received votes from the audience and not from the agencies. Hence, they give authentic opinion which I think is a great idea,” he said.

The FBF 2017 was jointly officiated by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and French President, Emmanuel Macron with France as FBF guest country for this year’s edition.

The five-day book fair that ends today provided the platform for the sale of literature copyrights for approximately 300,000 book publishers from around the world. — Bernama