Book: The Persistence of Publishers

In Morocco, publishing often moves forward in small steps, but it does move forward. The sector has neither the volumes nor the industrial power of the major European markets, yet it remains an essential space for intellectual production and the circulation of ideas.

It operates according to its own balances: a relatively limited readership, modest print runs, and publishing houses that must constantly arbitrate between cultural ambition and economic reality. This paradox is regularly pointed out.

However, there is a sticking point: as early as the beginning of the 2000s, the landscape was already described as marked by limited production and the coexistence of two major linguistic spheres, Arabic-speaking and French-speaking.

The same traditional publishing practices can also be found, such as the use of reading committees and print runs that, at the time, could reach a few thousand copies. All these elements reflect the structural fragility of the market. This older snapshot should be read as a historical reference point; it does not necessarily reflect the current state of the sector, but it shows that the economic constraints of Moroccan publishing are not new.

Since then, the landscape has evolved without changing scale. Publishing houses have diversified, catalogues have expanded, and certain themes have gained visibility. Moroccan publishing output now amounts to several hundred new works per year, with fiction remaining predominant. At the same time, print runs remain modest: some publishers mention printings that are often around 1,000 copies, sometimes more depending on the author’s reputation or the book’s potential. Yet some titles manage to exceed these limits and reach a wider audience. This is particularly the case for certain works of history or personal accounts, whose success reflects a growing interest in the country’s political and social memory.

This tension between intellectual ambition and economic constraints becomes even more apparent when examining the financial realities of publishing. Publishing a book remains a fragile undertaking, where margins are low and risks high. Between manufacturing costs, author remuneration, the distributor’s share, and promotional expenses, the profitability of a book remains uncertain. Several publishers acknowledge this. Publishing is often more a cultural commitment than a truly lucrative activity. Institutional support does exist, but it remains limited and sometimes delayed.

Public subsidies for publishing, for example, concern only a small number of titles and cover only part of production costs. Moreover, the price of books remains an obstacle for part of the readership. Beyond a relatively small audience (teachers, academics, or readers already familiar with bookstores), attendance at bookstores remains limited.

The problem does not necessarily lie in a lack of interest in reading, but often in the cost of books, which is considered too high for some readers. Some publishing houses have tried to circumvent this obstacle. Éditions Le Fennec, for instance, launched a collection of pocket books priced at 10, 15, or 20 dirhams, a pricing policy designed to broaden the readership. The initiative, led by Layla Chaouni, met with clear success. Some titles reached more than 4,000 copies sold in just a few months. A strategy that has since inspired other publishers, convinced that democratizing books also involves more accessible formats and prices.

The sector’s difficulties are also visible in print runs. Publishing directors report that they have gradually scaled back their ambitions. Where some works once had print runs of 3,000 copies, they have over time resigned themselves to reducing their printings, sometimes down to 500 copies, in order to avoid unsold stock. This fragile balance is also reflected in the market’s rhythms. Unlike France, where the “literary rentrée” is a major event structuring publishing output, Morocco does not really experience this phenomenon. Each September, Moroccan bookstores mainly see an influx of two types of publications: school textbooks, which represent a significant share of booksellers’ revenue, and imported books from the French literary rentrée. In France, this period concentrates several hundred releases within a few weeks. In Morocco, by contrast, the dynamic remains more diffuse. Some publishing houses do try to synchronize their new releases with this calendar, but there is no truly structured “Moroccan literary rentrée.”

A passion stronger than the numbers

Within this publishing landscape, a few houses have played a structuring role for several decades. This is notably the case of La Croisée des Chemins, founded in 1980 by Abdelkader Retnani. The publishing house now claims a substantial catalogue and a multilingual output covering French, Arabic, English, and Amazigh. It organizes its activity around several editorial lines, particularly essays, novels, and art books, and states that it has published more than a thousand titles since its creation. This editorial diversity reflects its ambition: to accompany the country’s intellectual debates while supporting literary creation.

The trajectory of Tarik Éditions illustrates another facet of Moroccan publishing: that of houses committed to publishing testimonies and works related to the country’s political memory. Founded in the late 1990s, it became especially well known through the publication of the book “Tazmamart, Cell 10” by Ahmed Marzouki. This work is one of the greatest publishing successes produced in Morocco, becoming a reference in the field of testimonies about the Years of Lead. This success highlights a broader phenomenon: the rise of a literature of memory and history that responds to a growing public demand for narratives long absent from the publishing sphere.

Other publishing houses also occupy an important place in this ecosystem. Afrique Orient, founded in Casablanca in 1983, presents itself as a family business that has gradually built an integrated group covering the design, printing, and distribution of books.

As for Marsam, its history began in a completely different field: contemporary art. Created in 1975 as an art gallery in Rabat, the structure later developed a publishing activity from the late 1990s onward and now claims several hundred titles published across varied genres, ranging from poetry to art books.

For their part, Éditions Le Fennec, active since 1987 under the leadership of Layla Chaouni, have established themselves as one of the most visible publishers on the Moroccan literary scene. This house is exclusively dedicated to publishing and chose, from the outset, to publish in both Arabic and French. Its annual output is around 18 titles, with print runs generally ranging between 500 and 1,500 copies, sometimes reaching 3,000 depending on the author and the book’s potential.

In 2025, several titles resonated particularly with the public. Among the most widely distributed works are the boxed set “Petites et grandes histoires du Maroc (volumes 1 and 2)” by Rachid Boufouss, the novel “Le ciel carré” by Mohammed Serifi-Villar, “Une femme sur le toit” by Souad Benkirane, as well as works by the sociologist Fatema Mernissi, a major figure in the publisher’s catalogue. Also included are titles by well-known authors of the Moroccan literary scene such as “La nuit nous emportera” by Mahi Binebine and “La trahison” by Myriam Jebbour.

The publisher is also preparing several new releases for 2026 and the International Publishing and Book Fair. Among the announced publications are a boxed set dedicated to the playwright Ahmed Ghazali bringing together five plays, as well as a collection devoted to the novels of Mustapha Kebir Ammi. The house also plans to publish the novel “Une reine” by Judith Elmaleh, “Lahchouma” by Dounia Hadni, the graphic novel “L’oiseau de Tazmamart” co-published with Éditions Alifbata, and “Gaza, l’aube d’un nouveau monde ?” by Abdessalam Cheddadi. Added to this is “Une petite vie à Sidi Youssef Ben Ali,” a collection of short stories by My Seddik Rabbaj. The program also includes several titles in Arabic, including

“وتسير الجبال سيرا” (And the Mountains Move On), a novel by Youssef Maimouni translated by Abdelkader Chaoui, as well as “أعماق الرجال” (The Depths of Men), a novel by Samira El Ayachi translated by Mohammed Hammoudane.

Because in Morocco, publishing a book is often a gamble. A gamble on an author, on an idea, on a reader who does not always show up. Yet it is precisely within this fragile space that publishing continues to hold firm. At the end of the chain remains this simple… and stubborn conviction: a country that writes and reads is a country that continues to think.