The 39th edition of Chennai Book Fair will see lot of firsts starting from exclusive stalls for Braille books and works of Singapore Tamils to themed events.

But with the event being conducted in peak summer and at the end of summer holiday season, book-sellers are worried about footfalls and sales. The fair has over 700 stalls and will be on up to June 13.

G Olivannan, Treasurer, Book Publishers and Sellers Association of India (BAPASI), organisers of the event, said, “Chennai book fair was always dominated by Tamil books. This time we wanted to widen our readership and brought in other regional language literature.” On offer are Telugu and Kannada literature.

Books for the visually challenged and Singapore Tamil books also add to the diversity. “We intend to bring to people in Tamil Nadu books written by Tamil authors across the world. We are starting with Singapore.” Naa Aandeappan, Chairman, Association of Singapore Tamil Writers, said the fair will have over 130 titles written by 50 authors and will mostly be short stories, essays, poems and plays based on Singaporean lifestyle. “This is a good platform for us to display and gain visibility. We are hoping the response will be good.”

S Nagasundari, Programme Manager, Indian Association of the Blind in Madurai, said, “We usually supply Braille books to schools libraries and institutions. But, we got a lot of requests from Chennai for such books, so we decided to set up a stall for the first time.”

Harper Collins and Penguin too have a presence first time this year. Though the fair is marked by new varieties, regulars feel the sweltering heat of Chennai summer and the start of the school season will keep away the crowd. The fair is usually conducted in January but was postponed this year due to heavy rains and flood last December.

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