Young India is reading New Delhi World Book Fair

The annual New Delhi World Book Fair is organised by the government nodal agency National Book Trust, India, in association with India Trade Promotion Organisation, with the express aim to promote reading habit among schoolchildren and youth, besides promoting publishing

With physical book shops shrinking, and with almost zero availability of information about the range of children’s books published in the country, the Fair offers both children and their parents a chance of pick and choose the best of children’s writing

The New Delhi World Book Fair 2017 set a new record this year, with book lovers turning up in hordes. According to Kumar Samresh, deputy director, publicity, NBT, there was 25% hike in the footfall this year. “Usually, every year the footfall is low on the first few days, especially on weekdays. However, this year, on day one, we saw a ticket sale of around 75,000 – this is exclusive of about 20,000 tickets sold at the metro stations across the capital, and the online bookings,” he said

As usual, college students and young professionals made up the bulk of visitors at the Fair. They had their agendas set. Some came looking for textbooks, some popular fiction, some trade books, while some others were looking for old books at bargain prices

The Fair also echoed the Central government’s education promotion campaigns like ‘Padhoge toh badhoge’ (grow with reading) and ‘Padhe Bharat, badhe Bharat’ (India reads, India grows)

The most exciting place for children and adults during the Fair was the Children’s Pavilion on Hall 14, which saw the gathering of all major publishers of children’s writing under one roof. There were also performances and activities for and by children. It was also the most crowded hall

The Fair was also a showcase of National Book Trust, India’s range of books for children and young adults

With physical book shops shrinking, and with almost zero availability of information about the range of children’s books published in the country, the Fair offers both children and their parents a chance of pick and choose the best of children’s writing

Besides books, the Children’s Pavilion at the fair also had assorted activities for schoolchildren, from performances by children and arts and crafts

Besides books, the Children’s Pavilion at the fair also had assorted activities for schoolchildren, from performances by children and arts and crafts

Besides books, the Children’s Pavilion at the fair also had assorted activities for schoolchildren, from performances by children and arts and crafts

National Book Trust, India is a prolific publisher, especially facilitating translations between India languages and between English and the local languages. The books are also priced low. However, due to the lack of proper availability, the Fair becomes only place where visitors could pick and choose their favourite titles

The highlight of New Delhi World Book Fair 2017 was a young woman, Savi Sharma, who sold 100,000 copies of her self-published debut novel, ‘Everyone Has a Story’. As these success stories go, Westland Books promptly acquired the title, reprinted it, and is now promoting Sharma’s second book, ‘This is not your Story’

In between sharing the joy of reading, the Fair also had a discussion on copyright laws during New Delhi Rights Table, one of the flagship events for publishers. On the occasion, Michael Healy, executive director, international relations, copyright clearance centre, discussed the major challenges faced by the global publishing industry

Like the past few occasions during New Delhi World Book Fair, this year too, Repro had one of the biggest and most visible stalls where the company promoted its alliance with Ingram in India, the power of online selling and the eRetail movement. Repro has listed over half a million titles for leading Indian and global publishers online

Understandably, any discussion on books for children in India cannot be complete without Amar Chitra Katha, which has been retelling Indian mythological stories in comic strips for years

Amidst printed books, the Fair also hosted several new and established firms, including Print Mirchi, which offers design and other pre-press services

Not just for readers, the Fair was also an opportunity for young writers to explore self-publishing opportunities. With different firms offering different services, Chennai-based Notion Press remains one of the biggest firms offering self-publishing services

In between sharing the joy of reading, the Fair also had a discussion on copyright laws during New Delhi Rights Table, one of the flagship events for publishers. On the occasion, Michael Healy, executive director, international relations, copyright clearance centre, discussed the major challenges faced by the global publishing industry

India’s education book market is said to be worth Rs 30,000 crore. According to the Nielsen report, the Indian book market numbers for 2015 was Rs 32,000 crore, out of which 94% was for education books. Only Rs 1,800 crore was non-education trade books, and Rs 30,000 crore for education books. So naturally, large education book publishers had biggest showcases at the Fair. The Elsevier stall during NDWBF 2017

Author’s Corners are a special attraction to the New Delhi World Book Fair, where authors get together and regale visitors with all things literature. For publishers, it also serves as a platform to launch new releases. Rita Chowdhury, director, National Book Trust, India attends an Author’s Corner event on Day Eight

Among the print service providers, Manipal Technologies had a big presence, showcasing its book printing prowess

Amidst printed books, the Fair also hosted several new and established design firms, including Creative Graphics, which offers design and other pre-press services

The Fair echoed the Central government’s education promotion campaigns like ‘Padhoge toh badhoge’ (grow with reading) and ‘Padhe Bharat, badhe Bharat’ (India reads, India grows)

In between sharing the joy of reading, the Fair also had a discussion on copyright laws during New Delhi Rights Table, one of the flagship events for publishers. On the occasion, Michael Healy, executive director, international relations, copyright clearance centre, discussed the major challenges faced by the global publishing industry

The theme of the Fair this year was Manushi, showing the range of literature on and by women in all Indian languages. To mark the occasion, NBT also launched a calendar which was released by minister of human resource development Prakash Javadekar on Day Four. The calendar featured 12 representative women scholars from India, from Gargi Vachaknavi to Bahinabai

The Fair was a showcase of National Book Trust, India’s range of books. It also offers large spaces to other government sponsored publishing ventures like Sahitya Akademi and Publication Division

ePUB-Hub, a prominent 360 degree digital publishing platform, powered by Cygnet Infotech, made its presence felt pan-India with its participation in the New Delhi World Book Fair 2017

India’s education book market is said to be worth Rs 30,000 crore. According to the Nielsen report, the Indian book market numbers for 2015 was Rs 32,000 crore, out of which 94% was for education books. Only Rs 1,800 crore was non-education trade books, and Rs 30,000 crore for education books. So naturally, large education book publishers had biggest showcases at the Fair. The Springer Nature stall during NDWBF 2017

India’s education book market is said to be worth Rs 30,000 crore. According to the Nielsen report, the Indian book market numbers for 2015 was Rs 32,000 crore, out of which 94% was for education books. Only Rs 1,800 crore was non-education trade books, and Rs 30,000 crore for education books. So naturally, large education book publishers had biggest showcases at the Fair. The Ratna Sagar stall during NDWBF 2017