The 28th edition of annual New Delhi World Book Fair, organized by National Book Trust, India in association with ITPO, will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 4 to 12 January 2020.
Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource Development, Government of India will inaugurate the Book Fair at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on 4th January 2020 at 9.00 am. Shri Girishwar Mishra, eminent Gandhian scholar is the Chief Guest on the occasion. Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman, NBT; Shri L. C. Goyal, IAS, Chairman & Managing Director, ITPO and Ms Neera Jain, Director, NBT will also be present on the occasion.
“As part of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary celebrations, this year the Theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair is Gandhi: The Writers’ Writer,” announced Prof. Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman, NBT while addressing the media at a Press Conference held at Constitution Club, New Delhi on 2 January 2020. He added that the Theme would highlight the various facets of Mahatma Gandhi’s life and his influence on writers of all ages.
Speaking about the important features of NDWBF 2020, Prof. Sharma said that this year, over 600 exhibitors in different languages including Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Maithili, Malayalam, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu will exhibit their books in over 1300 stalls at the Fair. He also said that in addition to business sessions, several literary and cultural activities including seminars, book release functions, panel discussions, etc. will be part of the Fair.
Highlighting about the need to save our tribal languages from being extinct, Prof. Sharma said that India is the land of many languages. However, he said, that the tribal languages and the oral tradition of storytelling are fading away. In its efforts to save these languages, NBT has been publishing books in these languages as well as organizes several activities to promote them.
In his address, Prof. Sharma also urged the media to play an active and creative role in promoting books and the habit of reading. While informing that the Fair will be open to the public from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm, Prof. Sharma said that the entry for school children in uniform, senior citizens and differently-abled will be free.
Shri Rajesh Agarwal, IAS, Executive Director, ITPO also spoke on the occasion. He said that ITPO has made special efforts to make book fair more visitor friendly. Shri Madan Mohan, Additional Director General, Ministry of Human Resource Development was also present on the occasion.
Earlier, Ms Neera Jain, Director, NBT welcomed the guests present on the occasion. She informed the audience that more than 600 publishers across 1300 stalls will be present at the fair across 23,000 square metres. The Fair will also see participation from about 20 foreign countries. She also spoke about the new initiatives of NBT to promote young authors including Navlekhan Protsahan Yojana.
More Details about attractions of the Fair:
Theme Pavilion: This year, the theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 is ‘Gandhi: The Writers’ Writer’ to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was a prolific writer, editor, publisher, Printer and Institution Builder. He wrote extensively in Gujarati, Hindi and English languages. His writings not only reflected his philosophy of non-violence and peace but also gave an insight into the socio-economic and political scenario of the country. The theme is an attempt to give booklovers a glimpse of how Mahatma Gandhi, a great strategic communicator, inspired and influenced generations of writers and how the writers understood and emulated Gandhiji in words. In the specially designed pavilion (inspired by Sabarmati Ashram), with hand-spun materials as wall cladding; there will be an exclusive exhibition of 500 books of 100 publishers on and by Gandhi in different Indian languages, as well as 30 panel discussions, book launches and performances related to the theme. The archival materials on display at the Theme pavilion are from Navjivan Trust, Ahmedabad and National Gandhi Museum, New Delhi.
Authors’ Corners / Seminar Hall
Some of the well-known writers both popular and critically acclaimed like Anirban Ganguly, Bhawana Sommaya, Kevin Missal, Madhulika Dutta, Manoshi Sinha Rawal, Sudha Murthy, Sumit Dutt Majumdar, among others will engage in lively banters with the visitors at Authors’ Corners. There will be three special Corners which include International Events Corner (Hall No. 7A), Reflections (Hall No. 8) and Lekhak Manch (Hall No. 12).
During the Fair, various literary events, discussions, conversation with authors & scholars, book release functions, children’s activities, film screenings on the theme of the fair, cultural programmes, etc. will be organized. Some of the well-known speakers who will participate in these programmes include, Dr Rakesh Pande, Dr Varsha Das, Shri Aflatoon, Shri Avinash Dudhe, Shri Firoz Khan, Ms Fouzia Khan, Shri Suresh Sharma, Shri Rajeev Shrivastava, Shri Rajeev Raj, Ms Shashiprabha Tewari, Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, Prof. Rizwan Kaisar, Dr M William Bhaskaran, Dr T Ravichandran, Dr Sachidanand Joshi, former Justice Narendra Chapalgaonkar, Ms Deena Patel, Shri Annamalai, Dr Sumer Singh Siddhu, Dr Khushwant Singh Bargadi, among others.
Braille Books: National Book Trust, India in collaboration with the All India Confederation of Blind (AICB) has jointly published a set of books in Braille for visually impaired readers. So far, over 250 books in Hindi, English and other Indian languages have been published. To take the project further, the NBT and AICB have signed an MOU, under which more titles shall be published in Braille in different Indian languages as part of NBT’s annual publishing programme. A catalogue of these books in Braille as well bilingual catalogue in English and Hindi have also been brought out by NBT. A special exhibit of these books will also be put up.
Children’s Pavilion: At the Children’s Pavilion (Hangar near Hall No. 7H), a number of activities like seminars, panel discussions, storytelling sessions, workshops on creative writing and illustrations among others will be organized to promote books and reading amongst children and young adults. The pavilion has been decorated with specially designed panels on tactile and silent books. A special career counseling session for persons with special needs will also be organized. A number of schools and NGOs will also participate in these activities.
Foreign Countries: Over 15 countries including Abu Dhabi, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sharjah, Spain, Sri Lanka, UK, USA, are participating in the Foreign Pavilion at the Fair. They are housed at the Foreign Pavilion, Hall No. 7ABC.
B2B Activities: New Delhi World Book Fair, also provides a platform for B2B activities for publishers from India and abroad. These B2B sessions include CEOSpeak, a Publishers Forum to be organized in association with FICCI on 5 January 2020; the New Delhi Rights Table, a 2-day event to be held on 6 & 7 January 2020. Over 40 publishers from India and abroad will participate in the New Delhi Rights Table. In addition, a National Conclave on Readership and Book Promotion will be organised on 8 January 2020, and a Business Meet with Trade Partners on 9 January 2020.
Special Photo Exhibitions
- India as Guest of Honour: NBT has been playing a significant role in promoting Indian books and authors abroad. NBT regularly participates in major international book fairs like Sharjah International Book Fair, London Book Fair, Frankfurt Book Fair, etc. Recently, India was the Guest of Honour country at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair held in April 2019, and at GuadalajaraInternationalBook Fair, Mexico in November 2019. India will also be Guest of Honour country at forthcoming Paris Book Fair in March 2020. NBT being the nodal agency, coordinates the Guest of Honour Country Presentations at International Book Fairs. A special photo exhibition on the GoH Presentations – 2019-2020 will be put up at Hall 7A. In addition, the NBT titles translated and published in Arabic and Spanish as part of the Guest Country Presentations, will also be put on display.
- Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat: A special photo exhibition on NBT’s contribution in promoting books in schools and libraries under Govt. of India’s programme for the school education will also be put up outside Hall No.7.
Publishers: This year, more than 600 publishers from India and Abroad are participating ata the book fair. The Indian publishers exhibiting books in different languages include Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Maithili, Malayalam, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu across more than 1300 stalls at the Fair.
