Lahore International Book Fair: Visa delays cast a shadow on Fair

Allocation of funds, public campaigns, subsidising of advertisement could be ways the government could help organisers

LAHORE:

With the 26th Lahore International Book Fair just days away organisers are worried that more than 20 foreign publishers are still waiting for their visas.

Lahore International Book Fair Trust chairman Zubair Saeed told The Express Tribune that 240 stalls would be set up this year. However, Saeed was anxious about the foreign publishers whose visas have not come through as yet.

“Those publishers have already booked their stalls,” Saeed said adding that most of the publishers facing visa problems were from India.  He said 24 foreign publishers had still not been issued visas and the fair would begin on February 3.

“Visa problems are a huge cause of discouragement for foreign publishers,” he said. Saeed added that foreigners were already reluctant to come to Pakistan. “Even if a few do show interest, we make it difficult for them with visa issues,” he said. With publishers from Turkey, India, the US and the UK already having booked their stalls at the book fair, Saeed hoped the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Commerce would look into the matter. “We have tried to engage the relevant ministries from our end,” he said adding, “let’s hope we get a positive response before the book fair ends.”

The Book Fair chairman said the Punjab govt had ‘facilitated but not in financial terms’. Last year, Saeed said, the Punjab govt had announced funds for the book fair which were never received. “This year they did not even allocate funds.”

Making it to the Book Fair for the past 10 years, Ameena Saiyid, managing director at the Oxford University Press (OUP), said the OUP would also be participating this year. Speaking with The Express Tribune, Saiyid said it was encouraging to see the frequency of these events increase “not only in Lahore but also in Karachi”.

She said allocation of funds, public campaigns and even subsidising of advertisement could be ways the government could help the organisers. Having recently organised the Children’s Literature Festival in Lahore, Saiyid said there was a need to engage with leading literary figures of the country to make such events successful. Stressing the need to ease visa policy for foreign publishers, Saiyid said such measures could help attract more foreign publishers to local literary events.

The Book Fair, the theme for which is Education for All; Books for Peace, has attracted publishers from all over Pakistan. With the greatest number of stalls booked from Lahore, Saeed said the response from the host city was very encouraging. The book fair will also host the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Punjab Textbook Board which will include art and calligraphy competitions for school children. “The aim is to engage children and promote their artistic skills through learning’,” said Saeed. More than 10,000 children participated in the book fair last year. The organisers hope for an even larger turnout this year.

Readings book store, which has 27 stalls at the Book Fair, has been participating in the event for the past five years. Speaking with The Express Tribune, Rao Abid, a manager at Readings, said book fairs were beneficial not just for the buyers but also for the book sellers.

“With hundreds of publishers under one roof, there is immense competition,” he said adding, “for book sellers, it’s an opportunity to expand their sales.”

Saeed said the Lahore International Book Fair had come a long way. “Two years ago we hosted the book fair in tents at Fortress Stadium, now we are arranging a huge event at the Expo Centre.” Aiming to plan the next book fair on a larger scale, Saeed said the organisers hoped to organise literary sessions alongside the fair next year.

Saeed hopes such events will help promote reading habits amongst children and adults. “We have to bring our people back to books,” he said. The Lahore International Book Fair will begin on February 3 and will continue till February 7 at the Lahore Expo Centre.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2012.