PVPF 2024

Assam Book Fair 2023-24 to be Held in Smaller Towns and Cities, in Addition to Guwahati

The Assam Book Fair in Guwahati will take place at the Assam Institute of Engineering grounds at Chandmari from December 29 to January 9, 2024.
on Apr 27, 2023

The Assam Book Fair, a premier book fair currently jointly produced by the Publication Board, Assam, and All Assam Book Publishers and Sellers Association, will take place this year in smaller towns and cities in the state thanks to the popularity of last year's event.

This year, the "Assam Book Fair 2023-24" will also be held in Haflong, North Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, and Silchar, in addition to Guwahati.

It should be remembered that the "Assam Book Fair" was created last year by combining the "Guwahati Book Fair," which was previously arranged by the publication board, and the "North East Book Fair," which was hosted by the book publishers and sellers association.

The Assam Book Fair will also be held in Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Silchar, and Haflong this year, according to Pramod Kalita, secretary of the Assam Publication Board.

In addition, the book expo will also be held in two more Lower Assam cities. According to Kalita, the locations and dates of these two book fairs will be revealed in due course.

The organizers have already decided the dates of the book fairs this year in the five locations, including the yearly book fair in Guwahati in December-January.

"The Assam Book Fair in Haflong town will be spread over a week from October 1 to 7, 2023, followed by book fairs in Lakhimpur town from October 31 to November 9, 2023; in Sivasagar from November 18 to November 27, 2023; and in Silchar from December 1 to 10, 2023," he stated.

"The Assam Book Fair in Guwahati will take place at the Assam Institute of Engineering grounds at Chandmari from December 29 to January 9, 2024. On a war footing, we are ramping up all essential preparations for holding the book fairs, Kalita stated.

The organizers extended their gratitude to all of the book purchasers and readers for contributing to the success of the Assam Book Fair held in Guwahati, Dhemaji, Jorhat, Nalbari, Diphu, and Bongaigaon last year.

"These book fairs have been successful in starting a book movement in Assam, which the state's media community also deserves credit for. According to the Publication Board's secretary, these book fairs have guaranteed a stable domestic and international market for books.

According to him, "the book fairs have played a positive role in bringing the younger generation of writers from different parts of Assam to a common platform for intellectual discussions and thus adding a new dimension to the book movement in Assam."

Additionally, he continued, "These book fairs have given the Assamese publishers and sellers of books a great deal of relief in dealing with the losses incurred during the lockdown that was brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, hundreds of book lovers, both young and old, flocked to the Guwahati book festival earlier this year. Over Rs 5 crore in sales and over 6 lakh visitors attended the book expo.

Booksellers and publishers from Bangladesh, West Bengal, and New Delhi set up stalls to draw book enthusiasts to the location.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the book fair could not be held in 2020. The next year, however, saw lower foot traffic and lower sales since the pandemic crisis persisted, albeit less so than in 2020.