Amar Ekushey Book Fair ends today

The 18-day Amar Ekushey Book Fair comes to an end today (March 15), amid widespread discussions, criticism, and dissatisfaction among publishers over book sales.

This year's fair began on February 26 instead of February 1 as per the usual schedule due to the national elections. As a result, the fair's duration was reduced and the overall political situation has affected the expected pace in book sales, according to those concerned.

A special program has been organized at the Bangla Academy premises at 3pm to mark the conclusion of the fair. Minister for Cultural Affairs Nitai Roy Chowdhury will be present as the chief guest. State Minister for Culture Ali Newaz Mahmud Khayyam will be present as the special guest. The 'Gunijan Smriti Puraskar' will be presented at the event for the best publications of the year and a report on the overall activities of the fair will be presented.

A section of publishers said that there were differences among them from the beginning regarding the decision to start the fair on February 26 and end on March 15. Many major publishing houses claim that they could not raise even half of their investment in this year's fair.

Organizers and publishers believe that the crowd of readers and visitors may increase on the closing day of the fair. There is a possibility of increasing presence of readers in the Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan areas from noon onwards to collect books of their favorite authors at the last minute.

More than 1,500 new books have been published in this year's book fair. However, many publishers have been disappointed due to the short time frame, travel inconveniences and other reasons as sales have been lower than last year.