Kolkata International Book Fair to have over 700 stalls this year

KOLKATA: The number of stalls at the 46th edition of Kolkata International Book Fair will be over 700 with the Publishers and Book Sellers Guild that organises the fair deciding to allocate space to the maximum number of stalls this time even by cutting down on the size.

The lottery for allotment of stalls for the Book Fair was held from Thursday to Saturday at Mahabodhi Society Hall with the response from publishers being overwhelming.

The Guild expects that with the stall numbers increasing by at least 100 in the Book Fair, the number of book releases will surely be a record. Last year, there were 600 stalls at the Book Fair.

“Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last year, while inaugurating the Book Fair had said that the Central Park ground, the venue for the Fair will be christened as ‘Boi Mela Prangan’. A logo regarding this unique distinction has been crafted by noted artist Subhaprasanna and the placing of the same at the ground began on Sunday. So, it can be said that the work for developing the ground for hosting the Fair has started from Sunday itself,” Sudhanshu Dey, president of the Guild said.

The work for construction of the Jago Bangla stall which is one of the major crowd pullers in the Book Fair for the last few years, thanks to the stock of books penned by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also started on Sunday.

“There will be a larger number of stalls from Bangladesh, so the Bangladesh pavilion will also be bigger this year,“ Dey said.

Five eminent Spanish authors will be present during the Book Fair where Spain will be the theme country.

The fair will be held from January 31 to February 12 at the Central Park Mela Ground, newly named Boimela Prangan, in Salt Lake. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is slated to inaugurate the Fair on January 30.

The Theme Country- Spain Day will be celebrated on January 31 while Children’s Day will be celebrated on February 5.