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| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
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Features |  |
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7th Colombo International Book Fair : Festival of books The countdown has begun. In five more days, it will be time for the 7th Colombo International Book Fair to be held at the BMICH Convention and Exhibition Centre from September 10-18. It will be open for visitors from 9.30 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. by Dilini Algama
According to Organising Committee Secretary Shan Rajaguru there will be 382 stalls. "That's a 22 per cent increase from last year's stalls and that's the maximum we can accommodate," says Rajaguru. And holding the record for the highest attendance for any fair held in Colombo, they just may be out to break their own record. The inauguration ceremony will take place on September 10 at 9.30 a.m. Her Excellency, Nirupama Rao, High Commissioner of India will be the Chief Guest and Ministry of Education Secretary Dr. Tara de Mel, Cyril C. Perera eminent author and translator known especially for his translation Mahalla Saha Muhuda of Ernest Hemmingway's, "Old Man and the sea". The exhibition will be held across a span of eight halls and according to Rajaguru, the exhibitors will include book publishers, booksellers, educational aids and material suppliers, authors, publishers and IT companies. There will be participants from UK, USA, Malaysia, India and Germany. The good news is that the Frankfurt Book Fair, the No. 1 book fair in the world has shown an interest in the Colombo International Book Fair and there will be stalls conducted by them too. Also, Rajaguru went on to say that the Penguin Publisher's Annual Sales Conference will be held to coincide with the book fair. The Managing Director of Penguin - UK, the President of Penguin - India and the International Sales Director of Bloomsbury (Publishers of Harry Potter) will also be participating. The two main objectives of holding the book fair is to develop the reading habit and to develop the publishing industry, and according to Chairman Vijitha Yapa Bookshop being the principal sponsor of the event commented that this is a well organised fair and an important national event. "Someone even referred to it as a Poth Mangalyaya, added Yapa. He went on to say that it is not just the enthusiasm of the visitors, but also the enthusiasm of the people in the trade, and that there are over hundred books to be launched at the fair. And not only book launches, there will be many cultural events held at the book fair. There will be performances by students from leading Colombo schools during the day and there will also be performances by university students every evening. "After all, it isn't just a trade fair, there's so much more to it. Colour, culture, social service ...", says Rajaguru. The Organising Committee will also felicitate the best performer at the grade nine scholarship exam from every province and with the association of Rupavahini, they have another project where they will start ten libraries. There will also be an art competition for children aged 15 and below and the University Librarians Association and the Royal Asiatic Society will organise seminars. Also, the award winning film Sulanga Enu Pinisa will be screened at the BMICH Cinema Hall on all nine days. Rajaguru is quick to say that they will provide covered seating and tables in the garden for visitors to relax (and read!). There will also be snack counters, drinking water (mineral), printed stall plans to those who may need them and shuttle bus services from Borella, Town Hall, and Bambalapitiya. "This is the annual event that makes available the best and the widest range of books published worldwide. There will be special discounts offered only at the book fair", informs Rajaguru. But the best news is yet to come. The Ministry of Education has released funds for 500 National and Navodya Schools to make their library purchases at the Colombo International Book Fair. As Weeraman of Samayawardhana Bookshop a co-sponsor of the event who is also a founding member of the Sri Lanka Book Publishers' Association has noticed, the Colombo International Book Fair is like no other exhibition. Weeraman says that families from outstations come to the fair bringing their own lunch, "with 35 years of experience in the book trade, I have not seen people this thirsty for books", says Weeraman in wonder. According to Sarasavi Bookshop Chairman Premasiri, a co-sponsor of the Book Fair, Sarasavi Bookshop will concentrate on book launches. "Altogether, there will be 12 launches and the highlight will be K. A. N. Perera's translation of Michael Ondaatje's "The English Patient", (Aganthuka rogiya).And indeed many different themes will be offered by many of the exhibitors. There will be exhibitors specialising in rare books, wildlife and nature, children's books, books on higher education, literature, music and a host of other subjects. For example, according to S. Godage and Brothers, Chairman Deshabandu Sirisumana Godage, also one of the co-sponsors of the Book Fair, they will launch 38 books written by children themselves. "We want to encourage children to write and to become writers". Jeya Book Centre Chairman Jeyaraja, the fourth co-sponsor of the Colombo International Book Fair says, they chose to sponsor to support Sri Lankan publishers and to develop the exhibition. "It's a grand exhibition. It's not Colombo International, it should be called the world International Book Fair ..." chuckles Jeyaraja. It is indeed a grand exhibition. Samaranayake says that they have been organising it from April, "it's tough", he says "experience, energy, patience, everything goes into it. We have achieved what we wanted". And it is smooth rolling for five more days. The Co-organiser of the Colombo International Book Fair is the BMICH Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Media Sponsor is Rupavahini, while the Official Bank is Sampath Bank. |
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| Produced by Lake House |
The First Colombo International Book Fair was held at Kala Bhavana with
less than thirty stalls. "Each was priced at Rs. 7,000 and there weren't
enough buyers, remembers Chairman Expographic Books (Pvt) Ltd., Ranjith
Samaranayake, the Exhibition Director and I smiled disbelievingly because he
is talking about the Colombo International Book Fair held in 1999. It sure
has come a very long way since then and the 7th Colombo International Book
Fair to be held in September will be an ample testimony to that observation.
