Spain To Be Theme Country Of International Kolkata Book Fair

The fair will be held from January 31 to February 12 at the Central Park Mela Ground, which has been newly named Boimela Prangan, in Salt Lake near Kolkata.

PTI

Updated on: 4 January 2023 1:55 am

Delhi Book Fair 2022

Twenty-five eminent Spanish authors will be present at the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair where Spain will be the theme country, organisers Publishers and Booksellers Guild said on Tuesday.

The fair will be held from January 31 to February 12 at the Central Park Mela Ground, which has been newly named Boimela Prangan, in Salt Lake near Kolkata. The writers include Eva Baltasar, David Trueba, Agustín Fernández Mayo, Luis García Montero, Jordi Gracia, Jesús Aguado, Anna Caballé. Spanish Director Paula Ortiz will also be there to present the film “La Novia (The Bride), based on the work “Bodas de sangre” (Blood Wedding) by Federico García Lorca.

The official programme of the International Kolkata Book Fair includes dialogues and round tables between Spanish and Indian authors, as well as between publishers from both countries. For the first time, rare ‘punthis’ (old handwritten manuscripts) of Bengal will be exhibited in a pavilion in collaboration with the Asiatic Society, the Guild said in a statement. The Theme Country- Spain Day will be celebrated on January 31 while Children's Day will be celebrated on February 5.

There will be separate pavilions for each of the international publishing industry players, including Penguin Random House India, Harper Collins, Pan Macmillan, Rupa, Bloomsbury and others along with regular direct participation from the countries like the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Bangladesh, Japan, France, Italy, Australia, Cuba and other Latin American countries. Thailand will be participating for the first time in the International Kolkata Book Fair. Publishers from Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Tripura, Bihar, Tamil Nadu Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tripura and other states will take part in the annual book fair.

Booklovers from abroad may enjoy the programs and seminars of the Book Fair on YouTube, Facebook and the website kolkatabookfair.net. In 2022, held after one year break due to Covid-19, the International Kolkata Book Fair attracted 2.2 million book enthusiasts and broke records of recent years by selling books worth Rs 23 crore, the statement said. The 9th edition of Kolkata Literature Festival 2023, an integral part of the Book Fair, will be held at the auditorium of the fairground for 3 days, from February 9 to 11.