Publishers & Booksellers Guild hosts book fair

Kolkata: Ahead of Durga Puja, the Publishers and Booksellers Guild in association with the state government have organised a book fair titled 'Sharod Boi Parbon 2022' at Bangla Academy ground in Rabindra Sadan starting on Friday to September 11.

It was inaugurated by author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay in the presence of state Information and Cultural Affairs minister Indranil Sen. "I feel great that for so many years, an initiative like this has been taken by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild," Sen said.

The guild was unable to hold the fair since 2015 as the academy ground was undergoing construction.

A variety of books will be available, including both pre-owned and new ones. These will be offered to the buyers with hefty discounts.

"We usually sell Bengali-language books, but for the fair, we have got English classics to sell. The first day has been a hit and we are expecting more people in the days to come. We are selling the books at a 25 per cent flat discount to encourage more readers to come and buy books from here," Pritam Dasgupta of Read Bengali Bookstore said.

The sellers added that the crowd started coming in around evening as during the day, it was extremely hot.

"This year, buyers will enjoy the fair with various cultural sessions and panel discussions on interesting topics in the presence of renowned personalities, which will churn out a festive charm right before Durga Puja," the Guild's general secretary Tridib Kumar Chatterjee said. There are at least 70 stalls which include books of various languages, including Bengali and English.

During the course of the fair, authors will be invited to hold discussions. Interesting topics like if thriller books can be categorised under crime genre or works related to women authors will be discussed.