PCI Hosts First Book Fair, Showcasing Journalist-Authors

PCI's first book fair showcased 100+ journalist-authors, highlighting both celebrated and lesser-known voices in a non-elite literary space.

on Mar 03, 2025

The PCI organized its first book fair, a three-day affair. The final day was Sunday. The fair made such an impression that many of the club's panel members are toying with the idea of making it an annual event.

For the first time in its 67-year history, the Press Club of India (PCI) was converted into a literary forum, featuring the books of more than 100 journalist-turned-writers among its more than 4,500 active journalist members.

The PCI organized its first book fair, a three-day affair. The third and final day was Sunday. Many were impressed, and the club panel members were in discussions to turn it into a yearly affair.

While the well-known books by celebrated reporters from Joe Sacco's graphic books 'Footnotes in Gaza', 'Palestine', to P Sainath's 'Everybody Loves a Good Drought', Kuldeep Nayar's 'Beyond the Lines', Manoj Mitta's and Vinod Mehta's books were widely selected, the limelight fell on lesser-known writers.

For example, Delhi-based television journalist, Rehan Abbas, who promoted his book of poems 'Tapish' on the second day of the fair, was merely heard of as a broadcast media individual in club circles. "Nobody had a notion he was writing such gorgeous poems," recollected PCI vice-president Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty.

Pisharoty took a month to actualize the concept of creating a platform for little-known journalists who are authors. "I was surprised to see there are so many books by journalists in so many languages. Among the over a hundred club members who approached us, some have even written 30-40 books…"

The effort has been a boon for several Hindi-language journalist-writers who are at a disadvantage in the book market where larger names and publishers are more often than not on the side of English-language writers, she further stated.

Independent journalist Bhasha Singh, whose books 'Unseen: The Truth About India's Manual Scavengers' and 'Shaheen Bagh: Loktantra Ki Nai Karavat' were showcased, hung in even as the 18 book stalls propped up gingerly within the club grounds gradually became emptier.

Going nostalgic, Singh remarked, "Since I am working with Gulmohar Publishers, we began with Rana Aayub. No one was willing to publish 'Gujarat Files' so we brought out the Hindi version. That's how five or six of us journalists got together, thinking that we could publish useful books…"

The concept of the book fair was simple. It was to establish a "non-elite space," said the club's panel member.

"There can be 5% journalists who are able to sell books… but what about the rest of the 95%? So, we do need spaces which are not elite," replied Pisharoty.

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