CHENNAI: Book publishers urged the State government to buy more books for the school education department and libraries from the Chennai book fair to support them during this post-pandemic period.
The book fair is being organised by the Booksellers and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI) at YMCA ground in Nandanam, Chennai. RM Kannappan, a publisher and member of BAPASI, told TNIE that he had been setting up a stall at the Chennai book fair every year for the past 32 years.
“The book fair is usually held at the end of December or beginning of January. Many Tamil associations working abroad attend the fair during that time. Besides, the city also hosts some traditional events during these months. This also pulls the crowd in. This year, we had to postpone the fair because of the third wave of Covid. This has led to a substantial decrease in footfall,” he added.
Kannappan Publishers, releasing education-related books, have been doing in online sales exclusively during the pandemic. The lives of many writers, publishers and printers were affected.
BAPASI’s president S Vairavan told TNIE, “If the government purchases books at the fair, the payments will be immediate. This would be a huge support for the publishers.” Usually, the book fair is organised for 12 to 15 days. This year, it is a 19-day event. Vairavan requested the publishers to utilise the additional days and urged the government to bring more school and college students to the book fair.