VIJAYAWADA: Bibliophiles in the city have a lot to cheer as a 12-day book festival began at Bishop Azaraiah School ground on Friday. Though a total of 80 stalls have been arranged, only 10 to 12 stalls were occupied on the first day by publishers. Organiser and book lover Janaki Ramaiah said, “More publishers will come in the next few days as not all stalls have been booked for all 12 days. So, as per the number of days they are willing to sell their books, we have allotted the stalls.”
Books in various genres, catering to all age groups have been made available at the festival. While a majority of publishers are selling English novels and comics, few stalls also had Telugu books.
Many publishers from Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh set up their stalls on the inaugural day. “Publishers from Delhi and a few other States have also booked stalls for a week,” said Ramaiah.
A classical dance performance was organised during the inauguration. To productively entertain children visiting the book festival, quiz competitions have been planned on all the 12 days. The festival is open for public between 1 pm and 9 pm.