Organisers met last week to get ready for the book fair. PHOTO SUPPLIED
This year’s 9th Cambodia Book Fair will be held from December 9 to 11, under the theme “One Day to Read, One Day to Know” in order to promote reading and writing, the publishing industry, by enabling writers and publishers the opportunity to sell their wares.
Khlot Vibolla, director of the National Library of Cambodia, discussed the preparations.
“The agenda is the same as previous fairs, but we are preparing different activities this time around. This year, we were pleasantly surprised by hundreds of publishers asking if they could run booths at the event. Luckily, we were granted permission by the municipal hall to secure additional space using outdoor stalls, as our premises are small. We now have room for 140 displays,” she said.
The book fair has been held every year since 2011, barring recent pandemic cancellations. With a remarkable growth in exhibitors, the fair has expanded rapidly from its humble beginnings.
The 8th event was held in 2019 under the theme “Start Your Dreams with a Book in Your Hand”, while in 2020 and 2021 the programme was suspended due to the Covid-19 crisis.
With increased awareness of the importance of reading, the number of students, national and international guests in attendance has increased significantly.
“The number of booths available is the same as in 2019, but there is an increase in the number of sponsors, including publishing houses. We expect to have a total of about 18,000 attendees, similar to the numbers we saw in 2019,” she said.
In order to attract the attention of children as well as youth groups, about 200 volunteers arrange additional entertainment programmes. In 2019, famous artists from the youth groups Ninja-Top, OMG, Mustache Band, Chet Kanhchana, Chii Vitt, Gabbie Elle and Ting Tong performed to entertain the attendants.
“Because our goal is to get children more interested in reading books and to help them understand the importance of reading, we have tried to find unique entertainment programs which will attract them. We have a team of 140 volunteers working on this year’s fair. This includes teams that will handle, logistics, guiding guests, stage management, media, public relations, graphic design and operational support,” she added.
The Khmer Books Edition of the Khmer Writer Association (KWA) is preparing to offer five recently published works at the fair.
“The books that we plan to exhibit are the five major titles – they include short stories, novels, poems and leadership manuals,” said Leok Chamnor, vice-president of the KWA.
Hok Sothik, director of the literacy NGO Sipar, led the fair’s organising committee in an October 5 meeting to update members on progress. The committee sought advice and support from Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith.
Information minister Kanharith expressed his support for the resumption of the event, following its Covid-19 related suspensions.
Kanharith has contributed $2,000 to the event and also plans to exhibit some works from the Ministry of Information at the fair.
Sothik said that the fair is an annual socio-cultural event organised at the National Library by the Cambodia Book Fair Committee, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Cambodian Library Association, Cambodia Book Publishers Association and many other partner organisations.
