Beyond Stalls and Stories The Evolving Identity of Bhubaneswar’s Book Fairs
By | Satyabrata Jena |
Every winter, as the air turns crisp and the evenings fill with the scent of roasted peanuts and steaming tea, Bhubaneswar awakens to one of its most beloved cultural rituals—the book fair season. What began decades ago as a modest gathering of publishers and literature lovers has now transformed into multiple fairs spread across the city and the state. Today, Bhubaneswar hosts several book fairs, large and small—ranging from the iconic Ekamra Book Fair and Kalinga Book Fair to independent district-level literary gatherings in Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Sambalpur, and beyond.
Together, these fairs do more than sell books. They celebrate Odisha’s evolving literary identity, nurture new voices, bring generations together, and create a rare space where ideas matter as much as commerce.
But as the crowds grow larger and social media increasingly dictates trends, an important question arises: What does the book fair mean to the next generation of readers and writers, and what role should the government play in shaping its future?
A City of Many Book Fairs: A Literary Festival Without End
Bhubaneswar has emerged as a nerve centre of Odisha’s book culture. Unlike many Indian cities that host one flagship book fair, Bhubaneswar boasts multiple fairs, each with its own flavour:
Ekamra Book Fair – rooted in tradition, local publishers, and Odia literature
Kalinga Book Fair – modern, vibrant, and nationally connected
District and thematic fairs – tribal literature fairs, children’s book fairs, and academic fairs
These fairs collectively create an atmosphere few other cities in India can match—where literature becomes a carnival and readers develop an emotional habit of returning year after year.
Yet the rise of multiple fairs also raises concerns: commercialization, repetitive content, and a lack of strong curation. The challenge is to ensure that these fairs remain literary experiences, not just marketplaces.
Readers vs. Writers: A Changing Relationship
The book fair has always been a meeting point between reader expectation and writer ambition. But that relationship is shifting dramatically.
Readers Today Want More Than Books
Young readers—who grew up with streaming apps, digital content, and short-form storytelling—seek: interactive sessions , workshops , author-reader Q&A , book-themed experiences , digital payment-friendly stalls .They want books, yes—but they also want a culture of engagement.
Writers, Too, Are Changing
New-generation writers struggle with challenges that older authors did not face: online competition , visibility battles , pressure to build social media presence , rapid publishing trends , lack of long-form reading habits among youth.
Book fairs offer them space—literal and symbolic—to stand before hundreds of readers, build relationships, and find encouragement. But for many young writers, a stall is too costly, and established authors receive disproportionate visibility. The true test of Bhubaneswar’s book fairs is whether they can bridge this gap—whether they can make space for emerging voices, not only the celebrated ones.
What Will the Next Generation Get from Book Fairs?
The future of a society’s imagination lies in how its children and youth engage with books. Book fairs are not merely markets; they are learning ecosystems.
A Space for Curiosity : Book fairs expose children to worlds beyond textbooks—mythology, science, comics, poetry, biographies, and foreign literature. This exposure is crucial for developing creativity and critical thinking.
A Break from Screens : In an age dominated by digital consumption, book fairs offer a sensory, human experience—the touch of pages, the smell of print, the joy of browsing. These tactile experiences nurture attention span and emotional depth.
A Cultural Identity : Odia literature, folk tales, tribal literature, and local history often receive little attention in mainstream publishing. Book fairs help the next generation discover their cultural roots.
Career Inspiration : Fairs introduce young people to writers, editors, librarians, translators, storytellers, and publishers. They show that literature is not just a hobby; it can be a vocation.
The challenge is ensuring that the next generation sees the book fair not as a yearly event, but as a gateway to lifelong reading.
The Role of Government: More Than Stalls and Stages
The Odisha government has taken admirable initiatives—supporting organizers, offering subsidies, hosting cultural performances, and encouraging Odia publishing. But the future demands a larger and more visionary approach.
A State-Level Literary Mission : Odisha needs a structured literary development program—similar to missions for sports and arts—to: nurture young writers , promote tribal and regional literature , translate Odia classics into multiple languages , sponsor writing workshops across districts.
Public Libraries Must Be Revived : Book fairs should not be the only time people encounter books. Government libraries, many of which remain underfunded, must be modernized with: digital catalogues , children’s reading corners , community events , author visits.
Affordable Publishing for New Authors : The government can facilitate programs that help first-time writers publish at subsidized cost, ensuring the ecosystem does not remain elitist.
Literary Tourism : Just as Odisha promotes temple tourism and eco-tourism, literary tourism—book festivals, author walks, literary museums—can make Bhubaneswar a cultural capital.
Support for Regional & Tribal Literature : Odisha’s tribal stories, languages, and oral traditions could enrich world literature. Government-supported translation projects and archival initiatives would ensure these treasures are not lost.
The Book Fair: A Mirror of Society’s Aspirations
What makes Bhubaneswar’s book fairs truly remarkable is not the number of stalls or footfall, but the emotion they generate. Elders returning to their nostalgic reading habits, young readers discovering their first novel, parents bringing children to nurture imagination—these scenes reflect a society still invested in the power of knowledge.
But to keep this flame alive, all stakeholders—publishers, writers, readers, organizers, and government—must reimagine what a book fair means in 2025 and beyond.
Book fairs of the future should become: innovation spaces , cultural classrooms , dialogue platforms , democratic literary hubs . Because in every society, books are not passive objects. They are active engines of thought. And book fairs are the public squares where these engines ignite.
The Book Fair Will Survive—If We Let It Evolve
The book fair is not dying. It is transforming.
The reader is changing, the writer is adapting, and the city is expanding.
If Bhubaneswar embraces this evolution—with government support, literary innovation, and youth engagement—its book fairs will not just survive. They will flourish.
The next generation does not need only entertainment.
It needs ideas, imagination, and identity.
The book fair—if nurtured wisely—can be the bridge that carries all three into Odisha’s future.
