The 47th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair will start on January 18 and continue till 31st.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the fair at the Boi Mela Prangan in Central Park, Salt Lake, officials of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the organisers of the annual event, said on Tuesday.
The United Kingdom will be the theme country. Publishers from several other countries, such as the US, France, Italy, Spain, Thailand, Bangladesh, Australia, Peru, Argentina and Colombia, will also set up stalls at the fair.
The 2023 fair, inaugurated on January 30, had Spain as the theme country.
“Since the board exams are likely to start towards the end of January or in early February, we have decided to bring forward the fair dates. There are two public holidays during the duration of the fair — January 23 and 26. That will help book lovers,” said Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey, general secretary of the guild.
The last edition of the fair recorded a footfall of 26 lakh and clocked sales worth Rs 25 crore.
The year before, about 22 lakh people had visited the fair and the sales volume stood at close to Rs 23 crore.
Speaking about the choice of the UK as the theme country, guild president Tridib Kumar Chatterjee said: “We share a close historical, cultural and diplomatic relationship with the UK. And this year — 2023-24 — marks 75 years of the presence of the British Council in India.
“The British Council has been an integral part of the fair for a long time and played a major part in 1998 and 2015, when Great Britain was the theme country and again in 2009, when Scotland was the theme country.”
Publishers from Germany will participate in the Book Fair after a gap of 12 years, guild officials said.
The Calcutta Literature Festival will be held from January 26 to 28 at the fair venue.
“Several new publishers have expressed their desire to participate in the Book Fair this time. While this is heartening, it makes us a bit edgy since the space available for setting up stalls remains the same,” Dey said.
Last time, a little over 570 book stalls and 240 little magazine stalls had been set up, guild members said.