Rabat named book capital

Rabat is set to begin its year as UNESCO’s World Book Capital on April 23, 2026, putting Morocco’s capital at the center of a global reading campaign. (unesco.org) UNESCO announced Rabat’s selection on October 8, 2024, and said the city’s official year of celebrations starts on World Book and Copyright Day, April 23, 2026. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director-general, said the choice followed a recommendation from the World Book Capital Advisory Committee. (unesco.org) The biggest early event on that calendar is Rabat’s 31st International Publishing and Book Fair at OLM Souissi, scheduled for April 30 through May 10, 2026. The Moroccan Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication said France will be the guest of honor and Ibn Battuta will be the symbolic figure of this edition. (siel.ma) UNESCO’s World Book Capital label is not a prize for one fair. The selected city is expected to run a yearlong program that promotes books and reading across age groups and communities. (unesco.org) In Rabat’s case, UNESCO pointed to the city’s 54 publishing houses, a growing network of bookstores, and what it called the third-largest international book and publishing fair in Africa. UNESCO also cited plans tied to literacy, women, youth, and underserved communities. (unesco.org) The designation also places Rabat in a rolling annual sequence of host cities. UNESCO said Rabat follows Rio de Janeiro in 2025 and becomes the 26th city to hold the title since the program began in 2001. (unesco.org) The book fair gives that broader campaign a public stage. The International Publishers Association lists the Rabat fair from April 30 to May 10, 2026, and says it will coincide with the cultural events organized for Rabat’s World Book Capital year. (internationalpublishers.org) France’s guest-of-honor role adds a diplomatic layer to a fair already built around translation, publishing, and rights exchanges. The Ibn Battuta tribute ties the 2026 edition to a Moroccan figure whose travels linked North Africa, West Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. (siel.ma) What happens next is now fixed on the calendar: Rabat’s UNESCO year opens on April 23, and the city’s main book fair follows a week later at OLM Souissi. (unesco.org)