'2023 Book Fair may be of pre-Covid scale'

kolkata: The 46th International Kolkata Book Fair, scheduled to be held in January next year, will be on the pre-Covid scale if cases do not rise again, organisers said.

Publishers and Book Sellers Guild president Sudhanshu Sekhar Dey said there will be more stalls and more space for them in the next edition of the international book fair. On the sidelines of the inauguration of the 10-day 'Sharod Boi Parbon' (autumn book fair) held in the run-up to Durga Puja, Dey said, "The 45th edition of the Kolkata International Book Fair could not be held in 2021 due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation. It was held in 2022 with curtailed stall space and certain restrictions."

"We are hoping that the 46th edition will be on the pre-Covid scale, with bigger and more number of stalls, and more international guests like in the 44th edition in 2020 before the pandemic struck, if the current situation does not deteriorate," he said. There were around 600 stalls in 2022 and we want the numbers to increase next year to accommodate more publishers and book-sellers, Dey said.