Book fair ends, publishers disappointed with sales

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair has come to an end as many publishers expressed disappointment over the overall business during the 18-day event.

This year's fair recorded a combined book sale of around Tk170 million.

At the closing ceremony on Sunday, Member Secretary of the fair's management committee, Md. Selim Reza, presented the sales data in the concluding report.

According to the report, a total of 584 organisations participated in the fair, of which 570 were publishing houses. Based on information collected from 269 publishers, their total book sales in the first 17 days amounted to around Tk 80 million. Using this figure as an average, the organisers estimated that the overall sales of the 570 publishers reached approximately Tk 170 million.

In many cases, smaller publishers with fewer stall units recorded higher sales compared to larger publishing houses with bigger stalls. This suggests that readers' interest, rather than stall size, played a more significant role in determining sales.

Meanwhile, the organizing body, Bangla Academy, also published its own sales figures. Until March 14, Bangla Academy sold books worth about Tk 1.7 million from its stall over 17 days.

The number of newly published books was also significant this year. According to the information center, 1,771 new books had been submitted by March 14. However, the actual number is expected to be higher as not all publishers submitted their books to the information center. In addition, 252 books were officially unveiled.

In the closing report, the member secretary said the book fair is not merely a marketplace for selling books; it is also an integral part of the nation's history, tradition, and culture. In that sense, the fair has truly become a vibrant gathering place for readers and writers. Despite several challenges, the Amar Ekushey Book Fair was successfully completed with the participation of all stakeholders.

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Prokashok Oikka highlighted the overall situation of the fair in a press conference. According to them, book sales this year dropped by nearly 80 per cent compared to last year. They also claimed that the business situation was even worse than the fair held during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

The publishers stated that around 90 per cent of participating publishers could not even recover the initial cost of constructing their stalls. Among them, nearly 30 per cent failed to sell books worth even Tk 5,000 throughout the fair.

The press conference was held at the Poet Shamsur Rahman Seminar Room of Bangla Academy, where several publishers from different publishing houses were present.

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