Kitâb fî Jarîda (‘a book in a newspaper’) was set up to make literature freely available to individuals and households across the Arab world, particularly those who lack the financial means to buy books. It also enabled Arabs in different cities and countries across the region to share the same texts simultaneously, thereby creating an international literary community. 

In order to achieve these aims, suitable books were selected, then the content and cover re-edited in collaboration with an artist from the Arab world.  The finished product was distributed in a tabloid form (32-40 pages), as a unique addendum in the most read daily newspapers throughout the Arab regions.

For the past ten years over 80 traditional and contemporary Arabic masterpieces have been edited and distributed via a vast network of newspapers spanning the Arab world. This equates to an average of around 3,000,000 copies per book and a total distribution of 250,000,000 free books throughout the region. This accomplishment was noted by UNESCO in its 170th Executive Board Report.