Frankfurt Book Fair: Which areas of the publishing industry and which world regions are you most interested in? What will be your key focus at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2009?

Mazen Mehio: We think that children's books are the fastest growing market in the Arab world nowadays, having been neglected in the past by the Arab publishers. We are mainly interested in buying rights in children’s books for translation into Arabic. We have translated children’s books from French, Italian and English into Arabic. Our focus for 2009 is to look for more languages like German and Japanese.

What made your 2008 visit to the Book Fair a success?

2008 was indeed an exceptional year for us as we made our first pre-agreement with a German publisher (wissenmedia) which was finalized later on at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

Three tips from a Book Fair pro: how can I make the best possible use of the Fair?

First tip: prepare yourself well before you head to the Frankfurt Book Fair. You should know exactly what interests you the most, and what you want to look for, and try to make appointments before you go with the right publishers that meet your aims.

Second tip: don’t take appointments on the first and the last day of the fair, leave those two days to make a quick tour around the halls that might interest you, you may find new unexpected books or ideas.

Third tip: Leave at least half an hour between each of your appointments to look around, you may always find hidden interesting things in Frankfurt Book Fair before you finish the deal.

Dar Al Maaref Est. was established in 1948 by Mohamad Mounib Mehio in the heart of Beirut city. Al Maaref print, publish and distribute books in English and Arabic in several fields, especially children's literature. Al Maaref books are sold throughout the Middle East, North Africa, Asia, USA, Europe, and to all other Arabic-speaking populations.