After losses of Rs 17 lakh incurred in 2007-08 when the venue was shifted from the centrally located Maidan grounds to the Salt Lake stadium, the 34th Kolkata Book Fair closed on a successful note this year. Small and medium publishers and the Publishers and Booksellers Guild, the organising body for the Book Fair, reported business of close to Rs 20 crore this year.
The Kolkata Book Fair is the annual event that all small and medium book sellers of West Bengal, as well as publishers of other states, look forward to because of the phenomenal footfalls and sales generated over a period of 11 days. Most small and medium book sellers are of the opinion that the Kolkata Book Fair makes up for around 30-50 per cent of their annual earnings and the proportion is only increasing.
This year at the Kolkata Book fair, the small and medium book sellers’ sales jumped 5-20 per cent compared to last year. The bigger, branded publishers saw sales jump 15-25 per cent. Of a total of 650 stalls this year, around 250 stalls were put up by small and medium book sellers, occupying an average of 100-120 sq ft per stall.Around 18 lakh people visited the Book Fair this year compared to 14.5 lakh visitors last year.
Full report here Business Standard
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