The month-long Amar Ekushey Grantha Mela comes to an end today. Some 5,000 books hit the stand this year and the total sale reached at around Tk 1.0 billion (or Tk 100 crore). Thus the number of book appears in the fair increased by around 9.0 per cent over the total book released at the fair last year. The volume of sale increased by 20.0 per cent in monetary terms over the previous year when the estimated sale stood at Tk 0.80 billion (or Tk 80 crore).
This is no statistics to cheer business at the book fair. Sale of Tk 1.0 billion means a daily average sale of Tk 35 million. There are book stalls of 560 organisations at the fair. Of these, some 450 are full-fledged publishing houses. Thus, the daily average sale is below Tk 0.10 million which is a tiny amount. In fact, only a few big publishers actually dominate the business at the fair thanks to their good titles and strong marketing. A large number of small publishers actually bring a few new titles in the fair and sale of these houses is also low.
Again, at least one-third of the books coming to the fair is reprinted or republished. Among the newly published books, some were published a few months before the inauguration of the fair. Thus, the actual number of new books published during the book fair is small compared to the total number made public.
The book fair is considered the largest annual event of book publishing activities across the country. It is also the largest gathering place of book lovers. Nevertheless, it is yet to be an optimal platform of book marketing, reaching the maximum number of readers and selling the maximum number of books.
Book marketing is always weak in this country and only a few publishers put their required effort in this regard. Book marketing requires proper distribution and effective promotion. Most of the publishers have little to invest in this regard. Instead, many of them largely rely on government purchase and corporate procurement.
Nevertheless, a few big publishers have already demonstrated their success in book marketing. Year-long promotion through advertisement and review pay them off. Strong distribution channel also helps some of them to deliver their books across the country.
There is always an allegation that people are reading less. It is also true that readership is not increasing as it should be commensurate with the increase in the number of educated persons. At the same time, it is also true that a large number of avid readers especially living outside Dhaka and other major cities can't get their desired books regularly. Moreover, there is no scope for persuading readers to purchase books according to the wishes of publishers or others. It is largely a buyer-dominated market.
Again, not all the publishers are professional and so not able to compete with others especially big ones. Despite their limitations, they want to stay in the market and adopt some wrong approaches. As a result, distortion has already take place in the country's book market.