Before her evening conversation in the Discussion Forum, Ed Nawotka and I had a chance to talk with best-selling writer Azar Nafisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran, Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories) about her work and the importance of literature and imagination in our lives.

ADIBF: Aside from your new memoir—which we’ll get to in a second—is there anything else you plan on talking about during the event tonight?

AN: Whenever I go to a place like this, I like to talk about what’s happening to books. You know, the relevance of imagination. The way that it’s not taken all that seriously sometimes.

ADIBF: This idea about the importance of imagination ties into some of the things you said during your keynote address yesterday at the IPA Copyright Symposium, where you also talked about how publishers need to be brave and publish books regardless of how they might do in the marketplace.

AN: Yes! I believe this is the time for all of us in different professions to take a different kind of courage. I see this type of courage as the only way to survive. Because if you change according to the dictates of someone who doesn’t know books, you will not be changing in the right direction. You will at some point lose the readers. What would’ve happened if the market had dictated Fitzgerald and Kafka, all these amazing writers? None of their works would’ve existed.

ADIBF: I know you just arrived, but how do you like the Book Fair? And Abu Dhabi as a whole?

AN: I feel at home anywhere that they celebrate books. In many ways we are neighbors. But when I was in Iran, I didn’t travel. I had to go to the U.S. to write this book to come here to Abu Dhabi.

ADIBF: Do you feel that books are a good medium to cross borders?

AN: I feel that books are one of the few rare mediums that transcend nationality, geography—all the limitations that are put on us. This is a place where people come together from any number of different backgrounds. And it’s a space where you realize how alike we are, not just how different we are.

ADIBF: Do you want to say a few words about your new book, Things I’ve Been Silent About: Memories?

AN: Like Reading Lolita in Tehran, this is also a memoir, but a different kind of memoir. I started working on this after the death of my parents. I didn’t want to write a personal book, but death is the greatest silence and I wanted to create a conversation with my parents. So this is both a hello and a goodbye to my parents and to the country I was born in. It’s not a self-help book to teach you how to deal with the loss of your parents. I don’t believe in that. Pain is a part of life. And I wanted people to understand how close pain and joy are to one another. And I write to understand, I don’t write to erase.

ADIBF: Are you working on anything new?

AN: Yes. I am working on a book called Republic of Imagination. To tell you the truth, this is why I like these travels. Because it gives me a better idea about what this “republic” is all about.

This piece is from the IPA Copyright Convention that took place just prior to the start of the ADIBF.

Is anyone surprised that the most raucous panel at this year’s IPA was the one about Google? Without a Google representative on the panel, it was a lot easier to question tactics, and rally around the idea that the proposed Google Books Settlement isn’t as fair as it could be.

The panelists all did a fantastic job in evenhandedly explaining the real pros of what Google is doing (or has done) in creating a database of 12 million books, and the potential dangers of ceding control to a multinational corporation, even if said corporation swears to “Not Be Evil.”

Personally, I love Google. My Internet experience is totally guided by a reliance on Google Reader. My Gmail is 10,000 times more efficient and savvy than my crappy Rochester.edu account. I use it to search. I double-check quotes from the books I publish in Google Book Search. I think the algorithm works pretty well. I like the way Google changes its logo every day. And, to be honest, I want Google to provide me with access to all the books in the world, and I want them to use the full text of these books to better enhance my searches.

And although I would (or rather, just did in the hallway outside of the Press Room) argue that it’s hypocritical to get all up in arms about privacy and multinational dystopias at this point in time after giving up so much control and power to corporations, I am willing to admit that the Google Books Settlement is a flawed document. That it uses slippery terms and general ignorance in a way that will probably result in Google doing “evil” things and will definitely alter copyright for the rest of eternity.

This is neither the time nor the place to really debate the merits of Google’s overall plan to dominate the world (did I mention how much I like Google Earth? And how the Google Maps program on my iPhone is totally rad?), or the possible benefits for civilization that could be derived from a universal, digital library. Or even to try and explain the history and intricacies of the Google Books Settlement. (Seriously, I think you need to devote a month to reading all the briefs, opinions, statements, and editorials, to really have a sense of what’s going on here. But what’s clear from everyone and everything is that IT IS BIG. And will have far-reaching and long-lasting impact on not just copyright law, but society as a whole.)

This is the time to sing the praises of the four panelists who did an excellent job in framing the debate, in raising questions about the specific points of the Google Settlement, and who more than adequately described to all of the foreign publishers in attendance what this U.S.-based court decision (does anyone outside of the U.S. even know what a “Class Action Lawsuit” really is?) will mean to them.

Lois Wasoff—an attorney-at-law in the States—broke down the Settlement in a very concise and illuminating way, highlighting both the potential benefits (such as the creation of a Book Rights Registry), and the concerns that have been vocalized by the various groups of opponents. These same concerns popped up in the presentations by Marybeth Peters—Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, USA—and by Christine de Mazieres—Chief Executive Officer of the French Publishers Association. Namely, that there are antitrust issues at stake here (would Google be the only company with access to so-called “orphan” books? or is this truly a non-exclusive agreement?), and questions about whether the U.S. Congress should be making decisions as large as this, which will change copyright forever.

The general consensus among the speakers—and the audience—was one of wariness. That Google, for all it’s “non-evil” rhetoric, could not be completely trusted. That fishy things were under the legalese. That copyright was being violated, but that rather than try and put the kibosh on Google’s practices, it was smarter to try and negotiate some “fair” settlement. That no one could know how this would all play out in the future (will small publishers actually benefit by being able to reach a much larger audience than they currently have access to? Will Google take the world’s knowledge, firewall it, and only allow access to the wealthy?), but that we had to be cautious.

Of all the events I’ve seen at this year’s IPA Copyright Symposium, this may have been the most informative and engaging. It’s a debate that strikes at the heart of so much of modern life—instant access vs. information control, intellectual property vs. information wants to be free—and gets people riled up. Especially if you hurl stones as a faceless multinational. Everyone may be jacked into Google, but everyone also loves an underdog.

(More on this later, but in brief, this sounds like an amazing annual conference. Nine speakers—three authors, three publishers, three translators—limited to 10 minute presentations that all start from a provocative statement. And in contrast to some of the other popular e-conferences of late, this one seems like it’ll be more focused on the impact of digital everything on society, on the way we think about art. Instead of talks about cool new apps, it’ll be about what those apps actually mean in terms of how we think and relate to literature.)

The lunch was pretty amazing—great food, wine, and company—and the backyard was pretty damn sweet:

Note the grass. In Abu Dhabi, the more green, the richer the area. This is the desert after all . . . where it rains something like three times a year.

But the ride back to the fair was the fun part. Apparently there’s a law about how fast cabs can drive, and there’s a monitor in their GPS/Computer systems that notifies the driver when he’s speeding. So on our way back to the fair (I was riding with Rana Idriss, the coolest of all Lebanese publishers and publisher of Dar al-Adab), our driver’s system started flashing red, claiming that he was going over 80 km/hr despite the fact that we were crawling and being passed by bikers . . . Then the screen went blue . . .

“You see? You see this? Crazy Abu Dhabi. Crazy rules. I’m not even going 70. You look. Only 70. Damn. And now a fine! 100 AED! For what? Bullshit. This is bullshit. And I missed the Exhibition Hall. You can’t concentrate on driving when you have to think about speed. Crazy Abu Dhabi!”

Fair aside though, the big news of the evening was the announcement that Abdo Khal won this year’s Arab Booker award for Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles. (And yes, I realize that this title is a bit mistranslated. Can you really “spew” sparks? Do you want to? And as Heidi pointed out, “Big as Castles” is verbatim slang that just doesn’t quite work in English . . . ) Sounds like a potentially interesting book, and although I totally wanted Rabee Jaber to win for America (if only you could see him—he looked so cold and hungry, and deserving), all congrats to Abdo Khal, who seems like an interesting guy.

My attempt to document this event was a total fail though. Here’s the picture I took:

Not only did I get up there to take the picture after everyone dispersed, but Khal is obscured by a professional photographer (the only person in focus), and my finger is over the minuscule iPhone lens. Nice. I’ll try harder tomorrow at the Sheikh Zayed Book Awards. (Which are even more opulent. And take place at the Emirates Palace . . .)

Later tonight the winner of this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (aka the Arab Booker) will be announced. The IPAF was launched in April 2007 and is probably the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab World. It “aims to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing and to encourage the readership of high quality Arabic literature internationally through the translation and publication of winning and shortlisted novels in other major languages.”

To help promote awareness of the award and the finalists, the IPAF puts out the annual “Best of New Arabic Fiction” anthology with excerpts from each of the six shortlisted titles. So, in advance of tonight’s announcement, I thought it would be interesting to post short bits from the book about the titles in contention:

“Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles” by Abdo Khal (Saudi Arabia, Al-Jamal Publications). Totally dig this title. Sounds like something I’d write late at night . . . too late at night. Here’s the description: “A painfully satirical novel, “Spewing Sparks as Big as Castles” depicts the destructive impact that power and limitless wealth have on life and the environment. It captures the seductive powers of the palace and tells the agonizing story of those who have become enslaved by it, drawn by its promise of glamour.”

“When the Wolves Grow Old” by Jamal Naji (Jordan, Ministry of Culture Publications, Amman). Another nice title. And a solid opening: “Azmi al-Wajih has humiliated me three times. The first was in the house of his father, who had fallen in love with me and married me. The second was on the day he caught me in the inner room of the house of Sheikh Abd al-Hamid al-Jinzir. And the third was thirteen years later, when I was thirty-eight years old.”

“Beyond Paradise” by Mansoura Ez Eldin (Egypt, El-Ain Publishing). If I remember right, both of the first two Arab Bookers went to Egyptian writers, so perhaps Mansoura can be considered one of the favorites . . . She’s quite young—younger than I am, actually—and in addition to this book, she is the author of a collection of short stories (“Shaken Light”) and the novel “Maryam’s Maze,” which is forthcoming in English from American University in Cairo Press. She was also selected for the Beirut39, as one of the 39 best Arab authors below the age of 40. “Beyond Paradise” is about an editor of a literary magazine who “is trying to dispose of her negative self-image by liberating herself from a past loaded with painful memories.”

“A Cloudy Day on the West Side” by Mohamed Mansi Qandil (Egypt, Dar El Shorouk). According to the description, this novel “evokes the period of great archeological discovery and nationalist struggle in Egypt.” It’s about a translator, a young woman who is abandoned after her mother is forced to flee her abusive husband. As she grows up, her life intersects with a number of historical figures, including Howard Carter, Lord Cromer, and Abdulrahman al-Rifa’i. “This thrilling tale is brought to life by the author’s detailed and vivid descriptions of real historical events and places.”

“The Lady from Tel Aviv” by Rabai Al-Madhoun (Palestine, Arab Institute for Research and Publishing). Focused on the Palestinian-Israeli issue, this novel also has a pretty good opening: “The question surprises me. From the moment I sat down in my seat until the moment she asks the question, it bothers me. From scenes of war, the question pulls me right up to the edge an answer. At first I am nervous, too unsettled to choose an answer. I might have picked any other nationality—anything but Palestinian—in my fear that someone might overhear us and shout out to all the other passengers: ‘Palestinian! This man’s a Palestinian!’ It’s possible. What if one of them got up and made the announcement? ‘Ladies and gentlemen: there’s a Palestinian on board this airplane!’”

“America” by Rabee Jaber (Lebanon, Al-Markaz al-Thaqafi al-Arabi). This is the book that I think is going to win. The whole East-West theme. America. And a compelling story: “‘America’ evokes the story of the Syrians who left their homeland in the early twentieth century to try their luck in the young America. Spurred on by a sense of adventure and the desire to escape poverty, they made the epic journey. Leaving their homeland with only a few belongings, their journel takes in everything from their travels across mountains and plains, to their gradual integration into American society, later becoming citizens of America and fighting its wars. In particular, the novel focuses on the character of Martha, who travels alone to New York in search of her husband, with whom she has lost contact. America is a tribute to those who left Syria in search of a new life from those who remained behind.”

I’ll post about the winner as soon as possible . . .

Which was for the best, seeing as that I’ve already spent one night in JFK and intend never to do that again so long as I live, and also because all flights to Abu Dhabi were cocked up by the (like once every four-six months sort of thunderstorm) that led to rerouting a number of flights and leaving some ADIBF (Abu Dhabi International Book Fair) folks stranded for a night. (I chose so, so, so right in delaying all my flights by a day . . . So right.)

Anyway, I’m here now, and will spend the next week writing about the and the that kicked off today. (Speaking of which, you can check out about the IPA conference by clicking that link.)

The UAE is an interesting place, filled with intrigue, excessive spending, and a few potential book proposals (man, did I ever come up with a good one tonight . . . ), and sexy, hyper-development. Like this view out my hotel window:

Yeah, that’s a parking garage and a view onto the “mothership” lobby at the Aloft hotel . . .

More tomorrow after presentations on “Global Publishing, Local Publishing, and Emerging Markets” and “The Digital Marketplace after the Google Settlement.” And keep checking to stay up-to-date on all the ADIBF goings on.