KARACHI: There will be some 50 Turkish titles translated into Urdu available at the 11th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) to be held at the Expo Centre from Nov 12 to 16, said organisers at a press conference held to introduce the forthcoming event here on Tuesday.

According to KIBF and Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association chairman Khalid Aziz, they wanted to include Turkey as a guest country where apart from introducing their literature they also hold events to introduce their food and culture. But when they approached the consul general of Turkey in Karachi, Murat Mustafa Onart, he told them that they weren’t prepared for it this time though it could be done next year after some careful planning. So, “we decided to highlight Turkey’s work with the Urdu language”.

“We were surprised to learn that Mr Onart was already familiar with KIBF as he said he had visited it several times. Turkey will be entering the book fair this year by making available 50 Turkish books translated into Urdu,” he said.

About their guest country feature, Mr Aziz said that starting next year with Turkey, they intended to make it a regular with plans of having Iran, China and India followed by others as guest countries to promote their literature and culture at KIBF.

Meanwhile, apart from Urdu books, Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi, Pushto and Saraiki books will also be available. “KIBF aims to promote all languages,” Mr Aziz said.

Owais Mirza Jamil, KIBF’s convener, said that they had a total of 330 stalls this year spread in three halls at the Expo Centre. Among them would be local, national and international exhibitors, including Turkey, of course, along China, Singapore, the UK and the USA. “We are expecting more than 450,000 visitors this year, including a large number of students. There will be activities, too, such as book launches and quiz competitions for children. For first-time authors we will hold book launches at discounted rates,” he said.

“Publishers and booksellers at the KIBF have been great about offering discounts. Where normally you may be able to buy just one book, you may be able to buy more than one on your budget. That’s why KIBF is so popular among children and students, who come through their institutions by the busload and form long queues without complaining,” he said.

“KIBF is basically a platform for learned people forwarding the benefits to their younger generation. And there is no shortage of book lovers and learned people in our country. They just need such book fairs and intellectual environments to show their strengths and exchange ideas over books. We started KIBF with one hall at the Expo Centre in 2005 and now it has spread to three halls.

Answering a question about the timing of KIBF this year, as it used to be held in December earlier, the organisers explained that this was done for two reasons: easy availability of stalls in November and also because it had been observed that foreigners who travelled to Karachi for the book fair felt more comfortable travelling now for work instead of December, when they had winter holidays, including Christmas holidays.

KIBF opens at 11am on Nov 12 after which it will be open from 10am to 9pm daily until Nov 16.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2015