The Pune Book Fair, which was lined up from 20 – 23 January 2022 at Creaticity, Yerawada, has been postponed due to the recent escalation in Covid-19 infections in the city. Pune recorded 4,857 fresh Covid-19 cases on 14 January with one fatality.
Pune is largely considered the cultural capital of Maharashtra with its slew of educational centers and industrial units. The Pune Book Fair has garnered interest from the publishing industry in recent years and is now considered a prime literary interaction platform in Maharashtra and surrounding states.
The Pune Book Fair, supported by Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad, features a number of publishers from Maharashtra as well as other states. The book show is attended by library managers, book enthusiasts, editors, booksellers, institutional representatives, students, academicians, and government officials, apart from major book publishers.
The organizing committee shared in a statement, “Considering the current situation arising out of Covid, especially Omicron, dates of the Pune Book Fair and concurrent Sahityik/Sanskrutik program have been rescheduled. The rescheduled dates will be announced soon.
The third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to the postponement of major book fairs, literary festivals, conferences, seminars, and trade exhibitions in the past fortnight. The Chennai Book Fair was the first to be postponed, followed by the 50th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair. Jaipur and Kerala Literature Festivals were not far behind.
The Asom Granthamela however did take place with good attendance over the 12 days from 29 December 2021 to 9 January 2022. Moreover, preparations are still on for the Kolkata Book Fair, which begins on 31 January despite a major increase in fresh infections in the state.
