726 organizations participating in this year's fair

Although there were concerns a few months ago regarding the arrangement of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Suhrawardy Udyan, organizers have announced that this year’s event will be the largest book fair in recent memory.

Building on last year’s design, the organizers have allocated space to 47 more organizations than in the previous year. According to sources, this year’s fair, spanning the premises of Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan, has allocated 1,057 units to 691 organizations and 35 pavilions, accommodating a total of 726 organizations with 1,092 stalls and pavilions.

Last year, 642 organizations received 946 units, while 37 pavilions were allocated, totaling 983 stalls and pavilions for 679 organizations. Comparatively, in 2024, Suhrawardy Udyan alone allocated 657 units to 412 organizations, whereas this year, the number of organizations has increased to 491, with 799 total units allocated.

The number of units and organizations has also risen in the children’s section. A total of 73 organizations have been allocated 119 units, while 92 organizations in the Bangla Academy premises have been allocated 139 units, which is a decrease compared to last year’s allocation of 181 units to 127 organizations.

Last year’s design, which allowed visitors to view the entire fair from any entrance, has been slightly modified and retained for this year’s allocation. Dr. Sarker Amin, the General Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025 organizing committee, stated, “This year’s fair will be held under the theme ‘July Uprising and Building a New Bangladesh’ in remembrance of the July Revolution. The theme colors for this year are red, black, and white — red symbolizing revolution, black representing mourning, and white standing for peace. Thus, this year’s fair reflects a mix of revolution, mourning, and peace.”

Dr. Amin further added, “This will be the largest book fair ever, with approximately 100 new stalls being added.”

When asked about political organizations being allocated stalls or pavilions within the Bangla Academy premises, he said, “We have tried to allocate stalls to almost all publishers. However, we have avoided the negative practice of granting stalls to political parties or affiliate organizations. Instead, we have focused on social and cultural organizations.”

He expressed optimism that this year’s book sales and visitor numbers will surpass those of previous years.

According to Bangla Academy, books worth at least BDT 550 million were sold in 2024, with nearly six million visitors attending. In 2023, sales reached BDT 870 million, while the highest record of BDT 820 million was set in 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.