Publishers reluctant to comment on Book Fair

It was on Tuesday, the 18th day of the book fair. While weekends, especially Fridays and Saturdays, see heavy crowds, other weekdays typically don’t attract as many people. Still, there was a considerable crowd at the fair. However, most of the visitors didn’t have books in their hands. They were simply strolling around, chatting, and exploring. In Dhaka, there aren’t many places to hang out, so book fairs and other events tend to draw large crowds. The air was cool with the touch of winter. February was nearing its end, and it was the 5th of Falgun. While the weather had been warmer in recent days, it was relatively cooler that day. The reason for this soon became clear. Suddenly, the sky darkened, and there was a rumbling sound. Then came a beautiful downpour. As poet Shahid Qadri described, "Suddenly, a terror touched." Everyone scattered in different directions. Visitors, who were wandering around the fairground, rushed to take shelter in the book stalls and food shops.

As the rain subsided, the crowd began to thin out. By 7:30 PM, just half an hour before 8PM, the fairground was almost empty and the fair closed. Usually the fair remains open until 9 PM. I decided to check how the fair was going this year. To gather information, I started peeking into various stalls and asking the publishers and salespersons how business was going. Most of them shared their disappointment. Suman Ahmed, the managing director of Sangsaptak Bangla, said that sales were not good at all. "If we could have sold at least 1,000 Taka a day, we can convince ourselves," he said. "But even that doesn't happen." Sangsaptak Bangla is a small publisher with only one stall at the fair. What about those who have taken pavilions? Curious, I approached a publisher from a well-known publishing house to ask about their business. The publisher replied, "I can talk about books, but I won’t comment on the fair." Many other publishers were also reluctant to comment on the fair. This surprised me. Why are publishers hesitant to talk about the fair?

The cause of the anxiety is quite natural. From the very beginning of this year’s fair, an atmosphere of fear and discomfort has prevailed. The final consequence was the arrest of poet Sohel Hasan Galib. Fellow poets, writers, and Galib's friends gathered at the fair on Tuesday demanding his release. I spoke to poet Chanchal Ashraf about this, and he shared, "We are a bit under mental pressure. The arrest of poet Sohel Hasan Galib has really saddened us. We thought he would be released after his detention, but he was remanded in custody. Sohel Hasan Galib is not a criminal; he is an ordinary poet. He has even apologized for what he has written, which was misinterpreted. He is not an enemy of Islam, in fact, he is known to be a follower of Islam. He goes to the mosque for Jum’ah prayers with his child every Friday. So why was he arrested? And why was he remanded after his arrest?"

When I asked about the overall situation at the book fair, Abu Bakar Siddique, the publisher of 'A', commented, "Beneath the unrest, everyone at the book fair—writers, readers, publishers, organizers—are displaying an unusually conservative behavior. This conservatism is evident in writing, publishing, and selling books. Until there is political stability, the publishing industry, like many other sectors, is unlikely to stabilize." Although short, Siddique's comment was significant. In just a few words, he captured the entire picture of this year's book fair. I moved ahead and noticed a group of familiar poets and writers. Among them were poet Farid Kabir, essayist Ahmad Mazhar, literary writer Morshed Shafiul Hasan, and several other young and veteran poets, writers, and publishers. Soon, fiction writer Parmita Him, who lives in America, arrived at the fair for the first time today.

I didn’t ask more about the fair’s comments. Instead, I turned to Ahmad Mazhar, who, like many, lives in America. He returns to Bangladesh every year during the book fair. He came on the 3rd, had been to Kolkata in between, and since February 13, he has been coming to the fair every day. When asked how he feels about this year’s book fair, he said, “Everything feels lifeless somehow. It feels like there is no spirit. Why does it feel lifeless? I’m not sure. I wouldn’t say there are fewer people. There are plenty of people, but fewer buyers. Another thing I’ve noticed is, unlike before, there’s no spontaneous chit-chat. Another factor is that we’ve entered a new reality, and it will take time to adjust to this new context. The new narrative will take time to emerge as well.”

Morshed Shafiul Hasan shared, “I’ve been observing the book fair since 1973. Back then, we were students, and there was a certain vibe at the fair. Now the fair has expanded, but the number of buyers hasn’t really increased. The number of book readers has decreased for various reasons. The problem in our society is that we’ve failed to make it a society of reading culture. We haven’t been able to increase the number of readers. Students from schools, colleges, and universities don’t read books. There are no libraries, so how can the number of readers increase? This negative impact is slowly affecting the book fair as well. Another reality is that with the rising costs of daily necessities, people can’t afford to buy books. Moreover, many readers don’t know what books to buy. I always say before the fair, for any reader to choose a good book, they need to know about it. But how can they know? There are no media outlets that promote books properly. So, a general reader often can’t find a good book.”

When I asked him about the major event that occurred this year—about the massive public upheaval—and we expected a positive influence on the book fair, but instead saw some negative consequences, he responded, “After any big change, many things can happen. More things could happen. But what’s unfortunate is that there have been incidents related to the book fair that have nothing to do with books or book culture.”

I asked why many publishers weren’t willing to comment on the fair. He explained, “It could be because they are scared. There’s a reason for the fear. Many of them have books they want to keep hidden. Also, from the very beginning of the fair, certain events took place that have made many afraid to speak openly now. Some have even faced issues with their stalls. Who knows what can happen if someone says the wrong thing, or where it might lead?”

Young author Mahmudur Rahman shared that this year’s book fair has been going quite well for him. He has three books published this time, and he’s receiving positive feedback for all of them. Due to the larger number of stalls this year, there has been a bit more crowd. However, he believes more attention should have been paid to the layout of the fair. Additionally, he pointed out that the security arrangements at the fairgrounds are not as stringent as they should be, and there are noticeably more hawkers around.

The growing number of hawkers at the fairground was also a point of comment from author and publisher Humayun Kabir Dhali. He questioned how so many hawkers are getting into the fairground, wondering where the police and security forces are. He also mentioned that there are numerous shops on the road in front of the fair selling reprints of books at lower prices. Many visitors buy books there for half the price before entering the fair. He asked, if reprinted books are being sold outside the fair, what will those with stalls at the fair be selling? Some publishers print classic books and sell them, and they might be available for half the price outside. So, what will happen to those who spend so much money to set up stalls at the fair? It costs eight to ten lakh taka to take this pavilion. He suggested that the fair authorities should pay attention to this issue.

Anyway, the situation seemed somewhat disappointing. Almost no publisher or sales staff was happy with the sales. Yet, 18 days into the fair, if sales haven’t picked up fully by now, when will they? Usually, food vendors at least remain happy, but this time, they too were disheartened. After talking to the owners of two food stalls, it was clear that the sales wouldn’t even cover their costs. Seeing the lower number of customers, many had reduced their prices for food. They mentioned that if they could cover the costs, they would manage to get by.

On my way out of the fair, I met poet and ‘Magnapath’ magazine editor Ahmed Shiplu. He visits the fair almost every day and has his own observations about it. He told me that this year, a few incidents had a negative impact on the book fair. First, there was the unpleasant incident regarding the Bangla Academy Award. Then, the use of dustbins with Sheikh Hasina's picture at the fair offended many. Some even announced boycotts of the event. The little magazine stalls (litmag) didn’t do well this year either, and many didn’t even open their stalls. Lastly, the poet Galib’s incident occurred, which kept many true readers away from the fair. Usually, groups of people from various districts, and even from abroad, visit the fair to attend discussions and gatherings, but many of them didn’t come this time. As a result, the fair felt somewhat lackluster.

There is another reason behind the book fair not being lively this year. The fair always needs some star authors to attract crowds, but we don’t seem to have those this time. The senior authors who are still alive aren’t coming to the fair. The popular writers from the 90s, who were quite beloved by readers, also didn’t show up this year. When I was leaving the fair around 9 PM, the sales staff were closing their stalls. There was still a hint of rain in the air, and in the dim light and shadowy atmosphere, the book fair seemed somewhat disheartening.