Book fest to attract vernacular readers

Hosting the event after a hiatus of two years, the Bengaluru Book Festival has set its eyes on vernacular languages and aims to attract people from other states by showcasing publications from their native tongue.

Considering the humongous migrant population belonging to various states, the festival will not only showcase vernacular publications but also have a section of e-books and multimedia and literary games section to beckon GenNext readers.

Starting from October 15 at the Palace Grounds, the festival will go on till October 21. Unlike the previous editions, this years’ festival will focus predominantly on regional languages besides featuring a separate section on academics, including overseas publications.

According to B S Raghuram, programme director of the Bangalore Book Festival, more than 200 publications will take part in the festival in association with several other literary publications. “The theme and concept of this years’ festival is that ‘If you want intellectual stimulus, come with children’ so that the young generation is also introduced to the culture of reading. When kids are being bowled over by mobile and tablet screens, we are attempting to introduce them to the joy of reading,” Raghuram said.

According to the organisers about two lakh people will visit the festival. The week-long fest is likely to bring about Rs 10-crore business to the publishers. “There will be a publisher from every corner of the country. We have got publishers from all the prominent vernacular languages as Bengaluru has a huge population of people from other states. Besides, there will be learning and vocabulary enhancing games and material for kids. Religious publications will also be part of the festival, catering to senior citizens.”

This apart, several prominent writers from other languages are likely to take part in the book-reading events or discussions organised by the publishers.

As part of the festival, there will be 15% discount on books by all publishers. “Over and above this festival discount, there will discount offered by publishers (up to 50%) at selected stalls,” Raghuram said.