The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2025 will begin at Suhrawardy Udyan and on Bangla Academy premises tomorrow.
The chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, is expected to inaugurate the country鈥檚 largest book fair organised by Bangla Academy.
鈥楥hief adviser Muhammad Yunus is expected to open the fair and hand over the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2024 on the academy premises,鈥� the member secretary of the fair committee, Sarkar Amin, said at a press conference on Thursday at Abdul Karim Sahitya Bisharad Auditorium of the academy.
Bangla Academy director general Mohammad Azam, and the academy secretary, Md Selim Reza, among others, spoke at the press conference.
鈥榃e focus on security and the environment of the fair, especially washrooms, food courts, prayer and parking zones as well as cleaning during the fair,鈥� Sarkar Amin said, adding that more than 300 closed-circuit cameras and lights will be set up on the fair premises and its surroundings to ensure security, and they will spray water and insecticides every day.
Mohammad Azam said that the annual event would be exciting by the active presence of participants including visitors, publishers, journalists and organisers.
鈥榃e work with democracy and inclusiveness at every stage of the fair, including the stall allocation.
鈥楳ost of the publishers requested open pavilions instead of the rules of the pavilion,鈥� said Mohammad Azam. 聽 聽
The fair will remain open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm every day except holidays. Visitors will not be allowed to enter the fair after 8:30pm.
It will open at 11:00pm on Friday, Saturday and public holidays and at 8:00am on February 21.
This year 1,059 units have been allotted to 693 publishing houses and organisations, said Bangla Academy officials.
Among the allocations, 139 units and a pavilion on the Bangla Academy premises are allocated to 92 publishing houses and organisations, while 920 units at Suhrawardy Udyan are allocated to 601 publishing houses and organisations.
Besides, 34 pavilions at Suhrawardy Udyan are allocated to big publishing houses and organisations.
Bangla Academy have published 43 new books and reprinted 41 ones for the fair.
This year Chittaranjan Saha Memorial Award for the best book of 2024, Munir Chowdhury Smriti Puraskar for the best three artistic books of 2024, Rokanuzzaman Khan Dadabhai Smrity Award for the best publisher of children鈥檚 books, and Artist Qayyum Chowdhury Memorial Award for showing artistic acumen at stall building will be announced at the fair. 聽
The book fair began its journey on the Bangla Academy premises informally in 1972 and it became institutionalised in 1978.
