New Delhi WORLD BOOK FAIR 2020
World Book Fair New Delhi - 04-12 January, 2020
The 28th edition of annual New Delhi World Book Fair, organised by National Book Trust, India in association with ITPO, will be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 4 to 12 January 2020.
"We are in the midst of ocean of books"
by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal
“We are in the midst of ocean of books”, said Dr Ramesh Pokhrial ‘Nishank’, Hon’ble Union Minister for Human Resource Development, while inaugurationg the 28th edition of New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on 4 January 2020. Dr Nishank added, this Mahakumbh of books is filled with thoughts, the thoughts which give power to humanity. “This book fair is a place where people meet each other and share new thoughts and ideas,” said Dr Nishank.
The theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 is ‘Gandhi: The Writers’ Writer’ to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma Gandhi was a prolific writer, editor, publisher, Printer and Institution Builder. The theme is an attempt to give booklovers a glimpse of how Mahatma Gandhi, a great strategic communicator, inspired and influenced generations of writers and how the writers understood and emulated Gandhiji in words. In the specially designed pavilion (inspired by Sabarmati Ashram), with hand-spun materials as wall cladding; there is an exclusive exhibition of 500 books of 100 publishers on and by Gandhi in different Indian languages, as well as 30 panel discussions, book launches and performances related to the theme.
During the Fair, various literary events, discussions, conversation with authors & scholars, book release functions, children’s activities, film screenings on the theme of the fair, cultural programmes, etc. will be organized. Some of the well-known speakers who will participate in these programmes include, Dr Rakesh Pande, Dr Varsha Das, Shri Aflatoon, Shri Avinash Dudhe, Shri Firoz Khan, Ms Fouzia Khan, Shri Suresh Sharma, Shri Rajeev Shrivastava, Shri Rajeev Raj, Ms Shashiprabha Tewari, Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, Prof. Rizwan Kaisar, Dr M William Bhaskaran, Dr T Ravichandran, Dr Sachidanand Joshi, former Justice Narendra Chapalgaonkar, Ms Deena Patel, Shri Annamalai, Dr Sumer Singh Siddhu, Dr Khushwant Singh Bargadi, among others.
.At the Children’s Pavilion (Hangar near Hall No. 7H), a number of activities like seminars, panel discussions, storytelling sessions, workshops on creative writing and illustrations among others will be organized to promote books and reading amongst children and young adults. The pavilion has been decorated with specially designed panels on tactile and silent books. A special career counseling session for persons with special needs will also be organized. A number of schools and NGOs will also participate in these activities.
Over 15 countries including Abu Dhabi, China, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iran, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sharjah, Spain, Sri Lanka, UK, USA, are participating in the Foreign Pavilion at the Fair. They are housed at the Foreign Pavilion, Hall No. 7ABC.
India as Guest of Honour: NBT has been playing a significant role in promoting Indian books and authors abroad. NBT regularly participates in major international book fairs like Sharjah International Book Fair, London Book Fair, Frankfurt Book Fair, etc. Recently, India was the Guest of Honour country at Abu Dhabi International Book Fair held in April 2019, and at Guadalajara International Book Fair, Mexico in November 2019. India will also be Guest of Honour country at forthcoming Paris Book Fair in March 2020. NBT being the nodal agency, coordinates the Guest of Honour Country Presentations at International Book Fairs. A special photo exhibition on the GoH Presentations – 2019-2020 will be put up at Hall 7A. In addition, the NBT titles translated and published in Arabic and Spanish as part of the Guest Country Presentations, will also be put on display.
Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat: A special photo exhibition on NBT’s contribution in promoting books in schools and libraries under Govt. of India’s programme for the school education will also be put up outside Hall No.7.
Publishers: This year, more than 600 publishers from India and Abroad are participating ata the book fair. The Indian publishers exhibiting books in different languages include Bangla, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Maithili, Malayalam, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu across more than 1300 stalls at the Fair.
