Archive · 26 Aug 2026
Kolkata Book Fair gets new advisory board, Guild leaders dropped
The team running the Kolkata Book Fair has been reorganised.
A new group of 24 people will advise and guide the fair.
The president and secretary of the Publishers & Booksellers Guild are not on this new group.
Four other Guild members are included.
The Guild will still organise the fair.
It will work with the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre and National Book Trust.
The 2027 fair is planned for January 22 to February 3.
Central Park in Salt Lake has been requested as the venue, but the government has not confirmed it.
The changes give the fair a broader management structure instead of one led mostly by the Guild.
The International Kolkata Book Fair’s organising committee has been replaced by a 24-member Advisory Board.
Publishers & Booksellers Guild president Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey and secretary Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay were excluded from the new board.
Four other Guild members were appointed to the panel, which will be convened by journalist Prasenjit Bakshi.
The 2027 fair is scheduled for January 22 to February 3, with Central Park in Salt Lake proposed as the venue.
The Guild will remain the principal organiser with the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre and National Book Trust, while the board provides guidance.
- Who
- The Publishers & Booksellers Guild, a new 24-member Advisory Board, the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, and the National Book Trust are involved.
- What
- The Kolkata Book Fair’s organising structure has been overhauled and replaced by an Advisory Board.
- When
- The restructuring decisions were taken at meetings on August 17 and August 21; the 2027 fair is scheduled for January 22 to February 3.
- Where
- The decisions were made at Nabanna, and Central Park in Salt Lake has been proposed as the fair venue.
- Why
- The restructuring shifts the fair away from a predominantly Guild-centric management model while leaving the Guild as the principal organiser.
- 2027 fair dates
- January 22 to February 3
- New structure
- A 24-member high-powered Advisory Board
- Guild president excluded
- Sudhanshu Shekhar Dey
- Guild secretary excluded
- Tridib Kumar Chattopadhyay
- Convener
- Journalist Prasenjit Bakshi
- Proposed venue
- Central Park ground in Salt Lake; allotment has not been officially confirmed
- Organisers
- Publishers & Booksellers Guild, Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, and National Book Trust