The International Kolkata Book Fair recognised by the International Publishers Association, Geneva, will be inaugurated on 30 January, 2023 afternoon and will continue till 12 February, 2023. The fair will be inaugurated by Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and other dignitaries.
This is to be reiterated that in 2022, just after the improvement of the pandemic situation, 2.2 million book lovers visited the International Kolkata Book Fair and books worth Rs 23 crores were sold, breaking all its past records. This resulted in attracting a greater number of new publishers who intend to participate in the upcoming Book Fair.
The Focal Theme Country of the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair 2023 will be — Spain. This will be their second appearance in the International Kolkata Book Fair as the Theme Country. Earlier it was in 2006.In 2006 at the Spanish Pavilion of the IKBF, the Embassy of Spain in India signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Calcutta University, after which the Government of Spain started providing a lecturer for the Spanish Language Department. In addition to that, the international examination DELE (Diplomas of Spanish as Foreign Language) started in Kolkata, conducted by Instituto Cervantes, Government of Spain. H.E. Mr José María Ridao Domínguez, Ambassador of Spain in India along with other dignitaries were present at the Press Conference.
The international complex will also have the presence of the UK, USA, Japan, Vietnam, France, Thailand, Australia, Argentina, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Peru, other Latin American countries and Bangladesh.
Another important highlight of the Book Fair — 9th Kolkata Literature Festival (KLF) will be held from 9 to 11 February 2023. There will be many engrossing sessions, panel discussions on literature, film, drama, music, dance, and many more.
Like last edition, this year also the IKBF will have a strong virtual live presence through the website and social media pages of the Book Fair.
Report- Pratyusha Mukherjee
