Ekushey Book Fair ends, sees Tk 600m in sales

The month-long "Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2024," the country's largest book fair, concluded on Saturday, and the 31-day fair is estimated to have sold books worth Tk 600 million and attracted six million visitors.
 
"As per the provisional data, books worth Tk 600 million, which is 27.65 per cent higher than the previous year's 470 million, were sold in the 31-day fair till March 1, which will be increased after adding the data of the closing day," Bangla Academy Deputy Director (Administration sub-division) Dr Sahed Mantaj said at the closing ceremony of the book fair at Bangla Academy in the afternoon.

On behalf of KM Muzahidul Islam, member secretary of the Ekushey Book Fair Organising Committee, Dr Sahed Mantaj presented the sales report for this year.

"To get a sense of the total sales, the Bangla Academy carries out a survey towards the end of the fair. Although we do not get an exact number, we can come up with an estimate. This year's sales have exceeded expectations," said Mantaj, adding, "According to archway calculations, 6 million visitors come to this year's book fair till March 1."

Book sales last year totalled Tk 470 million (47 crore), compared to Tk 525 million (52.5 crore) in 2022, while sales plummeted to Tk 31.1 million (3.11 crore) in 2021 due to the pandemic after the 2020 edition raked in Tk 820 million (82 crore).

The prime minister's advisor on education and culture, Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury addressed the closing ceremony as the chief guest, while State Minister for Cultural Affairs Nahid Izhar Khan attended the function as the guest of honour.

Ministry of Culture Secretary Khalil Ahmed addressed it as the special guest, while Director General of Bangla Academy poet Mohammad Nurul Huda gave the welcome address on the occasion, chaired by Bangla Academy President Selina Hossain.

A total of 2751 new books were published in the book fair, while 3,730 were published in 2023, 3,416 in 2022, 2,640 in 2021, and 4,919 in 2020.

In the fair, poetry volumes seem to rule, as 1,262 poetry books out of the total 3,751 books were released so far, while novel books came in second with the publication of 544 books, and story books are in third place so far with the publication of 531 books, the Bangla Academy sources said.

Of those, books of essays got the fourth position with 233 publications, while biographies were fifth with 134 publications.

Besides, 106 rhymes books, 76 researches, 69 Liberation War-related books, 64 history books, 71 children's novels, 64 travel books, 61 translations, 44 science books, 36 science fictions, 29 compositions, 33 books on religions, 31 comics, 34 dramas, 27 about Bangabandhu, 29 books on politics, 29 books on health, and 19 dictionaries-related books were released in the fair, along with 222 books in other categories.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina opened the month-long book fair on the premises of Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital on February 1 last.

Book fair authorities allotted 937 units and 37 pavilions to 635 publishing houses and organisations which were 901 stalls in favour of 601 organisations last year.

The fair was initially slated to end on February 29, but the organisers decided to extend it till March 02.

Bangla Academy distributed awards in four categories to eight publishing houses, where Kothaprokash has been given Chittaranjan Saha Smriti Puraske-2024 for publishing a maximum number of quality books in terms of subject and quality.

Besides, Prothoma Prokasona, JourneymanBooks and Oitijjho Publication have been given Munier Chowdhury Smriti Purasker for publishing the best books in terms of artistic quality.

Moyurpakhi Publication has been given Rokonuzzaman Khan Dadabhai Smriti Purasker for publishing the highest number of quality books for kids, while Annyaprokash Prokasani, Nymphea Publication, and Bengal Books Prokasani received Qayyum Chowdhury Smriti Purasker for the best interior designs that were aesthetically rich among the participating publishing houses.