Kolkata Book Fair 2023 – Date, Time, Location & Theme

Kolkata Book Fair has been part of Bengal’s rich culture since its inception in 1976. Winter without the book fair is incomplete. The citizens forward to its book fair every year. With over 600 book stalls, Kolkata Book Fair is a fusion of literature and cultures– a be-all and end-all for bibliophiles in Kolkata and West Bengal.

The International Kolkata Book Fair is a one-of-a-kind event that offers tons of books from various authors, countries, and cultures. People travel and soak themselves in a magical zone like never before as there are art performances and food too. 

In this article, you will know about the organizer, publishers, authors, theme, date, time, venue and history of the fair. If you are planning to visit soon, get the latest updates for Kolkata Book Fair 2023 here.

Who Organizes Kolkata Book Fair?

The International Kolkata book fair, also known as Antarjatik Kolkata Boi Mela or Antarjatik Kolkata Pustak Mela, is organized by the Publishers and Booksellers Guild every year. Presently, Sudhangshu Sekhar Dey is the Guild’s president. The International Publishers Association, Geneva, has recognized the Kolkata book fair and has incorporated it into the calendar of book fairs they publish. 

Since 2018, the Fair has been held at the Central Park Mela Ground, Bidhannagar, Salt Lake. This quintessential Fair is mainly for the general people than the wholesale book distributors.

Theme Of Kolkata Book Fair

Starting in 1990, the Kolkata book fair is themed every year based on a country. A Pavilion is provided for the theme country’s embassy at the fairground centre. Moreover, the fair entrances are designed according to the theme based on a competition among various students of Kolkata.

Since the 80s, the Kolkata book fair witnessed the theme of Russia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, France, Australia, Great Britain, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Spain, Cuba, and many more. The chief guests of the fair like Richard Dawkins, Gunter Grass, Mulk Raj Anand, Paul Theroux, and Alexander McCall Smith are dignitaries from the themed country.

While Bangladesh was the theme of the 45th book fair in 2022, Spain is selected for the 46th book fair in 2023. Apart from it, the UK, USA, Russia, Italy, Japan, Iran, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and several Latin American countries were placed in the International complex. The Fair is not only about books; it celebrates music, art, theatre, and all the things that add meaning to our lives.

History Of Kolkata Book Fair

In the early 1970s, a group of literature enthusiasts was having a discussion at the Indian Coffee House at College Street about the Frankfurt Book fair. They wanted to replicate the commercial trade fair of books and give book lovers a place to exchange thoughts and ideas. The idea was discussed, debated, and finally given shape in 1975 as Kolkata Book Fair. Then the Publishers and Booksellers Guild came into being, with Sushil Mukherjee as its first president and Jayant Manaktala as general secretary.

1976 to 1980

The progressing youngsters of the Kolkata publishing fraternity disputed the idea in 1975. It took great ability and dexterity for the new Publishers and Booksellers Guild to pacify their affected sensibilities. With only 34 publishers and 56 stalls, the first International Kolkata Book Fair materialized in the city’s heart after a year of ideation on a patch of land between Victoria Memorial and the Academy of Fine Arts.

Since 1976, the book fair has taken over the city each year for 12 days, and it ran for 15 days 2007 due to heavy rainfall. The book fair is resilient because it put itself back together after the fire in 1997 and ran for 20 days. 

The Book Fair started on 9th March that year. It was not the best season for Kolkata because of the scorching heat and the threat of the nor’ westers. Finally, in the fourth year of the Fair, the Guild decided and resolved to organize it every year.

By the late 80s, the crowds were too large, and the stalls were in high demand for the fair to stay next to Victoria Memorial. It was moved to Kolkata’s lung, in the corner of the huge green Maidan. The new site became more central to the city.

1981 to 2007

It was moved to Kolkata’s lung- on the huge green Maidan. The new site became more central. The Maidan has always been an organic part of Kolkata’s winter. That corner used to be the home of the Book Fair for the next 15 years.

The venue of Maidan did not continue because the day before the 2007 edition, the Kolkata High Court declared that the dust and fumes from the Fair were causing damage to the environment as well as Victoria Memorial. The Kolkata book fair was rescheduled at short notice and was held 16 Km away at the grounds of the Salt Lake Stadium, where it was again flooded out due to unseasonal rain, and it ran for 15 days instead of 12.

2009 to 2023

In 2009, the Fair was held on the Milan Mela Ground near Science City on E. M. Bypass. Later in 2018, the location of the Fair was shifted to Central Park Mela Ground, Bidhannagar, Salt Lake, due to renovations.

The International Kolkata book fair 2021 was postponed to 2022 due to the outbreak of Covid-19. After a pandemic-forced gap of two years, the book fair returned to the city, much to the joy of book lovers.

In 2022, the heartbeat of book lovers pranged into a joyous rhythm. The theme country of this fair was Bangladesh for the celebration of the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the golden jubilee of Bangladesh’s independence. The Bangladesh Pavilion is based on the iconic speech of Bangabandhu on 7th March 1971.

On 13th March 2022, Guild announced the theme would be Spain for the 46th Kolkata Book Fair 2023.

Date And Location Of Kolkata Book Fair

Just like 2022, Kolkata Book Fair is back in 2023 with the theme country of Spain. The 46th edition of the book fair held from 30th January to 12th February, 2022 at Central Park Mela Ground in Salt Lake. Here is a full list of date, location and theme of Kolkata Book Fair since 2012.

How To Reach the Book Fair?

Once located in Kolkata Lungs, the Maidan, the book fair, has now been shifted to the new age city of Bidhannagar, Salt Lake. It is not only well connected to major parts of Kolkata but now has a functioning Metro network spanning over a distance of 6 km.

The nearest metro station and bus stand to the Fair is Sector V, just just 2.2 Km away from the Central Park Mela Ground. The newly inaugurated Sector V metro station will be very helpful to reach Kolkata Book Fair in 2023. The State Government allocates various special buses and shuttles every year for smooth accessibility for the people of Kolkata and beyond to reach the venue without much hesitation.

Buses are allocated from all parts of the city to reach and depart from the venue. Special auto-rickshaw services are also available during this time of the year.

Special buses are allocated by the State Government for easy accessibility from almost every corner of the city for the Kolkata book fair every year. You can avail them from Howrah Railway station, Sealdah Railway station, Dum Dum Railway station, Ultadanga, Santragachi Railway station, Joka and Behala, Garia, Jadavpur 8 B bus stand, Chingrighata More, Shovabazaar, Esplanade (Dharmatala) and Dunlop More. 

S12, AC19, S16, AC9, S9, S4, S14, AC36, etc. are some of the buses for travelling to the book fair from various parts of Kolkata. Buses are more in number in the evening for easy access of the book lovers for their easy commute towards home.

Publishers, Authors, and Exhibitors at Kolkata Book Fair

Welcome to one of the world’s largest book fair, where disparate ideologies breathe the same air and novels on love are shelved with books, booklets and magazines on poems and short stories. From comics to fiction, painting books to medical, travel to wildlife, spirituality to science, history to literature- everything is available here. When visiting the Kolkata book fair, look for the stall list and then plan your time.

The Fair offers a typical fairground experience with a book flavour- with artists, singers, songwriters, authors, writers, dramatists, dancers, actors, candy floss vendors, street food stalls, and whatnot. The book fair is also good for various small-scale writers and artists who are in financial distress or rejected by publishing houses but with strong willpower and dedication, showcasing their creations.

After 2 long years, the crowds have returned to the 2022 Kolkata book fair with long queues outside stalls of several Bengali and International publishers. The Fair usually hosts 800 stalls, but it was reduced to 580 stalls this year because of the pandemic. There are 9 gates and 200 Little Magazines. The collections are vast, ranging from classics, and thrillers to non-fiction, sci-fi to manga, self-help, and more.

The whole venue of the book fair is divided into four sections which are clearly visible on the map-

• Open Ground: The open ground consists of stalls of various National, International, and state publishers, institutions, universities, manufacturers, distributors, food, and many more. Examples: Aajkal publishers, Chhaya Publication, Academic Association, University of Calcutta, Zoological Survey of India, Alliance broadband, Ananda Publishers PVT LTD, Dey Publications, Kolkata Police, etc. Other state publishers from Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Delhi, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu also participated. 
• International: At the International complex, there are stalls with foreign books from different countries like Japan, Mexico, France, Italy, the USA, Spain, Russia, and Iran, which have joined for the first time.
• Inside Hall: In the 45th edition of the book fair, there were two auditoriums named after Sri Aurobindo Ghosh (Hall 1) and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose (Hall 2). English publications are primarily housed here. Examples: Heritage publishers, Star World Book Center, Raja Rammohun Roy Foundation, Seagull books, Penguin India, Scholastic India PVT LTD., Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, etc.
• Little Magazine: A corner of the book fair is always reserved for these Little Magazines. Most of the small publishers of Bengali Literature have made considerable contributions to these magazines. They have prowled in the book fair premises giving away magazines to their promising readers.

Many authors, writers, directors, historians, and theatre personalities visit the book fair every year. Notable writers, litterateur, and dignitaries like Ms Magela Baudoin, Beppe Severgnini, Ruskin Bond, Vikram Seth, Shashi Tharoor, Amit Chaudhuri, Mohammed Hanif, Chetan Bhagat, Nicholas Wilde, Mrinal Sen, Sunil Gangopadhyay, Suchitra Bhattacharya, Shakti Chattopadhyay, Jacques Derrida, Satyajit Ray visited and inaugurated the book fair over the years.

Beyond Book Attractions

A book fair is a place where minds meet irrespective of creed, language, or religion- the perfect amalgamation of Art and Culture. The International Kolkata Book Fair has a lot of untold stories that deserve to be seen and heard by book and art enthusiasts.

Seminars, Book readings, plays, dances, drama, drawings, paintings, street performances, and many cultural programs are held at the Literary festival every year. Furthermore, there is a children’s pavilion for the kids to indulge in and enjoy themselves.

There are ample seating areas for the elders, organized musical and other art performances, direct interaction with the artists and authors, press coverage, food stalls, and emergency, and medical services.

Many events are carried out in the auditoriums like book launches, dance events, musical events, and many other cultural activities. There are numerous stalls of jewellery, handicraft, clothing, and a lot of unique items by various artists all over the country, which attract people in between their book haul. If you like handicrafts and arts, Kolkata Handicraft Fair is a must-visit event for you.

A fair without food is absolutely not believable. Get a variety of cuisines for food lovers and those who want to take breaks between buying books. Glorious Kolkata street food such as rolls, phuchkas, mughlai, chaat, paratha, etc., are available in the food lanes of the book fair. Some of the food stalls even have longer queues than many other book stalls at the fair.

Frequently Asked Questions

Kolkata Book Fair – Bottom Line

The International Kolkata Book Fair is a spectacle that is huge, loud, crowded, intellectual, artistic, musical, nostalgic, controversial, chaotic, and gastronomic. It encapsulates the character of the city and its most seen folk–literary Bengali in its way.

The book fair serves as a hub that caters to the intellectual and cultural curiosity of the masses, starting from kindergarten-going toddlers to the older generations. It has been a go-to place for every individual during winter. The book fair holds a lot of emotion for most of the people in Kolkata. The perfect mix of literature, art, music, controversy, facts, thoughts, and emotions can be found here.

The International Kolkata book fair or Boi Mela is a space where everyone converges. Readers rediscover their old love, non-readers discover their love for reading, and everyone returns with a book and some lovely memories. If you love visiting fairs and festivals, Kolkata Trade Fair can also be a great destination for you.