New Delhi World Book Fair 2023: Celebrating the 50-year journey
Coinciding with the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’ celebrations and the Year of India’s ‘G20 Presidency’, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF), one of the most awaited calendar events and one of the world’s largest book fairs, is celebrating its 50-year journey this year. Organised by the National Book Trust, India, in collaboration with ITPO, the NDWBF 2023 will be held from today until March 5, 2023, at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. With ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’ as the theme and France as the Guest of Honour country at the fair, the nine-day long book fair will see many Indian and foreign publishers put up a huge collection of books at the new International Exhibition Centre in the centrally located Pragati Maidan in all its glory.
In the press conference held on February 23 at the Constitution Club of India to announce the book fair, Professor Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman NBT-India, invited people from all walks of life to join this huge festival of books and letters and be part of this reading campaign.
Yuvraj Malik, Director, NBT-India, while addressing the media, said that the NDWBF 2023 will be the biggest celebration of books and literature and will have new attractions this year with ‘G20 Pavilion’, ‘NEP Pavilion’, ‘Ed-Tech Zone’, YUVA author corner in addition to the regular features of ‘Theme Pavilion’, ‘Foreign Pavilion’, ‘Children’s Pavilion’, ‘Authors Corners’, ‘Lekhak Manch’, Seminar Hall and the Amphitheatre. Books, literature and culture from G20 countries in addition to other countries across the globe will be showcased at this festival of books. Many seminars, conferences, book releases, literary and cultural programmes, as well as various B2B events, will be held on the sidelines of the book fair.
Sharing his views on France being the Guest of Honour country at the NDWBF, Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, Cultural Counsellor, Embassy of France in India, said France is happy to be a part of the 50-year celebration of the NDWBF and this is an important event for strengthening bilateral ties between France and India. He informed that a delegation of French authors, led by Annie Ernaux, the French Nobel Laureate, will be present at the NDWBF, in addition to many illustrators and publishers from France. France is making efforts to translate French literature into Indian languages and till now, more than 40 French books have been translated into Indian languages.
Dharmendra Pradhan, Education Minister, Government of India, will inaugurate the fair today in the presence of H.E. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India; Vincent Montagne, President, Syndicat National de Edition, France; Annie Ernaux, Nobel Laureate, France; Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman and Managing Director, ITPO; Professor Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman and NBT-India and Yuvraj Malik, Director, NBT-India.
