Another successful edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF), Asia’s largest literary event, came to an end on Sunday, February 9. The theme country at the 48th edition was Germany.

During the closing ceremony, Education Minister Bratya Basu lauded the fair’s influence, suggesting it may rival world-renowned events. He said that the Frankfurt Book Fair might be known as the world’s biggest, but if one takes into account the number of visitors and the enthusiasm and vibe among the masses, Kolkata Book Fair will be rated as the biggest in Asia if not the entire world.

Basu, along with his cabinet colleague Arup Biswas and the Honorary General Secretary of the organiser, Publishers and Booksellers Guild, Tridib Biswas, reaffirmed the enduring appeal of printed books even in this age of electronic books and hinted at potential expansion of the book fair for future editions.

As per information available with the Guild, till the morning of February 9, the last day (the fair ran from January 28 to February 9), the footfall was 27 lakh and Rs 25 crore worth of books were sold.

Both the figures will be updated after the numbers till 9 pm on the last day are collated.

In 2024, 29 lakh people visited and books worth Rs 27 crore were sold, but over a period of 14 days (two days more). Therefore, Tridib Biswas said, for a 12-day event, both the number of visitors and the value of books sold would be new records.

On the final day, the Guild gave out three awards for book stalls: Argentina for its beautifully designed stall, Aajkaal Publishers for being the best in the big stall category for open-ground regional publishers and Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt Ltd for being the best in the big stall category inside the hall.