Hundreds of readers tried to grab the last few offers and take home several books on the last day of the 13th edition of Madurai book fair on Monday.
P. Maila Velan, vice-president, Booksellers’ and Publishers Association of South India (BAPASI), the organisers of the fair, said sales had doubled this year when compared to last year. “The total sales this year is ₹3.5 crore. The number of walk-ins have increased by 1 lakh people. This is very encouraging for the publishers,” he said. Reading trend has caught up with the current generation, ensuring patronage for books and book fairs, he said.
A total of 257 stalls covering self-help, health, non-fiction and fiction in Tamil and English were on sale. There was a good demand for books on competitive exams. “Many youngsters were also interested in books in Tamil and on Indian history. They sought specific books from publishers, proving that they were well-informed,” he said.
Like the Tiruvalluvar selfie spot, which turned out to be crowd-puller, more inventive measures would be introduced in the following years to attract young readers, he said.
S. Hanisha, a III year student of English Literature at The American College, said the collection had improved over the last two years. She said several of her peers bought some good books with a hope to pass them over to their heirs. The book fair made for a satisfying outing, she said.
P. Gurudevaa of Bell Co, a publishing unit, said the book fair was successful but the buying power had reduced.
“Footfall has risen this year but people are not buying as much as before. Online market has taken a large chunk of our customer base. It is hard to compete with their prices. Everything is available and delivered to the doorstep. Publishing business is risky,” he said. He, however, added that this trend would not deter him and he would put up stall next year too, he said.
Among the last minute buyers were MLA PTR Palanivel Thiagarjan, who bought books by R. K. Narayan, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Bill Bryson.
Collector S. Natarajan, who was present at the valedictory function, presented certificates to school students who took part in elocution, drawing and writing competitions conducted by BAPASI throughout the 10 days of the fair.