Are you someone who loves books, and generally buys them, and wanders around stalls and stalls of books, picking out good titles? If you find yourself agreeing to this, then how about visiting a fair full of book stalls wherever you go, giving good discounts, providing new releases and publications, as well an array of old books that you aren’t likely to find anywhere else! Here are some books and literary fairs in India that you can consider visiting!
This is deemed as one of the biggest fairs in the world and is on for two whole weeks, usually the last two weeks of January. This is an ideal time, as the weather in Kolkata is particularly pleasant this time of year. It is an outdoor fest and is usually held in a huge park in Salt Lake. Wandering around this book fair is a lot of fun, and one comes across many stalls, with fresh publications, at discounted rates, as well as old classic books that you may want to buy. You can simply get lost in this maze of bookstocks. It is one of the most enriching experiences to visit this book fair.
This is one of the best, most well organized literature festivals, that you could consider visiting. All authors, who have published in the previous year are invited to this festival, and they give talks, hold panels, and book signings. Irrespective of what genre you are interested in, the number of writers who come to this is staggering. It is usually held during January end-February first week and is truly a beautiful experience. The curation of panels is done extremely painstakingly and therefore they exude a certain cultural refinement and finesse through this festival. This is a must-visit, and should be on your bucket list if you are a book-lover or someone who loves literature.
This is usually held for a week during February in the city of New Delhi. It is one of the most extensive book fairs, and has many unique stalls, sometimes selling books in different languages. Not only does it offer a promising amount of books to buy, but it is also accompanied by a stationery fair, where you can get a lot of interesting pencils, pens, and notebooks. This is therefore somewhere where you want to simply splurge all your money. Moreover, the discounted rates at the book fair make it worthwhile to buy books from here!
Generally held over a weekend in January, in Hyderabad, this festival is organised by the Hyderabad Literary Trust. The event is focused on celebrating Indian culture, literature, and art and is supported by several publishing houses and literary and cultural organizations. The programme usually encompasses a series of talks, book discussions, panel discussions, film screenings, lectures and performances. One of the most interesting things, which is also true of the Kolkata Book Fair, is the focus on vernacular texts and books for sale. This is a crucial incorporation and something that should be celebrated, cherished and more!
While in the list, so far, there has been a discussion of all the traditional classic book fairs, that have been organized for many years, there are also many places, where the tradition of organizing book fairs is new. These include the Kerala Literature Festival and the Goa Book Fair. These are also impressive!
