The Publishers & Booksellers Guild and the British Council are delighted to announce the United Kingdom as the Focal Theme Country for the 39th International Kolkata Book Fair.
Rob Lynes, Director British Council India, made the announcement at a press conference held on 21 July 2014 at Nandan II, 1/1 AJC Bose Road Kolkata West Bengal 700020.
The fair is scheduled to be held from 28 January to 8 February 2015 at the Milan Mela grounds and will be inaugurated on 27 January at 4:30 p.m. The Guild has also introduced a special Kolkata Literature Festival which has been scheduled from 6-8 February 2015.
UK will be showcasing the best of what it has to offer in arts and culture, education and research through the UK government’s GREAT campaign, which includes information on a huge range of scholarships available for studying in the UK. There will be a range of activities at the fair including sessions with contemporary authors and artistes. English language experts and top speakers from the UK’s Higher Education sector will also be at the fair. Workshops, seminars and panel discussions will be held around English and higher education.
Books and online resources from the UK will be displayed at the British Council pavilion. The collection will help visitors access content to open up new professional opportunities through English teaching and learning, enrich professional life in the Arts, develop new understanding and partnerships related to UK Education, and engage with contemporary UK. A renowned British personality will deliver the Ashoke Kumar Sarkar International Memorial Lecture.
The Kolkata Book Fair, recognised by International Publishers Association, Geneva, is also the largest Book Fair of the world in terms of visitors. The 38th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair was visited by 1.8 million booklovers over 12 days and books worth Rs 200 million were sold.
Rob Lynes, Director British Council India, said: “This announcement comes at an apt moment. The UK continues to have a special relationship with India and the areas which are important to the strengthening of the UK-India relationship are in Education, Cultural Relations and English. As the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations our work in all these areas and many others is what we hope to showcase for the visitors to the book fair next year.”
In 1998, UK was the Focal Theme Country of the Fair while Scotland was the Focal Theme Country in 2009.
For media information on UK as the Focal Theme Country at the 39th Kolkata Book Fair please contact Shonali Ganguli, Head Communications East India on email shonali.ganguli@britishcouncil.org.