Publishers and Booksellers Guild to participate in B’desh book fair

 For a long time, talks were being held with the Publishers and Booksellers’ Guild of Kolkata to jointly hold a book fair in Bangladesh.

If everything goes according to plan, the Guild along with the Sheikh Hasina government and Bangladesh Pustak Prakashak O Bikreta Samity (an association of book publishers and sellers) will organise a book fair in Dhaka in July 2023.

“We have received an invitation and in May, Guild members will travel to Bangladesh to discuss the book fair in Dhaka. Bangladesh bibliophiles always wanted Guild to participate in their book fair. We are looking forward to July to organise the book fair jointly with the Bangladesh government and the book sellers and publishers association at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Nearly 25-30 Kolkata-based publishers will participate in the Bangladeshi book fair,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, president, Guild on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Guild also shared good news for the book lovers of South Kolkata. After the International Kolkata Book Fair shifted from Maidan to Salt Lake, there was an increasing demand from the south Kolkata residents to organise a book fair in their area. Come April 16 and Nababarsha Boi Utsav will be organised at Taltala ground opposite South City Mall.

Nababarsha Boi Utsav will be inaugurated at 6.30 pm on April 16 in the presence of Mayor Firhad Hakim, TMC MP and KMC chairperson Mala Roy, Member Mayor-in-Council Debasish Kumar, councillor Mousumi Das and eminent author Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

“It is not always possible for the south Kolkata book lovers to travel to Boi Mela Prangan in Salt Lake. So, they wanted a book fair of their own. Also, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee coined ‘Nababarsha Boi Utsav’ and wanted a book fair around Poila Baishak,” said Tridib Chatterjee, general secretary, Guild.

He further added that a 20 per cent discount on the books will be available at the fair.

The 10-day book fair (it will continue till April 25) will have interactive sessions, and cultural programmes and see the participation of 84 publishers. Given the sweltering heat, Guild has decided to organise the fair from 3 pm-9 pm onwards.

“I’m happy that the long-pending demand of the south Kolkata residents is finally being heard. For us, this is ‘duare boi mela’ (book fair at doorstep). I am confident this mini version of the International Kolkata Book Fair will also be a hit among the bookworms,” said Kumar.