The first ever Jaffna Book Fair 2019 organized by the Ceylon Importers’ and Exporters’ Association will be held at the Weerasingham Hall, Jaffna, from August 27 to September 1, commencing 9am to 6pm.
The Jaffna Book Fair 2019 came to light under the guidance of the Governor of the Northern Province, Suren Raghavan, and the assistance of the Governor’s Office. JBF 2019 will consist of all genres of books and would surely be a treat for book lovers based in Jaffna. The highlight of the exhibiton is the prominence given by the organizer to the local Tamil publishers to exhibit their publications at a national platform together with the internationally recognized local and foreign publishers.
“This is the first time in history that a national book fair has been organised in Jaffna. There are a few international book fairs organized annually in the main cities of Colombo, Kandy and Galle. JBF 2019 is thus a unique opportunity for the people in Jaffna.
“We as the Ceylon Importers’ and Exporters’ Association took the initiative according to the guidance and request made by the Northern Province Governor, Suren Raghavan to bridge the gap. JBF 2019 is a great opportunity for book lovers in Jaffna and a platform for the writers to meet local publishers and discuss the possibilities to get their books published.
The exhibition includes Sinhala, Tamil and English publications of all genres. We hope to continue this book fair every year,” Head of the Committee of Jaffna Book Fair 2019, Pradeep Samaranayake said. There are 21 publishing houses participating at JBF 2019, a majority of who are publishers based in Jaffna. “Of the 21 publishers 15 are based in Jaffna. A main objective of this exhibition is to give these local publishers national level recognition. They have been involved in the publishing industry for the past many decades and we hope this exhibition would be an encouragement for them to gain more confidence and create opportunities to expand their business locally and internationally,” explained Pradeep. New Century Book House and Kavitha Publications, two South Indian book publishers will also participate in the exhibition.
Chemamadu Publications, Book Labs, Phoenix Publications, Poobalasingham Book Depot, Venpaa Publishers, Lanka Book Depot, Andra Publications are the other participants in JBF 2019.
In addition, Vijitha Yapa, Jeya Book Centre, S Godage and Sons, Sarasavi Publishers, Expo Graphic Books, Samayawardhana Publishers and a few other leading publishers in the country will also be there.
A series of storytelling organized by the British Council will be held at the exhibition premises throughout the days of the book fair. This special event has been organized especially for schoolchildren to enhance their storytelling abilities.
An art competition organized by Atlas will be held at the exhibition in which schoolchildren of all ages can compete.
Poobalasingham Book Publishers is the main sponsor of the Jaffna Book Fair 2019, while Andra Publishers, Samudra Publishers, Atlas and Sarasavi Publishers are co-sponsors.