2023 Kolkata Book Fair will be Spain themed and at a pre-covid scale

on Sep 06, 2022

The 46th International Kolkata Book Fair, scheduled for January 2023, is being prepared on a pre-Covid scale. Spain will be the theme nation for next year's edition, although the dates have yet to be determined.

According to Sudhanshu Sekhar Dey, president of the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the upcoming edition of the international book fair would feature additional space and book booths.

Dey told PTI on the sidelines of the 10-day 'Sharod Boi Parbon' (fall book fair) that is presently taking place in the city, " "Due to the current Covid scenario, the 45th edition of the Kolkata International Book Fair could not be organized in 2021. It took place in 2022, with limited stall space and other constraints."

"If the current situation does not worsen, we hope that the 46th edition will be on a pre-COVID size, with larger and more booths, and more foreign guests, like in the 44th edition in 2020 before the pandemic struck," he stated.

Nearly 600 stalls were set up in the 45th edition of the fair, which was held in March 2022, and we hope to raise the number next year to accommodate additional publishers and book-sellers, according to Dey.

Tridib Chatterjee, the guild's general secretary, stated that the 2023 edition will take place at the same location, Central Park in Salt Lake City. "Preparations for the event, which will be on a huge scale, have already begun," he stated.

The previous edition in 2022 had a total sale of Rs 22 crore.

Meanwhile, the 'Sharod Boi Parbon,' which is being conducted as part of the Durga Puja celebrations from September 2-11, is believed to feature 100 publishers participating in the fall book carnival, which has 70 stalls.

During the book fair's opening ceremony, renowned writer Sirshendu Mukhopadhyay declared, "E-books cannot take the place of printed books. Reading e-books cannot replace the simple delight of obtaining literary classics and scrolling through pages. This book fair's book sales demonstrate that paperback and hardbound volumes are here to stay."

Mukhopadhyay further stated that the book expo is promising for publishers and book-sellers who have been heavily impacted by Covid-19-induced lockdowns and would be able to make some recovery following the fair's sales.

"As the Durga Puja mood grips Kolkata, there could not have been a greater time and occasion to honor literature and poetry than organizing a 10-day festival for the City of Joy," said West Bengal Minister of State for Culture Indranil Sen.