All eyes on Ekushey Book Fair
The month-long Amar Ekuhsey Book Fair will begin on the first day of February. Ahead of the largest book fair in the country, publishers, organisers and authors are busy with last minute preparations for the literary extravaganza. As last year, this year's fair will take place simultaneously at the historical Bangla Academy premises and Suhrawardy Udyan, the newly-extended venue.
Workers at publishing and binding houses are toiling night and day to finish printing and binding books. Banglabazar, the largest hub of publishers and printers, is now rejuvenated with the smell of new books which will soon spread across Bangla Academy and adjacent areas.
All the new books, which will adorn the fair from Sunday, are now lying piled at the printing press, while press workers are now printing books which will keep hitting the fair throughout the month. Proprietor of Moumita Printers, Tapan Saha said, “The preparation begins from December, and reaches its peak in January. Though books keep coming every day, January is the busiest month for us.”
Meanwhile, workers at Bikolpo Binders are doing their best to complete orders. Unfinished books are seen stacked at the floor where workers are putting finishing touches on the books. Samsul, a worker at Bikalpo, said that they had been working 24/7 hours in two shifts to meet the huge demand.
On another front at the fair venue, stalls are being set up. Hundreds of people are working to make pavilions and stalls of different sizes and colours which will house books. Publishers are overseeing the ongoing work at both Banglabazar and the fair ground.
Publishers said that this year the fair will host 10 pavilions, and 11 specified corners. The main stalls will be set up at the Surwardy Udyan, while Bangla Academy premises will host over 100 stalls of different government, semi-government, and autonomous organisations. So far, 475 stall units have been allocated for 284 publications. One unit costs 12,000 taka this year.
Like previous years, a special corner for children and teens will be set up in front of Nazrul Mancha, while the venue for cultural programmes remains the same.
The fair has assumed larger proportions this time with a four-day international literary conference slotted for the fair. Poets, litterateurs and linguists from eight countries will participate in the conference.
Writers and publishers hope that the conference will add a new dimension to the fair.
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