The third edition of the Pune Book Festival will be held from December 13 to 21 at the Fergusson College campus, National Book Trust (NBT) Director Yuvraj Malik told reporters on Monday.
The nine-day event is being organised by NBT, a body under the Union Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Pune Municipal Corporation, Savitribai Phule Pune University, and other local organisations.
Malik said that book fests on the lines of those being held in Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik are being planned in cities such as Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar from next year.
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He stated that Pune Book Fest will also feature a photography exhibition themed on ‘Joy of Reading’, and a prize fund of Rs 1 lakh has been earmarked for the winners. Thousands of e-books will be available for download using a scanner at the festival.
In 2024, the book fest was held on a grand scale at the Fergusson College grounds with 600 stalls, more than 100 book launches, and the participation of thousands of visitors. It conducted workshops on storytelling, painting, dance, and music. The previous edition saw the participation of over 10 lakh visitors, the sale of 25 lakh books, and a revenue of over Rs 40 crore, said NBT Trustee Rajesh Pande.
“After Delhi, the book festival in Pune is the second best across the whole country. A book festival is not a festival of the NBT, the government, the corporation, or anybody; it is the festival of the people. There is a rich legacy of Marathi literature preservation in Maharashtra,” said Malik.
He added that enhancing the quality of the festival is the goal of the organisation.
