New Delhi World Book Fair 2025 draws over two million visitors in nine days

The New Delhi World Book Fair 2025 saw a record footfall of over two million visitors highlighting Indias growing love for the written word believe organisers as well as writers and readers who attended the ninedaylong annual literary galaThere was plenty of jostling and elbowing as book enthusiasts flocked to Bharat Mandapam the venue for NDWBF 2025 from February 19 to catch a glimpse of the authors they admire or to hunt for their next favourite pageturnerFeaturing over 2000 publishers and exhibitors including the giants in Hindi and English publications such as Penguin Random House Harper Collins Bloomsbury Raj Kamal Prakashan and Vani Prakashan the event pulled out all the stops to make the event a haven for book loversRepublic75 the theme this year served as a platform for the event to explore the countrys cultural heritage and its aspirations for the future It proved to be a hit among the readers young and old alikeThe NDWBF started in 1972 and from that year the everincreasing response from the people of Delhi is what we expected and we are getting it as well This time the footfall was excellent extraordinary and my prediction is ldquothough the exact official numbers are yet to be releasedrdquo that we will cross 25 lakhThis is great The footfalls have increased by almost 20 per cent compared to last yearThis only shows that the reading habit in India is not declining at all In fact it is increasing and the publication market is also growing at an 18 per cent rate National Book Trust NBT chairman prof Milind Sudhakar Marathe told PTIWith people from all walks of life attending the muchloved fairs 32nd edition publishing houses noted that the literary choices of buyers was a diverse mix with everything from fiction and nonfiction to selfhelp scifi and childrens books finding their audienceFor instance Penguin Random House India PRHI witnessed a major bump in the sales figures of its fiction works from previous years along with a spike in demand for books by Indian authors such as Akshat Guptas The Hidden Hindu and The Naga Warriors Nona Uppals Fool Me Twice or Srishti Chaudharys Lallan SweetsIt is a mixed bag People are buying everything that we have offered them But if I have to pick up things that are moving better than another fiction of course is a lot better than I had seen in the past Apart from fiction I see a lot of selfhelp personal development and better me books trending I have also witnessed a lot more in take of Indian writings this time said Manoj Satti senior vicepresident sales amp products and division head at PRHIBloomsbury Indias Meenakshi Singh said she cant put a finger on one particular genre as avid readers bought everything from fiction to nonfiction and all sorts of genres in betweenThat said she listed bestsellers from nonfiction William Dalrymples The Golden Road Shiv Kheras Live While Youre Alive and Dr Shiv Sarins Own Your Body The publishing houses all time favourite Harry Potter series with a host of attractive boxsets and enticing discounts was a hotseller this year tooBox sets in general are doing quite well Be it MinaLima edition box set of Harry Potter novels or Sarah J Maas boxset I have lost count of the number of people I met at the book fair who were busy collecting each and every edition of Harry Potter novels that we have published added Singh head of marketing and publicity at Bloomsbury IndiaThe fair like previous years also featured a notable participation of authors speakers and books from 50 countries and international languages in the famed International PavilionFor example Russia which was designated as the focus nation showcased an impressive collection of 1000 books through its Books from Russia initiativeAmish who was among the celebrated speakers at the festival on its concluding day was impressed by the number of people who have turned up for the event He called the NDWBF a national treasure for its work towards encouraging reading habitsWhats beautiful about India is that while in many other parts of the world the reading habit is actually going down not just books but newspapers many of them are actually dying In India there is a massive revival Thats fantastic to see said the author of the bestselling Shiva Trilogy and the Ram Chandra SeriesBesides selling books the literary event also hosted several insightful talks under the multiple literature festivals including Brahmaputra Literature Festival Prabhat Prakashan Bharat Literature Festival Apeejay Kolkata Literary Festival Penguin Dialogues and the Great Indian Book Tour that were held as part of the fairThere was plenty for the readers who didnt want to splurge a huge amount on books Asma a visitor and many like her sifted through stacks of books to find their favourite in the remaindered books sectionI have always liked reading and the book fair is the best place to find books that are cheap So first we went to Hall 5 and entered Penguin and other shops where each book was priced at Rs 699 and similar rates Then we went to secondhand book stalls and although it was timeconsuming and crowded we managed to get a bag full of books said the college student proudly flaunting the rare edition of James Joyces 1916 classic A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManThe fair which came to a close on Sunday had free entry for all on the last weekendThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever