43rd International Book Fair to kick off from January 30

Kolkata: The 43rd International Kolkata Book Fair will commence from January 30, 2019, at the Central Park mela grounds. This year's focus country will be Guatemala. Also, Iran will be participating in the fair for the first time. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be present during the inauguration as the chief guest.

On Wednesday, general secretary of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild Tridib Kumar Chatterjee informed that during last year's book fair, almost 2 million book lovers visited the mela grounds and books worth Rs 22 crore were sold, which is significantly higher than the time when the fair used to take place at the Milan Mela grounds.

Chatterjee also informed that this year Iran will be participating in the fair for the first time. "Iran will be giving their book stall this year. If everything goes right, Pakistan will also participate this year if they get their visa on time," he said.

Apart from the fair, the 6th Kolkata Literature Festival will be held from January 7 to January 9. Distinguished writers, poets, directors, historians and other personalities from various fields will grace the occasion.

During Wednesday's Press conference, the Ambassador of Guatemala in India Giovanni Castillo was present.