New Delhi World Book Fair turns annual

The preparations for the now annual New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 are in full swing. National Book Trust (NBT), the organizers of the event, is leaving no stone unturned for a successful and a better show. Time is short but the energies high…Here’s more on the NBT Publishers’ Meet held in New Delhi to discuss none other than the expectations and the preparations for the New Delhi World Book Fair. The NBT Publishers’ Meet was held at IIC, New Delhi on November 3, 2012 to discuss the expectations and the preparations at the New Delhi World Book Fair to be held from February 4-10, 2013. The agenda for discussion included online and offline bookings for stalls; a slightly lesser exhibition areas (44,000 sq m as against 45,000 last year); creation of separate space for e-content developers; inauguration of the fair by honourable HRM Pallum Raju; to name a few. MA Sikander, director, NBT is infact talking to every stakeholder to make the event more meaningful and of course successful.

First Guest of Honour…

It was informed that France will become the first guest of honour during the upcoming New Delhi World Book Fair and will be present in the foreign pavilion (7-A, 7-B and 7-C), coinciding with the celebration of Bonjour India – festival of France. The BIBF and Embassy of France will bring a delegation of publishers and authors to present a cultural programme with food court, etc. Besides, B2B meeting could be organized by NBT with them as well.

Also, Poland has shown interest to be the guest of honour for the 2014 edition but it is yet to be finalized.

Theme pavilion…

The theme pavilion this year, would focus on ‘Indigenous Voices – Mapping India’s Folk & Tribal Literature’ (Hall 7-E), where publishers can display their books on this subject as well as be a part of the Rights Catalogue. Books in English and all Indian languages related to the theme including studies on tribalism, folk and tribal lore, art and culture, performances, music, new writing across various literary genres, legends and myths, will be on display. Moreover, there would be folk performances from Sangeet Natak Akademi and Navodaya Vidyalaya.

Facilities improvised…

Keeping in mind the interests of the exhibitors as well as visitors, facilities at the fair will be improved. The Rights Table will be organized with the close proximity with foreign pavilion with programmes like match-making etc to promote B2B activities. The list of the publishers will be prominently displayed at the entrance of every hall. Author’s corner will be a part of the hall and cultural programmes will also be held at Lal Chowk and Falaknuma.

Choice from 2014…

It was also discussed that for 2014 (14-23 February 2014), the NBT will facilitate online booking of space of their choice.

Publishers’ speak…

Around 50 participants including top-of-the-line publishers, officials of the associations and senior officials from NBT were present at the meet. A few of the participants suggested that the first half of the fair should have dedicated business hours. While another one requested for more publicity out of Delhi region. Another one requested for provision of food/drinks inside the halls for the convenience of small exhibitors. Problem of carrying books from parking area to exhibitor’s stand was also pointed out.

In all, it was a healthy discussion to make New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 to be a truly international fair. The preparations have begun and the industry is anxiously waiting for the better show.

The annual fair has brought back energy to NBT

says MA Sikander, director, National Book Trust, in an exclusive interview with P&P. He asserts that NBT is equipped to make New Delhi World Book Fair an annual affair and the 2013 edition would indeed be a better show, despite less time to prepare.

The logo of New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 depicts the mandate to promote reading habits, the primary aim of the fair. From this year, the show has become an annual fair but NBT is not perturbed with the preparations. “We have huge manpower – 250 regular employees and 100 on contractual basis. Yes, at times, there is a shortage of right kind of manpower but with the deployment of outsourcing services; we are able to manage the show. For example, we have outsourced the warehousing, ERP and are redistributing manpower to our new requirement,” told MA Sikander, director, NBT.

“Infact, making New Delhi World Book Fair an annual meet has brought back energy to the organization. We have no option but to perform at our optimum level,” he added. “Infact, we are reenergizing the organization; we are training and educating our staff for skill enhancement and equip them to understand the changing scenario. Team work is the need of the hour and this brings in more efficiency.”

“The support from the industry has been tremendous…the event is not for NBT but for the industry at large and they are happy to make it an annual fair. However, due to sudden change in fair’s frequency from bi-annual to annual, availability of time slot and expo halls from ITPO, the number of days have been reduced to seven and there is a marginal decrease in the availability of total exhibition area; but we hope that the number of exhibitors would, by large, remain the same. Though, there may be less space available for the bigger exhibitors,” told Sikander.

Also, in an effort to bring the show at par with international fairs, NBT has introduced the guest of honour and this time, France is the guest of honour. “There will be a delegation of 35 authors and publishers from France coming to India to promote each other’s literature,” he added.

“Besides, there would be a separate area for e-contents and big players like Khobo, Amazon, Aptara, etc have shown interest, informed Sikander. “Moreover, to attract authors and visitors, there would be Author’s Corner in every hall where authors can meet and interact with the readers,” he added.

With such high hopes and preparations, the New Delhi World Book Fair 2013 will indeed be a show not to miss!