Over 1,500 new books hit Amar Ekushey Book Fair

Those involved in publishing houses claim the count of new books exceeds the official number

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair has attracted a massive crowd of buyers and visitors in mid-February, with “more than 1,500” new books hitting the shelves.

The book fair management committee said 1,531 new books had been introduced during the first 16 days of the fair.

However, those involved in the publishing houses claim that the actual number is even higher.

According to the committee's list of new books, there are 180 short stories, 255 novels, 62 essays, 508 poetry collections, 33 research papers, 29 rhymes, 36 children's books, 45 biographies, 10 collected works, 12 on the Liberation War, 17 plays, 26 science books, 17 travel books, 35 on history, 20 on politics, seven on health/medicine, nine on languages, 21 on mass uprisings, 25 on religion, 11 translations, three dictionaries, 19 science fiction, and 151 books in other categories.

The book retail and publishing house Baatighar sells books online throughout the year. Through its website, Baatighar.com, it offers books from nearly all publishing houses.

Since March 2024, Baatighar has been promoting and selling newly released books as "Book Fair 2025: Newly Published Books" on its website.

According to Mahbub Setu, digital executive of Baatighar.com, more than 5,000 new books have already been listed under this category.

"Our list shows that over 5,000 new books from different publishers have been showcased at this year's fair. We have been promoting these books from March to February on our website," he told bdnews24.com

Baatighar.com’s list of new books includes 1,024 novels, 1,687 short stories and poetry collections, 1,006 books on politics, 37 plays, 1,447 religious books as well as books in other categories.

Regarding the discrepancy in book counts, Sarkar Amin, Member Secretary of the Book 2025 Organising Committee, said: "We compile the list of books based on the information provided by publishers. We then categorise them and share the data with the media and relevant organisations."

He added, "If publishers do not submit complete information, we cannot provide an accurate count.

“We urge all publishers to share details of their books with us so that we can update the data daily and inform the media accordingly."

The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair began on Feb 1 with the theme “July Uprising: Building a New Bangladesh”, set against the backdrop of political changes.

A total of 708 publishing houses have been allocated 1,084 units this year. In 2023, there were 642 publishing houses with 946 units.

Of the total, 99 publishers have been allotted space at the Bangla Academy premises, while 609 have set up stalls in Suhrawardy Udyan.

This year, the fair has 37 pavilions—one in the Bangla Academy area and 36 in the Suhrawardy Udyan, the same as last year.

The Little Magazine Corner has been set up under a tree near the open stage in the Suhrawardy Udyan.

In addition, the Children's Corner has seen an increase in participation, with 74 publishers receiving 120 units, up from 68 publishers with 109 units last year.

Monday marked the 17th day of the book fair, with 113 new books introduced, according to the fair’s public relations department.

WHAT’S ON TUESDAY

Tuesday marks the 18th day of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair.

The fair will open at 3:00pm and continue until 9:00pm.

At 4:00pm, the main stage will host a discussion titled "Life and Work: Shahid Qadri”.

The keynote paper will be presented by Tarana Nupur, while Shams Al Momin and Ahmad Mazhar will join as discussants.