Chennai Book Fair Showcases Zines, Photobooks and Independent Publishing

Kannadi Cupboard’s Padithavudan Kizhithuvidavum book fair in Chennai will showcase zines, photobooks, comics, artist books and nearly 100 independently published titles from creators across India.
on Sep 16, 2026

Padithavudan Kizhithuvidavum Book Fair Will Feature Zines, Photobooks and Other Works of Independent Publishing

Padithavudan Kizhithuvidavum Book Fair is an upcoming event in Chennai that celebrates books other than conventional novels and hardbacks, including zines, photobooks, comics, artist books, among others. It is an annual event organised by Kannadi Cupboard.

Contrary to the normal practice in other book fairs, this event celebrates books that have been made and published independently without necessarily being made by the usual publishing houses. The participating books range from handcrafted books, one-sheet zines, illustrated comics and photobooks.

Another of the participating individuals is Jojo Library, which is located in Mumbai. It is an artist book library that creates its publications, works with artists, and has collections of books that fit into the theme of the fair. There will be a book curation collective that will present self-published books from all over India.

The nature of these publications is diverse. There are artist books published in limited quantities. In some cases, the authors decide to produce a few dozens of copies instead of mass-production. Thus, there is more freedom in the creation of the book by independent publishers and artists.

This year, there will be 12 exhibitors from Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kochi, including eight self-publishing artists, two independent publishing houses and one book curation collective. Another separate common section will present 32 works of artists who cannot attend the fair themselves. Overall, there will be almost 100 publications presented.

The fair is also planned as an up-close-and-personal browsing experience. Rather than standard shelving, the stalls would be placed on the ground, so that people could sit and browse through the publications.

Padithavudan Kizhithuvidavum will be held from September 18 to 20 in Kannadi Cupboard in Tambaram, Chennai. It seeks to acquaint the audience with the alternatives in publishing and encourage more discourse on zines, art books, and independent publishing.