PM to inaugurate book fair on Feb 1

The month-long "Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2024," the country‍‍`s largest book fair, is going to begin on its traditional date of the first day of February this year.

"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to open the fair to be held under the auspices of Bangla Academy on its premises and Suhrawardy Udyan at 3:00pm on February 1," Member Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee Dr KM Muzahidul Islam told BSS.

A total of 895 stalls have been allocated to 573 organisations. Among them, 786 are general stalls while 109 stalls will be dedicated to little magazine chattar, said Muzahidul.

Moreover, a total of 37 pavilions have been allocated this year. Last year, a total of 901 stalls were allocated in favour of 601 organisations.

This year, the entire work of the fair is being done by Bangla Academy alone to avoid any criticism, said Muzahidul, adding, "In the previous years, some event management companies were involved in fair arrangements which faced some criticism last year".

Along with cultural programmes and month-long seminars, there will be arrangements for children and teenagers which include drawing, music and recitation competitions.

Stall allotment for old and newly enlisted publications was done through a digitalized lottery system on January 23, said organisers.

Meanwhile, besides the enlisted 601 organisations, some 70 new publications have applied to get stall allocation responding to the notice. Among them, 23 new publications were selected.

For notable contributions to various aspects of Bangla literature, this year, the Bangla Academy Literary Award-2023 will be given to 16 individuals in 11 categories -- poetry, fiction, essay/research, translation, drama, children‍‍`s literature category, Liberation War, Bangabandhu, environment/science field, biography and folklore.

The prime minister will hand over the awards at the inaugural ceremony of the book fair.