KARACHI: The 15th Karachi International Book Fair, which will take place from Dec 5 to Dec 9 at Expo Centre halls 1, 2 and 3, will bring together 200 publishers and booksellers from Pakistan and 36 from the rest of the world.

This was announced at a press conference at a hotel here on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Aziz Khalid, chairman of the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA) thanked the media for supporting the fair over the years. He said we should all be contributing to the well-being of the country, especially keeping in mind what we can do for our younger generation and the generations to come –– the book fair is one way of doing it.

200 publishers and booksellers from Pakistan and 36 from abroad to take part in the fair

Mr Khalid said the organisers of the event try and make sure that [booksellers of] every city in Pakistan participate in the fair. The real motive is to provide our children with quality books so that a soft image of our country could be projected to the world. Covering the fair the media shows how educated, middle-class people make queues to get into the halls to get their hands on books. In the process the KIBF also helps the local bookselling industry because there’s no organised system in our country for the display of books; whereas in other parts of the globe, governments and the private sector help their publishing industries.

Mr Khalid said book fairs enable publishers and booksellers to come forward and showcase their hard work. The KIBF has also involved women by providing them stalls at low rates. In the last seven or eight years it was found that women are doing very well at the fair.

Referring to another noticeable event that’s taking place in the city alongside the KIBF, the Urdu Conference, he argued that it’s a healthy sign which goes to show that Karachi doesn’t have a negative image any longer, as it’s hosting all kinds of activities.

Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah will inaugurate the fair, he added.

Convener of KIBF Waqar Mateen (whose voice was hardly audible) said this year the countries whose publishers or booksellers will put their books on display include Iran, India, Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, the UAE and China, among others. He added that there will be around 200 Pakistani booksellers and 36 international under one roof; and 400,000 book lovers are expected to visit the fair.

Ejaz Shah talked about his experience of visiting international book fairs and how that experience can be utilised to improve the KIBF.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2019