There are only nine days left until the 46th International Kolkata Book Fair opens its doors.  A press conference was organized to announce the partners of the Kolkata Book Fair.

On January 30, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. at the Boimela Prangan in Salt Lake, Hon. Chief Minister Smt. Mamata Banerjee will officially launch the fair. Also present will be Ms. Maria Jose Galvez Salvador, Director-General of Books and Promotion of Reading, Spanish Ministry of Culture & Sports, Shri Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay, eminent author of Bengal, as well as other distinguished authors, dignitaries, and ministers of the state.

Some of the highlights of this year’s International Kolkata Book Fair:

1. 700 stalls and 200 Little Magazines will be there at the book fair.
2. There will be nine entry and exit gates in the IKBF 2023. One of the gates will be the replica of the Toledo Gate of Spain. Among the other gates, there will be Biswa Bangla Gate & Najrul’s Agnibina Gate.
3. The big two halls of the Book Fair with English publications have been named after Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Pyaricharan Sarkar, commemorating their bicentenary birth year. The Little Magazine Pavilions will be named after author-editor Ramapada Chowdhury to observe his birth centenary. Also, there will be an HDFC Ergo Press Corner and two Mukta Mancha (Open stage) named after Mrinal Sen and Tarun Mazumdar. The Children’s Pavilion will be based on the characters of Abol Tabol, celebrating 100 years of its publication.
4. Transport Department, Government of West Bengal has assured to provide additional bus services. For the first time, there will be a direct Metro connection from Sealdah railway station to Book Fair metro stations namely Central Park & Karunamoyee. With the help of Bidhannagar Police, the auto fare of various destinations has also been fixed for the Book Fair.
5. Forest Department, Government of West Bengal has come forward to make the Book Fair green and eco-friendly.
6. A special medical assistance service with ambulance and well-equipped doctors, by Peerless Hospitex Hospital And Research Centre Limited- the Health Partner of IKBF 2023.
7. The International Kolkata Book Fair 2023 android app to locate any stall in the fair, created by CESC will be available from the play store soon.
8. Around 20 Countries across the globe will participate in the International Kolkata Book Fair 2023. Thailand will be participating for the first time this year.
9. There will be a CESC Corner for eminent guests of the Book Fair like in earlier years. The daily lottery will be held from there, where CESC will distribute Book Gift Coupon worth Rs 15,000/- per day to the lucky winners.

The ‘Book Bumper Library lottery’ will be organized and a good number of winners will win a Book Gift Coupon of Rs 25,000/- each.

A special ‘CESC Sristi Samman’ will be awarded this year to Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay.

State Bank of India –the official Banker will provide full banking facilities, ATM, and E-services in the Fair Ground.

Live telecast will also be streamed on SNU TV and aajkaal.in.

The 9th edition of the Kolkata Literature Festival will be held for 3 days inside the SBI auditorium, from 9 to 11 February 2023.

Get ready to revel in the world of books soon!!

Priyanka Dutta