A book still needs to reach someone

After a permit refusal

The article opens with a reported refusal of a publication permit for a proposed From This Place collection. Tangestani asks why Rabihavi does not simply entrust his work to publishers outside Iran. The answer separates freedom from censorship from the economics of publishing for a small readership. Source 1

The publisher’s decision

Rabihavi describes publishers seeking a reliable return or asking an author to pay production costs. He recalls a refusal to publish Boys of Love after the subject became clear. This places cultural reluctance beside financial caution: removing a state censor does not automatically produce a publisher willing to take a book on. Source 1

Visibility is part of publication

He returns to the work of introducing a book. A title, a cover and a few lines of discussion can allow a potential reader to discover that it exists. The conversation treats distribution and attention as part of a book’s life, after the manuscript has been written and the decision to print has been made. Source 1

The digital book and the writer’s livelihood

The final exchange turns to electronic publication. Rabihavi distinguishes the ready circulation of short texts and news from readers’ recognition of a digital novel as a published literary work. He describes the attraction of a physical book, the absence of a reliable income from digital circulation and copies redistributed without payment. In this 2018 account, reaching readers and sustaining the profession of writing remain linked problems. Source 1

Different kinds of refusal

The feature’s introduction describes Cheshmeh seeking permission for a proposed fifteen-story From This Place collection for two years without success. This proposed contents count is kept separate from the recovered eight-story printed edition. It records a particular publishing attempt, rather than proving that all editions had the same contents. Source 1

Rabihavi argues that support between writers and publishers should run in both directions. He recalls defending publishers in a Paris discussion, while objecting to arrangements in which the writer must finance publication without a publisher assuming meaningful responsibility. His account asks what each participant contributes to bringing a book into public life. Source 1

He also recalls a refusal by an unnamed Swedish publisher that concerned a portrayal of a left-wing party. His answer complicates the assumption that every rejection of Boys of Love arose from its treatment of sexuality. The interview gives neither a publisher name nor evidence from which to reconstruct that publisher’s whole policy. Source 1

Payment and the material book

The digital question is also about earning a living. He discusses unauthorised circulation, contracts, payment across borders and the difficulty of receiving income under sanctions. He continues to value the printed book as an object with cultural weight. These are the conditions he describes in 2018, rather than current advice about a particular platform or payment service. Source 1

Sources & credits

1. Journalism Is Not a Crime · independent publishing

   Mohammad Tangestani’s article and interview, 2 February 2018. The body credits the conversation to IranWire and discusses censorship, publishers and distribution.