Publishers expect more sales this year

Publishers and sales attendants on Sunday said that they were expecting better sales this year than the previous year, evaluating the first week of the Eushey Book Fair.

They said that the book fair, one of the biggest cultural events in the country, was gaining momentum with the number of visitors increasing gradually.

Anyaprakash’s public relation officer Alauddin Titu said that they were very happy about the sales in the first week of the fair.

‘We have sold too many books on Friday and Saturday but the beginning was too good this year. The visitors are buying books of Mostaq Ahmed and Imdadul Haq Milan,’ he said.

Alauddin said that they hoped this year’s sales would break the previous records.

At least 116 new titles were unveiled on the eighth day of month-long book fair. With these, the total number of new titles unveiled in the fair so far rose to 958.

A total of 4,834 new titles were released in 2019, highest in the past decade. Sales were estimated at around Tk 77.55 crore with the academy stall alone sold books worth Tk 2.15 crore in 2019.

University Press Limited sales attendant said, ‘We are very happy about the sales of this year. We are offering academic and research books. We hope that our sales will increase’.

‘Our first week sales are better than that of the previous year. The demand of books on liberation war has increased this year. We will publish 80 books this year where 60 were already published’, said Prothoma sales coordinator Mohammad Yousuf.

‘The first week is satisfactory for us. The readers are demanding novels, science fiction and phycology. Sale of books by Mostaq Ahmed and Istiaq Ahmed  is good this year so far’, said Mohammad Yousuff, a sales coordinator of Anindya Prakash.

However, some of the small publishers said that their sales were not better in the first week.

Ahmed Munir, publisher of Uchchhwas Prakashani said, ‘The sales are not increased this year. Big houses are offering books of noted writers and their sales are better than us.’

‘We cannot sale better because of the position of our stall. It is at the last end of the fairground’, said Ataur Rahman Sumon, owner of Medha Publications.

Nusrat Sharmin, a housewife, said, ‘I bought books of Ahmed Sahbuddin, Sadat Hossain and Ali Ahsan. I am searching for some novels.’  She emphasised on parking facility near the fairground.

Abu Taleb Jewel, a businessman who came at the fair along with his family, was happy with the extended area of the fairground.

There are parallel events that turn the fair into a site of carnival of culture and knowledge.

A discussion was held on the book titled ‘Uppanyashey Bangabandhu’ penned by Milton Biswas. Writer Prasanta Mridha presented the keynote paper at the event, presided over by writer Anwara Syed Haq.

Poets and writers recited poems while singers entertained the audience presenting popular songs to the delight of the audience.

The fair remains open for visitors from 3:00pm till 9:00pm on weekdays.

On holidays and weekends, the fair remains open from 11:00am till 9:00pm.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net