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Al Saqi’s landmark London bookshop to close its doors this month

Al Saqi’s landmark London bookshop to close its doors this month

A landmark London bookstore, Al Saqi was founded by Beirut emigrées André Gaspard and Mai Ghoussoub in 1978. (Credit: Wikipedia Commons)

BEIRUT — Al Saqi Books, the largest European bookstore specialized in Middle Eastern books, is closing its doors at the end of the month due to financial difficulties.

The landmark London bookstore was founded by Beirut emigrées André Gaspard and Mai Ghoussoub in 1978, amid Lebanon’s civil war, according to the bookstore’s website.

In 1983 and 1991, respectively, the team expanded their operations with two publishing houses — the English-language Saqi Books and Arabic-language Dar al Saqi, the latter headquartered in Beirut. Both publishers will remain in business after the bookstore closure.

In comments given to industry publication, The Bookseller, bookstore owner/director Salwa Gaspard said “The various lockdowns and the ensuing breakdown of supply chains negatively impacted many independent businesses such as ours. But as a specialist Arab-world bookseller sourcing our stock from the Middle East and North Africa, we also had to contend with sharp increases in Arabic-language book prices, shipping charges and exchange rates.”

Lynn Gaspard, publisher of Saqi Books, told The Bookseller “This will be sad news for many in our community as the bookshop has been a home for the Arab diaspora … We will miss operating alongside the bookshop, but look forward to the next chapter in Saqi’s history from our new office premises in west London. Saqi and Dar al Saqi share many loyal readers with the bookshop, and we are excited at the prospect of bringing the best in new and classic writing from the Arab world to audiences in the UK and beyond for years to come.”

In a social media post, Saqi Books publishing said that the bookstore had “stood for freedom of thought and expression, cultural diversity and empathy with all peoples.”

BEIRUT — Al Saqi Books, the largest European bookstore specialized in Middle Eastern books, is closing its doors at the end of the month due to financial difficulties. The landmark London bookstore was founded by Beirut emigrées André Gaspard and Mai Ghoussoub in 1978, amid Lebanon’s civil war, according to the bookstore’s website. In 1983 and 1991, respectively, the team expanded their...