PATNA: Curtains came down on the 12-day 18th Patna Book Fair, held at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan here, on Tuesday evening amidst mixed reactions from publishers about the business done by them.
“We did good business this year,” Vinay Kumar Singh of Orient Blackswan told TOI. “Our sales revenue exceeded the target by more than Rs 2 lakh,” he added.
S Chand & Co’s sales manager Madhukar Mehrotra was equally satisfied. “Our business this time was quite encouraging. Really, there is no dearth of book lovers in Bihar,” Mehrotra said, adding that he had sold more than 5000 educational CDs too.
However, a Penguin India staff was not buoyant. “There is a serious dearth of quality readers, especially English readers, in Bihar. People have shown interest in a few books. But when it comes to business as a whole, it has been only so-so,” he told TOI.
Business was also encouraging at the Oxford University Press stall. “I am not in a position to give the specific sales revenue now. But there has been a 25% growth in sales revenue this time,” Shiv Kumar said.
Prabhat Prakashan, Vani Prakashan, Macmillan, Rajkamal Prakashan and other publishers were also happy with the response. U Siddique of the National Council for Promotion of Urdu told TOI: “More than 75% of our stocks was sold out, which was beyond expectations. It is very good.”
However, some publishers were sore with the high cost of stall at the Patna Book Fair. “The charge per square feet for stalls here is even higher than that at Kolkata Book Fair,” staff of a famous publisher said.
The fair was visited by about 8 lakh visitors from all parts of Bihar and also from other states like Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.
“The Centre for Readership Development (CRD), which organised the book fair, will hold a meeting soon. We will explore the prospects of organizing an international book fair next year. If things work out well, we will submit a proposal to the government in this regard,” a CRD official, Ratneshwar, said.
As on other days, a series of cultural events were organised at the fair on Tuesday, beginning with a spelling contest in English. About 150 winners of different competitions organised at the fair were also awarded.
Awards were also given to 10 schools for active participation in the book fair. They are Litera Valley School, Gyan Niketan School, St. Michael’s School, Delhi Public School, Loyola School, DAV Khagaul, RPS Public School, Pahari, St. John’s High School, Notre Dame Academy and Nimbus International School. Students of several other schools, colleges and institutes were also awarded for their good performance in different competitions.
Read more: Curtains come down on book fair – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Curtains-come-down-on-book-fair/articleshow/7141511.cms#ixzz18sRZc3Hf