Amid coronavirus pandemic, another good news for all the book lovers in year's last. The state capital is ready to host one of the largest literary festivals of the northeastern region – the 33rd edition of the Guwahati Book Fair from December 30, 2020, to January 10, 2021, organized by the Assam Publication Board.
The 12 days book fair will be inaugurated by Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal at Assam Engineering Institute Playground, Chandmari.
Notably, 12 selected books will be released at the inaugural function. Tathagata Roy and writer Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi will be the chief guest at the inauguration program. More than 117 book stalls to be established in the book fair with a budget of about Rs 50 lakh.
Meanwhile, the Publication Board lifetime award 2019 will be awarded to Thaneswar Sharma. Also, renowned linguist, Dr. Ramesh Pathak would be conferred the Publication Board, Assam's prestigious lifetime achievement award, 2020 for his contributions in the field of Assamese literature.
Furthermore, entrance to Guwahati Book Fair will be free for book lovers.
Earlier, the fair was supposed to be conducted in December 2019 but was postponed to March 2020, due to the Anti- Citizenship Amendment Act protests, but, was again deferred for an indefinite period due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
