The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2024 is going to be held at Bangla Academy along with Suhrawardy Udyan grounds.
In anticipation of welcoming tens of thousands of book lovers to the book fair commencing on February 1, preparations for the month-long event are well under way. The book fair is anticipated to be opened by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Bangla Academy is making dynamic preparations. Stall construction work is going on in full swing, as seen on Friday. Stalls will be allotted through the lottery on January 23 through a digitized system. According to representatives of the Bangla Academy, publishing houses have already completed preparing to set up their booths and pavilions. They are at work all hours of the day. There was uncertainty over the postponement of this year's book fair and a lack of consensus regarding the fair's location. However, in the end, it was agreed on its taking place at Suhrawardy Udyan on schedule, just like every year.
Due to various criticisms last year, Bangla Academy has announced proper plans to complete the book fair this year. By increasing the scope of the fair, almost all the work, including the structure, was done through various event management companies. In view of their various non-cooperation and criticism in the past years, Bangla Academy has taken on the responsibility of completing the entire fair alone, said the book fair committee.
Recently, on the surface of Suhrawardy Udyan and Bangla Academy premises, workers have been busy building stalls. According to the instructions of the academy, the stall construction is going on according to the specific map. Apart from this, the construction of an information center, a new book unveiling, poet-literary chat, various stages, and a media center for book fairs are also going on.
Approximately 77 new publishing houses applied this year for stall allocations at the fair, according to the Bangla Academy. So far, 21 publications have been chosen from that list. Not to mention, nothing has changed from the past years. The number of booths at the book fair will be revealed at a press conference on January 23 once all the inspections are finished.
In addition, 4,000 new books or more are being readied for publication during the month-long book fair.
Sources said 3,730 new titles were unveiled at the book fair in 2023. About 3,500 were there the previous year. The book fair attracted 63,53,463 readers in 2023, and books worth roughly Tk 47 crore were sold.
The amount was Tk 52.5 crore in 2022. 901 stalls were provided to 601 publishing houses and organizations in 2023 so they could market and sell their books and publications.
This year, Bangla Academy has sent a letter to the teachers of 25 schools in Dhaka to bring their students to the book fair. This time, the metro rail will also be open till night.
According to sources, the price of books is expected to remain unchanged this year due to the stability of the price of paper. The cost of books will not change from the previous year. However, the economy of the nation is not doing well in this election year. In this sense, books are not necessities that need to be purchased; only the wealthy will purchase them.
When the fair opens, readers will be able to understand it as they truly see it. The readers will not be dissatisfied with the cost.
Mohammad Akbar Hossain, Deputy Director, Public Relations Subdivision of Bangla Academy, told Bangladesh Post that this year’s preparation is better compared to that in the previous year.
The Prime Minister has given consent to be present at the fair opening ceremony on February 1.
The last couple of years, the PM opened the fair via a digital platform.
"This time we have made seven core committees just for the preparation and monitoring of the fair," said Dr. KM Mujahidul Islam, Director of the Bangla Academy Human Resource Development and Planning Department and Member Secretary of the Book Fair Management Committee, in a statement to the media.
This committee is operating efficiently. At the previous fair, there were a lot of complaints. A publication caused a great deal of controversy, and it has since vanished. So, in March of last year, we began working together. This time, in collaboration with the ministry, senior Dhaka University officials, and the book association, we have developed a comprehensive policy for the book fair.
"There are a lot of complaints about the fair's event management every year, especially regarding money," he stated. The sponsoring organization's information indicates that the match is not available. Thus, we are handling all of the supervision ourselves this time.
In reference to the fair's infrastructure, he declared, "There have been no changes made to the arrangements." The last head of an alley can be seen if you stand in front of it. It will not be packaged in a bunch. In order to make stalls easier to find, pavilion and stall lines will be separated.
The book fair was inaugurated on February 8, 1972, by Chittaranjan Saha, who arranged thirty-two books on a mat on the grounds of Bardhaman House, which is next to Dhaka University. After that, through a series of changes, ‘Amar Ekushey Granthamela’ is the name of the fair, and in 1984 guidelines were developed for it. Amar Ekushey Book Fair became the charming Bengali fair it is today.
The owner of Somoy Prokashon, Farid Ahmed, stated that they are well-prepared. "Our goal is to publish between fifty and sixty new books." Anindya Prokash publisher Afzal Hossain stated, "We are almost done with our preparations. Book printing is currently underway. I am hoping this year we can release 50–55 new books by Anindya Prokash."