A few things have changed at Kotob Khan over the past 20 years: the bookstore’s location, the costs of making and selling books, and its selections. However, for founder and manager Karam Youssef, the mission remains unchanged: “offering books that are interesting, out of the ordinary, and stimulating.”
“The key idea of this whole Kotob Khan project is to celebrate reading; it is something we have worked for every day for the past 20 years and that we are committed to honour for as long as we are here,” Youssef told Ahram Online from her small, book-stacked office in the Maadi bookstore.
Youssef launched Kotob Khan in 2006 after saving money from a decade of corporate work. She recalls that year as a moment when reading flourished and brought new energy to the book industry. New writers were emerging, translation was expanding, and ideas were being “profoundly discussed.”
“For sure, it was a moment where the prices were largely affordable for books, whether published in Egypt, imported or translated upon copyrights,” she said. “Clearly, this is no longer the case; not just about the prices but for sure the prices are a key factor.”
Youssef believes the passion for reading has somehow receded. She is unsure whether this is due to social media, the shift of book signings into social occasions, changes in the industry, or a combination of factors. “What I know for a fact is that there were things back then in 2006 that helped me realize a dream of joining the book business, and if I were starting now, it would not have been possible,” she said.
Helping the launch of Kotob Khan, she added, was the quality of fiction and nonfiction at the time, as well as the willingness of established authors such as Baha’ Taher and Mekkawy Said, and emerging writers such as Miral Al-Tahawy, Sahar Al-Mougy, and Mai Khaled, to support a project that combined publishing, selling, and discussing books.
“If I could, I would have had Kotob Khan as a cultural centre complemented with a cinema theatre, an auditorium, and a space for workshops of art and culture; but it was not something that I could have ever afforded,” Youssef said. Instead, she made the bookstore a place where books are discussed, music is sometimes performed, and independent films are screened.
Looking back, Youssef takes pride in the successful books Kotob Khan has published, including Adel Esmat’s literary works, starting with Hekayat Youssef Tadros (The Tales of Youssef Tadros), Iman Mersal’s Fi Athar Enayat El-Zayyat (The Mystery of Enayat Al-Zayyat), and translations such as The Age of the Efendiyya: Passages to Modernity in National-Colonial Egypt, Midnight at Cairo: The Divas of Egypt’s Roaring 20s, and Lyla Murad: Unknown Past.
She also takes pride in having made Kotob Khan a venue for discussing and celebrating books published elsewhere, including works by Mekkawy Said, Omar Taher, and others. “This was always compatible with what we are here to do; promote reading books that are profound and progressive. These could be novels, poetry, history or cross-genre writing, and they never had to be published by Kotob Khan,” she said.
For Youssef, publishing has perhaps been the most challenging and inspiring part of the job. “It is always a pleasure to select titles for the reading interest of the Kotob Khan community, but publishing is a lot more challenging,” she said.
She believes selecting a title for translation can be easier than choosing an original work, because the final product is available for assessment. However, producing a book from scratch remains particularly rewarding.
In recent years, Youssef has focused on two publishing tracks: helping authors release their first books and translating works that shed light on Egypt’s modern and contemporary history. The aim, she said, is to reveal “the wealth of talents and depth of intellect and culture that Egypt is always capable of producing — no matter what, really.”
She is also keen on publishing books that challenge the ordinary, whether fiction or nonfiction, original Arabic works or translations. Kotob Khan’s upcoming summer publications include the memoirs of Coco Chanel and Hannah Arendt.
For her own summer reading, away from material she is considering for publication, Youssef plans to read Oghaleb magra al-nahr (I Resist the River’s Course), the 2026 International Prize for Arabic Fiction-winning novel by Algerian writer Saïd Khattibi.
Once the summer is over, Youssef, like other publishers, will begin preparing for the next Cairo International Book Fair. However, her biggest project for autumn 2026/2027 is to find ways to attract Gen Z to reading. “I don’t see Gen Z at all among the followers of the Kotob Khan social media pages; this is a big challenge,” she said.
Another challenge, after 20 years, is to tour the governorates and offer book talks and cultural discussions — an idea that has been on her mind since Kotob Khan’s early years.
Born in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Sohag, Youssef holds a particular affinity for those living away from big cities, but who want “and really deserve to be party to the cultural scene.” “I never thought of Kotob Khan as a Cairo-centric scheme, nor do I want it to end there, and I want to make sure that this reach-out starts as soon as possible,” she said.
Short link: