The 18th Nepal Education and International Book Fair kicked off at Bhrikuti Mandap on Thursday. Jointly organised by Global Exposition and Management Services and the National Booksellers and Publishers Association, it aims to bring publishers, writers, distributors, booksellers and readers on a single platform for the development of the overall book market. The expo also seeks to develop the habit of buying and reading books among the people.  

According to the organisers, the eight-day expo features 155 stalls of 85 exhibitors showcasing books on different subjects from national and international publishers.

The books on display deal with a range of subjects including academics, agriculture, banking, sociology, information technology, philosophy, tourism, literature, health and medicine, sports, law, fiction, non-fiction, development studies, religion, spirituality, humour, politics and children, among others.

“The country’s book market has been growing at an annual rate of 10-15 percent,” said Keshav Khatri, coordinator of the fair. He added that the book buying culture had been growing with the increasing literacy rate of the people.

“As the number of readers is growing in the country, the number of publishers is also increasing,” he said. He estimates that around 160 publishers are actively involved in the book publishing business.

“We have been organising book fairs continuously for 18 years, but the kind of visitors we have been getting since the last two-three years is really encouraging,” he said. “Every year, we see an increased number of visitors.”

He added that the book publishing business had a high growth potential in Nepal as domestic publishers were able to fulfil only 70 percent of the requirement.

Similarly, children’s books have emerged as an emerging business in the book industry. Fiction is also becoming popular among youngsters with the reading culture spreading.

The organisers plan to launch various new books during the expo while buyers are being offered discounts of 10-50 percent on various books.

According to Khatri, three new books will be launched on Saturday.

The fair also includes informative and interactive programmes, seminars, talk programmes, photo exhibitions and amusement for children. The exhibition will run till June 5. The organisers expect around 60,000 visitors to attend the fair and business worth Rs 35 million.

source: the kathmandu post,30 may 2014