Book fair to begin on Feb 20, stall rent reduced by 25 percent

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 will begin on February 20 and conclude on March 15. The fair will run for a total of 25 days.

The information was shared at a press conference held at the Shaheed Munir Chowdhury Hall of Bangla Academy at 3:00 pm on Thursday by Amar Ekushey Book Fair member secretary Dr Md Selim Reza.

In his written statement, Dr Selim Reza said Bangla Academy has long been organising the month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair and cultural programmes in coordination with publishers and stakeholders as part of the observance of Ekushey in memory of the language martyrs. Over time, the event has become an inseparable part of the country’s cultural heritage.

He said it was not possible to start the fair on February 1 this year due to unavoidable circumstances. Considering all aspects, it was decided to begin the fair on February 20. A book fair management committee has already been formed, and the dates were finalised through several meetings by consensus.

The press conference was told that stall rent has been reduced by 25 percent compared to last year following demands from publishers, despite a significant increase in overall organisational costs.

Dr Selim Reza said preparations for the fair are progressing as expected. The selection of an event management firm, allocation of Suhrawardy Udyan by the government, stall construction and other arrangements are underway. Schedules for discussion sessions and cultural programmes have also been finalised, and invitations sent to potential speakers and writers.

He said 527 institutions that participated last year and 53 new institutions applied to take part in this year’s fair. Due to space constraints, stalls have been allocated to the 527 returning institutions along with 24 new ones.

In addition, 56 institutions applied for extended-size stalls, while more than a hundred government and private organisations applied for separate stalls.

It was also stated that when fair preparations were about 60 percent complete, several publishers requested that the event be held after Eid.

Dr Selim Reza said the publishers’ views were given due importance, but organising a month-long fair in April would not be practical due to the risk of heatwaves, dust, nor’westers and rainfall.

Considering the overall situation, he said the fair will begin as scheduled on February 20 and called on publishers to participate.

Responding to questions from journalists, Bangla Academy director general Professor Mohammad Azam said special consideration has been given to iftar, tarawih and five daily prayers as the fair will take place during Ramadan, and necessary arrangements have been made accordingly.

The book fair will be open daily from 2:00 pm to 9pm. On Fridays and Saturdays, it will run from 10am to 8pm. On February 21, the fair will open at 8am.