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Colombo Book Fair on September 19:
Leafing through pages
The countdown began this week to the annual Colombo International
Book Fair (CIBF), Sri Lanka's best-patronised public exhibition, which
opens at the BMICH on September 19.
In its 11th year, the fair will run for nine days encompassing two
weekends, and will be open to the public for twelve hours each day,
organisers said.
Nearly half a million book lovers are expected to flock to this
year's exhibition, at which local booksellers and publishers have taken
360 stalls and 40 stalls have been allocated to foreign publishers.
"Every bit of available space will be utilised in a well laid out
stall plan to better accommodate the large crowds expected this year,"
said Upali Wanigasuriya, Secretary General of CIBF 2009. "We have
incorporated the learning from previous exhibitions to facilitate
visitor flow around the stalls and make browsing and buying easier."
The 400 stalls will be located in ten sections, two of them at the
Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre, four in the outdoor exhibition
area in front of the centre, and four in the lobby areas of the main
hall of the BMICH, he said.
In Colombo this week, 15 leading book publishers and booksellers
formally signed contracts to sponsor the CIBF 2009, with M D Gunasena
taking on the mantle of Principal Sponsor. Malpiyali, Rathna Publishers
and Wasana Publications took Platinum sponsorship, Buddhist Cultural
Centre, Jeya Book Centre and Pitraban took Gold sponsorship, Godage Book
Emporium, Makeen Books, Samayawardhana Bookshop and Sarasavi took Silver
sponsorship and Ariya Publishers, Nalaka, Fast Publishing (Pvt) Ltd and
Vijitha Yapa Bookshop took Bronze sponsorship. Sampath Bank will be the
Official Bank for CIBF and Rupavahini will be the Electronic Media
Sponsor.
Organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association with the
BMICH as co-organiser and with the support of the Booksellers and
Importers Association of Ceylon and the Samastha Lanka Poth Velenda
Sangamaya, the Colombo International Book Fair 2009 will be a showcase
for book publishers, booksellers, author-publishers, sellers of
educational aids and material and providers of IT services. It has
attracted direct participation by exhibitors from the UK, USA, India,
 Singapore,
Malaysia, Australia, Pakistan and Germany.
Adding to the visitor experience this year will be a series of open
air cultural shows themed ‘Naadathala,’ dramas, poetry readings, theatre
and music fetes that will create the ambience of a festival dedicated to
reading and the arts.
The Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha will officiate as Chief
Guest at the opening of the Fair On September 19th.
A highlight of the opening ceremony will be the presentation of cash
awards and books to the best performers at the Year 5 scholarship, GCE.
Ordinary Level and GCE Advance Level examinations of 2008.
As in previous years, the organizers have arranged free shuttle bus
services, ample covered outdoor seating, refreshment outlets, free
drinking water, banking services including a mobile ATM, printed stall
plans for the benefit of visitors. |
