The 28th edition of the Lahore International Book Fair is set to open its doors to book lovers at the Lahore Expo Centre today (Wednesday)…and though the fair will feature 265 stalls, 40 of them set up by foreign publishers, several Indian publishers still await their visas.
LIBF Trust chairman Zubair Saeed told The Express Tribune that this year’s fair was pretty much the same as last year’s edition. Though the number of publishing houses that participated last year was around 300, he said, this year it’s 265. He said 220 local publishers from across the country will participate this year. As many as 45 stalls would be set up by publishers from UK, India, Turkey and the US. However, Saeed said, many Indian publishers and book sellers hoping to attend the LIBF had been denied visas, making the fair less attractive to international publishers. “India is home to many publishing houses and if they aren’t allowed to bring their businesses here, it would seriously discourage the local market as well,” he said.
Last year, 35 Indian publishers participated, he said, and did not face visa issues. In 2012, 20 out of 24 Indian publishers expected to participate in the LIBF, were granted visas the day the fair was scheduled to begin. “We are now receiving a lot of complaints from Indian and other foreign publishers,” said Saeed, “Some are so annoyed that they have said that they won’t participate again.” He said 17 Indian publishers had applied for visas to participate in the LIBF, and only two of them will be able to make it on Wednesday.”
The LIBF had to be rescheduled this year. Saeed said the fair was originally scheduled to be held from February 19 to February 23, but was rescheduled in view of a request by the government. “We were asked to reschedule because of the Punjab Youth Festival and the events linked to it,” he said, “but now even tjose seems to have been cancelled.”
The fair starts only two days after the Lahore Literary Festival ended. The LIBF Trust hopes to build synergies and link the events in the coming years. “We have been thinking about it since last year but have not been able to work towards it,” said Saeed. The LIBF Trust hopes for a potential partnership with the LLF in the coming years. “Both activities are linked to the same basic elements of knowledge and learning….both events are expansive in their own right and we can link on a larger platform.”
The book fair is expected to be inaugurated by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif at 11am at the Expo Centre. The fair will continue till March 2.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 26th, 2014.