16th Delhi Book Fair: an event for book lovers

Held at an opportune time of winter vacations of school kids, the 16th Delhi Book Fair attracted a lot of children and their parents, who were there for the love of books – and the show was a hit for children publishers who showcased their offerings at the fair.

Over the years, Delhi Book Fair has established itself as a gateway to the Indian book publishing industry.

16th Delhi Book FairAn eagerly awaited exposition, it offers a sales/marketing forum and a meeting place for publishers, booksellers, authors, translators and book-lovers of all age group. Spread over an area of 6,000 sq m, the 16th Delhi Book Fair was successfully held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from December 25, 2010- January 2, 2011. The theme for the book fair, this time, was ‘rural India,’ which was beautifully depicted. Also, visitors could find publications from country’s rural places as well.

Jointly organized by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP), the fair was inaugurated by Dr Subas Pani, chairman & managing director, ITPO.

The 260 exhibitors included publishers, sellers and distributors of books, periodicals and magazines, manufacturers and dealers of teaching aids and computer software. There was thin participation from overseas, with just Pakistan, Iran and China among the participating companies. The show was alive with panel discussions, lectures, kavi sammelans, poetry reading and short story seminars, book release functions and literary activities.

16th Delhi Book FairAnd the show was attended by national and international publishers, librarians, researchers, academicians, writers, dealers and traders, students, general public, etc. Since the show dates coincided with the winter vacations of children, the show attracted children and their parents in good numbers.

Almost half of the exhibitors displayed children literature and/or games. Undoubtedly, the bigwigs like National Book Trust, Children Book Trust, Scholastic, etc attracted huge eyeballs. There were books for all age groups – right from toddlers to teens to young adults. Literary and other workshops kept the children busy, occupied and happy.

Academic book publishers like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Prentice-Hall, Macmillan, etc attracted a lot of visitors to their stands. Another highlight of the show was the launch of 1,000 Hindi e-books by EC Media. Religious and motivational books were also largely picked by the visitors. In all, the show was well received by the book lovers across the city.