Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026, the country's largest annual literary event, is set to begin in the capital today (Thursday) with the theme 'Multidimensional Bangladesh'.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the fair as the chief guest at 2:00pm. He will also present Bangla Academy Literary Award 2025 to the recipients during the ceremony, reports BSS.
The recipients of the Bangla Academy Literary Award-2025 are Mohan Raihan in poetry, Nasima Anis in fiction, Syed Azizul Haque in essays, Hasan Hafiz in children's literature, Ali Ahmad in translation, Mustafa Majid and Israel Khan in research, Farsim Mannan Mohammadi in science, and Moidul Hasan in Liberation War.
The Prime Minister is also expected to distribute Ekushey Padak 2026 at another ceremony at Osmani Memorial Auditorium at 11:00am.
The recipients are Farida Akhtar Babita (Film), Professor Md Abdus Sattar (Fine arts), Marina Tabassum (Architecture), Ayub Bachchu (Music), Arthy Ahmed (Dance), Islam Uddin Palakar (Palagan), Shafik Rehman (Journalism), Professor Dr Mahbubul Alam Majumdar (Education), Tejosh Haldar Josh (Sculpture) and Warfaze (Music band).
Preparations at the book fair venue -- the Bangla Academy premises and nearby Suhrawardy Udyan -- are nearly complete.
Cultural Affairs Minister Nitai Roy Chowdhury and State Minister for Cultural Affairs Ali Nawaz Mahmud Khayyam, Cultural Affairs Secretary Md Mofidur Rahman, Director General of Bangla Academy Prof Mohammad Azam and Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association President Md Rezaul Karim Badsha will attend the inaugural ceremony of the book fair.
Bangla Academy President Prof Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq will chair the event.
The fair will remain open until March 15, from 2:00pm to 9:00pm daily (except holidays). No new visitors will be allowed to enter the venue after 8:30pm. On holidays, the fair will remain open from 11:00am to 9:00pm.
Bangla Academy and participating institutions will sell books at a 25 per cent commission, while government institutions will sell books at their fixed commission rates. Bangla Academy will have stalls in both sections of the fair.
A total of 549 publishing houses are participating in the fair this year -- 81 on the Bangla Academy premises and 468 at the Suhrawardy Udyan. Last year, 708 institutions took part in the fair.
This year, organisers aim to make the fair environmentally conscious and turn it into a "Zero Waste Book Fair".
The fair will be polythene-free and smoke-free. Measures have been taken to ensure cleanliness, including regular water spraying to control dust and mosquito control arrangements.
Participants have been urged to use reusable and eco-friendly materials such as jute, cloth and paper for stalls, shops, stages, banners, leaflets, promotional materials, fast-food outlets, coffee shops, and other setups at the venue and surrounding areas.
A Little Magazine Corner has been set up under the trees near the open stage at Suhrawardy Udyan, where 87 little magazines have been allocated stalls.
Food stalls have been arranged along the boundary of IEB. Considering the holy month of Ramadan, arrangements for Tarawih prayers will be made for Muslim visitors at the Suhrawardy Udyan section of the fair.
Prayer spaces, washrooms, and other services will remain available. Food stalls have also been specially reorganised this year.
The Children's Corner will include 63 institutions with 107 units. It has been placed at the centre of Suhrawardy Udyan to ensure children can move freely and easily collect their desired books. "Children's Hour" will be observed every Friday and Saturday from 11:00am to 1:00pm.
Every day from 3:00pm to 4:00pm, topic-based seminars will be held at the main stage, followed by cultural programmes from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. As part of the Ekushey observance, children and juvenile art competitions, recitation and music contests will also be held.
To ensure comprehensive security, sufficient CCTV cameras have been installed throughout the area. Overall security will be maintained by Bangladesh Police, RAB, Ansar and various intelligence agencies.
UNB adds: Police on Wednesday said there is no threat of mob violence at this year's Amar Ekushey Book Fair, as extensive security measures remain in place to prevent any untoward incidents.
Speaking at a press briefing at Suhrawardy Udyan, Additional Commissioner (Admin) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Md Sarwar said law enforcement agencies were fully prepared in this regard.
