Calling all bibliophiles: International book fair begins tomorrow

330 stalls will be put up at five-day Karachi International Book Fair

KARACHI: The 12th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) will kick off tomorrow, December 15, with at least 10 international publishers participating in the city's biggest book fair.

The Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA), in association with the National Book Foundation (NBF), has been organising the fair since 2005. "Over 330 stalls will be put up at the five-day book fair, which will be held at Expo Centre's halls number 1,2 and 3," announced KIBF convener Owais Mirza Jamil during a press conference on Tuesday.

According to Jamil, more than 10 international exhibitors from India, Singapore, China, Malaysia, the United States, United Arab Emirates and United Kingdom are coming to Pakistan this year to display their books.

He also announced that the special adviser to the prime minister on national history and literary heritage, Irfan Siddiqui, along with the provincial minister of education, Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar, will inaugurate the fair.

The event will be open for the public. On the first day, the fair will open at 1pm but for the remaining four days the timings will be 10am to 9pm. The book fair also recognises authors, poets and intellectuals. An estimated 450,000 people visited the fair last year, while the organisers expect around 500,000 book enthusiasts to visit the fair this year.

KIBP's adviser on business development, Ejaz Shah, announced that after working hard to invite international book fair organisers to observe the KIBF, they have succeeded and will play host to the vice-president of the Frankfurt International Book Fair, Claudia Kaiser. "We have been trying to get her to visit KIBF since 2009," he said, adding that her visit will be of great help in terms of new techniques to use in book fairs.

"Her networking techniques and coordination will help KIBF grow in more countries," Shah added. Kaiser will attend KIBF on her three-day visit and will also have meetings with NBF officials.

"This is the first time that Turkey has directly participated in the fair," he said, adding that such participation helps KIBP improve in the coming years. He also said that the biggest publishers in Turkey, YDS Publishers, will be present at the fair and will set up 10 stalls.

The book fair will have books for students of all ages, parents who seek good books other than course and curriculum books for children, professionals, academicians, writers, librarians and the general public, said PPBA fair and exhibition chairperson Aziz Khalid.

Various book launch ceremonies of both seasoned and new writers will also be held during the fair, he claimed.

Contests for children, including drawing competitions, speeches and quiz competitions, will also be held, Khalid added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2016.