The month-long Amar Ekushey Boi Mela 2024 is scheduled to take place from February 1 to February 29.
The fair will be held on the Bangla Academy premises and the adjacent venue at the Suhrawardy Udyan in the capital, according to a press conference held on Tuesday at the academy's AKSB auditorium.
Books worth Tk47 crore sold in Amar Ekushey Book Fair in 27 days
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the fair on Thursday, February 1.
She will also distribute the Bangla Academy Literary Award 2023 among the recipients at the inaugural ceremony and unveil the covers of several new books, including "Collected Works of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman: Volume-2," published by Bangla Academy.
Curtain falls on Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2023
Bangla Academy Director General and Amar Ekushey Book Fair Directory Committee President poet Nurul Huda, Bangla Academy Secretary Dr Md Hasan Kabir, Director of Public Relations-IT and Training Department Sameer Kumar Sarkar, Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2024 associate BKash Limited’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Mir Nawbut Ali and Secretary of Amar Ekushey Book Fair Committee Dr KM Mujahidul Islam briefed the details of this year's Ekushey Book Fair at the press conference, conducted by the academy’s Public Relations Officer poet Pias Majid, on Tuesday.
Kid’s zone of Ekushey Book Fair abuzz with little book lovers
Bangla Academy President and novelist Selina Hossain will chair the innaugural ceremony of the book fair, while Cultural Affairs Secretary Khalil Ahmed will be present as a special guest.
Bangla Academy Director General, poet Nurul Huda, will deliver the welcome remarks.
The territory of this year’s book fair will cover a total area of 11,50,000 square feet, like the previous editions. A total of 937 units have been allocated to 635 organisations this year.
Out of this, 173 units have been allocated to 120 organisations on the academy premises and 764 units to 515 organisations at the Suhrawardy Udyan section, compared to 901 units to 601 organisations last year.
The fair will also have 37 pavilions (one on the Academy premises and 36 in the Suhrawardy Udyan section).
At the press conference, it was announced that the Bangla Academy is solely organising the fair this year without any event management associates for the first time since 2006 and has brought some changes in setting up book stalls and other facilities, including food courts.
"This year, the outer path of the fair has been relocated closer to the Kali Mandir gate due to the metro rail station's placement. There will also be eight entry and exit ways in the TSC, Doyel Chattar, MRT Basing Plant, and Engineering Institution areas," Dr Mujahidul Islam said at the press conference.
The food stalls are located within the Engineers' Institution's boundaries and have been structured in a way so that they won’t create any disturbance to the readers attending the book fair. The fairgoers will also have access to the prayer area, restrooms, and other facilities," he added.
The traditional "Shishu Prohor" segment will take place for the child fairgoers every Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 1 pm The dedicated "Shishu Chattar" will remain in its previous place, adjacent to the temple area, like last year.
There will be seminars on the main stage of the fair venue at 4:00 pm every day, followed by cultural events. The Little Magazine premises have been shifted near the open stage of Suhrawardy Udyan, which will cater to around 170 LittleMags stalls.
The fair venue was first extended to Suhrawardy Udyan in 2013 to accommodate more spaces for the fair, besides its fixed venue at the Bangla Academy.
There will be strict security arrangements in and around the venue by the Bangladesh Police, RAB, BGB, and other security enforcement agencies to prevent any unpleasant incidents. The entire fair zone will be closely monitored with more than 300 CCTV cameras.
The "Chittaranjan Saha Memorial Award" will be distributed to the best publishers. At the same time, the "Munir Chowdhury Memorial Award" will be conferred upon three organisations for publishing the best books during the 2023 fair.
In addition to that, the "Rokanuzzaman Khan Dadabhai Memorial Award" will be awarded to the best children's book, and the "Artist Qayyum Chowdhury Memorial Award" will be awarded to the best-designed stall at the fair.
The month-long book fair is arranged every year in February to commemorate the sacrifices of people who gave their lives on February 21, 1952, for establishing Bangla as the mother tongue.
The traditional Amar Ekushey Book Fair began informally in 1972 on Bangla Academy premises; however, the academy officially took the responsibility to arrange the fair regularly, every year since 1978.
It was then named "Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela," and a guideline was laid out in this regard in 1984.
The fairgoers can visit the fair from 3 pm to 9 pm on regular days and from 11 am to 9 pm on holidays. However, all entrance points will be closed after 8.30 pm.
On February 21, International Mother Language Day, fairgoers can enter the fair at 8 am.