Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

11-day international book fair begins in capital on Thursday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The capital city will play host to an eleven-day-long international book fair beginning Thursday.

The book fair, being organised in the Kanakakkunnu Palace Grounds by the Kerala State Institute of Children’s Literature as part of the Grand Kerala Shopping Festival, will be inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari.

All the major publishers in the country such as Penguin Books, Oxford University Press, Rolly Publications, Rupa Publications, Sahitya Akademi, Pierson International, Orient Longman, Scholastic, Sage, Macmillan and National Book Trust of India besides all the major publishers in Malayalam would be participating in the fair, Children’s Institute director Rubin D’Cruz told a news conference here on Monday.

The book fair will also feature lectures, seminars on publishing, book releases and cultural programmes including performances of Theyyam, Kuthiyottam, Mudiyett, Sarpam paatt, Kolam thullal, Kanyar kali and Chavittunaatakam.

Beginning December 30, there will be special programmes for children featuring performers like Mrinalini Sarabhai and Kanchana Mukherjee.

Although the book fair will be declared open on December 27, sale of books will begin only on December 29.

Governor R. L. Bhatia will preside over the inaugural ceremony, which will be addressed by Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Education and Culture Minister M. A. Baby, Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem, among others.

Special programmes for children will include daily book review contests for children, classes on Malayalam language and literature by poet D. Vinayachandran, and painting competition on the topic ‘My Planet’, to be organised in association with All India Radio, and screening of films forming part of the Doordarshan series titled ‘Kathapaithrukam’.

A workshop on book publishing is also being organised as part of the fair. It will be inaugurated by former NBT director Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharya.

Speakers in the lecture series will include writers Sukumar Azhikode and Jayasree Mishra, Ministers M. A. Baby and T. M. Thomas Isaac, and social critic K. E. N. Kunhahammed.

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