Novel crisis: Iran's book industry shrinks as US sanctions bite

Losing yourself in a good book in Iran is becoming harder, as cash-strapped publishers struggle because the price of paper is soaring. Photo: AFP

For literature lovers in sanction-hit Iran, a new novel has long provided a brief respite from a grinding economic crisis triggered by international pressure imposed over Tehran's contested nuclear programme.

But now losing yourself in a good book is becoming harder, as cash-strapped publishers struggle because the price of paper is soaring.