The 46th International Kolkata Book Fair, scheduled to be held in January 2023, will be on the pre-COVID scale if cases do not rise again, organisers have said.
Publishers and Booksellers 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.
"The 45th edition of the Kolkata Book Fair could not be held in 2021 because of the COVID situation. It was held in 2022 with curtailed stall space and certain restrictions,” Dey said on the sidelines of the inauguration of the 10-day Sharod Boi Parbon.
"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 number to increase next year to accommodate more publishers and booksellers, Dey said.
Publishers and Booksellers Guild general secretary Tridib Chatterjee said the next edition will be held in the same venue at Central Park in Salt Lake.
"Preparations have already begun for the event, which will be on a grand scale," Chatterjee said.
Spain will be the theme country for next year's edition, the dates of which are yet to be finalised.
In the previous edition in 2022, books worth over Rs 22 crore were sold.