This year’s “Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela 2024,” the largest book fair in the nation, will open for business on February 1st, as is customary.
“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 on February 1 at 3 pm,” Member Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee Dr KM Muzahidul Islam told BSS.
573 groups have been assigned a total of 895 spaces. According to Muzahidul, 109 of them will be devoted to little magazine chattar, and the remaining 786 stalls are generic.
Furthermore, 37 pavilions in total have been allotted for this year. A total of 901 slots were distributed to 601 groups last year.
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”.
The preparation for the fair started soon after the end of the last fair and committees have been formulated in three-phase – committee for preparation phase, committee for inaugural ceremony and separate committees for conducting the month-long fair.
Drawing, music, and recitation competitions are among the events planned for kids and teenagers, in addition to cultural programs and seminars lasting a month.
The organizers reported that on January 23, stall allocation for both newly enlisted and established publications was completed via an electronic lottery system.
In the meantime, some 70 additional publications have applied in response to the notice, in addition to the 601 entities that were already listed. Of them, twenty-three new publications were chosen.
Like previous years, the main stage of the fair will be on the Bangla Academy premises while book unwrapping and ‘Lekhak Bolchi’ stages will be set up on Suhrawardi Udyan premises, said Mujahidul. ‘Shishu Chattar’ has also been set up in Sadhu Shanga area beside the Ramna Kali Temple.
This year, 16 people will receive the Bangla Academy Literary Award-2023 for their outstanding contributions to various facets of Bangla literature. The awards are given in 11 categories: children’s literature, children’s literature, children’s literature, environment/science field, Bangabandhu, biography, folklore, and poetry, fiction, essay/research, translation, and children’s literature.
According to the statement, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will present the honors at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair-2024’s opening event, which is set to start on February 1.
