Frankfurter Buchmesse again proved its unique position in the international publishing industry as 4,000+ exhibitors from 95 countries showcased their products and services to over 215,000 visitors from 130 countries but what caught my attention was the humungous presence of Tamil Nadu at the fair says Chandragupta Amritkar.
Celebrating its 75th year Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) attracted the who’s who from the publishing industry and India was no exception. Ranking fifth overall in the world, with an estimated value of US$10–12 billion and growing at a CAGR of 19 per cent, India remains an important growth market for publishing.
Apart from the India National Stand there were several solo Indian exhibitors too. But one of the largest solo stand was from Tamil Nadu (TN). “After the success of our first Chennai International Book Fair (CIBF) we are now in the process of holding the second edition of CIBF. And what better venue to project and brand it than the world’s largest book fair- Frankfurter Buchmesse,” said K. Elambahavath, IAS, Director, Public Libraries.
The seriousness of the government was noticeable as it looked like the whole team of CIBF-2024 had descended in Frankfurt from Chennai – Apart from K. Elambahavath, IAS, Director, Public Libraries there was T.S. Saravanan, Joint Director, TN Textbook Corporation, Dr. C. Amuthavalli, Joint Director, Directorate of Public Libraries, S. Senthilnathan, International coordinator, CIBF, Organisation committee member, and Ival Bharathi, CIBF event executive committee member to promote CIBF at the Frankfurt Book Fair.
The event is organized by the Tamil Nadu Textbook Corporation and Educational Services, an enterprise of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The first edition of CIBF was an incredible success, garnering praise from both Indian and international participants. An impressive 365 Memorandums of Understanding were signed between primarily Tamil publishers and their global peers. The international pavilion created for the fair provided a unique experience to visitors as they experienced a truly international book fair for the very first time.
“We have launched a translation grant program for non-Tamil publishers who wish to translate Tamil works into several International as well as Indian languages,” said T.S. Saravanan. The aim is to promote Tamil literature worldwide and helping it reach a wider audience. Through this grant, non-Tamil publishers in India as well as foreign publishers will be able to translate and publish Tamil titles into their languages, thus making these works accessible to readers everywhere. This includes Tamil fiction, nonfiction and children's literature etc. The grant provides financial assistance to foreign publishers for translation, publishing, and even distribution of copies to public libraries in their countries / regions.
CIBF also offers fellowships to selected publishers/publishing professionals around the world. “As CIBF Fellowship aims to foster professional and cultural exchanges, I would invite and encourage publishing professionals from around the world to apply. The fellowship includes travel and local hospitality during the fair dates,” said K. Elambahavath.
Chennai International Book Fair 2024 is scheduled in Chennai from Jan 16 - 18, 2024.
