The U.S.-Israel war on Iran may inspire great literary works in the future, but it’s already having a damaging impact on the book-selling business, as supply chain disruptions increase.

Publishers Weekly reports that, as the conflict enters its fourth week, fuel surcharges on ocean and air freight have been climbing rapidly, and several major book fairs across the Middle East have been postponed or thrown into uncertainty.

For example Woodland Global USA, a subsidiary of the U.K.-headquartered Woodland Group, which handles imports and exports for several major publishers has imposed a flat 12% fuel surcharge on domestic and European shipments, while in the U.S., costs are less predictable, the company’s president, Jack Stevens, told the publishing industry magazine. 

Under Federal Maritime Commission regulations, ocean carriers must provide 30 days' notice before applying new surcharges, and some have already issued advance notice that fuel surcharges will take effect in mid-April. The war is also driving up air freight rates, because of rerouting in order to avoid Middle East air space, and rising fuel costs.

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Insurance adds another financial stressor, with insurers canceling war risk coverage for vessels sailing to, from, or via the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Aden, and surrounding waters, effective immediately. A ship carrying copies of Bitchy! The Exasperating Existence of Midge McCracken, a new anthology by cartoonist Roberta Gregory, was struck by a missile in the Persian Gulf in mid-March, with the crew finding safety, but the fate of the cargo still uncertain.

Further, reports Publishers Weekly, several major Middle-East-North-Africa region book fairs have been postponed, including the 30th Muscat International Book Fair, scheduled for March 26–April 5, and the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, originally set for April 11–20, has also been postponed, with a new date to be determined. 

The disruptions come at a critical time, with publishers ordering print runs in Asia and locking in shipping arrangements that will determine whether books reach U.S. warehouses in time for fall and holiday sales.