The International Kolkata Book Fair will have more stalls compared with the past few editions, but of smaller sizes, following a surge in demand from publishers, the organisers said. The fair will be held at the Central Park in Salt Lake from February 28.
The Publishers and Booksellers Guild, which organises the fair, had initially decided to set up around 600 stalls and make space for close to 200 little magazine publishers.
But a surge in applications from publishers from outside the state, who are keen to join the Kolkata fair after a gap of two years, have forced the organisers to scout for additional space to accommodate more participants than in the past few years.
The fair was not held last year because of the pandemic.
“Several publishers from across India have been requesting for stall space. Many of them said they were ready to share space with one or two participants,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, president of the guild. “We want more publishers to join because it will help the industry.”
Guild members said during a visit to the fair venue on Sunday that some of the recent applicants were relatively new in the publishing business.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to inaugurate the fair, which will have participants from several countries.
Since this year is the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also the 50th year of independence of Bangladesh, the theme country for the 45th International Kolkata Book Fair is Bangladesh.
“On March 7, 1971, Bangabandhu had said that the struggle was for the freedom of Bangladesh. We expect Bangladesh will commemorate the day with due fanfare at the fair,” said Tridib Chatterjee, secretary of the guild.