Sri Lanka’s first virtual book fair currently on

Saturday, 25 September 2021 01:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lanka’s first virtual book fair organised by the Read Plus Foundation (RPF) is currently on with a host of activities that include diverse writing workshops and discussions related to the publishing field as well as the macroeconomy battered by the COVID pandemic.

The Read Plus Foundation will host a special discussion today from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on the Future of the Publication Industry in Sri Lanka owing to the challenges faced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the speakers for today’s Read Plus event are Keerthi Gunawardena, a veteran in the printing field in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Library Association Head Dr. Ruwan Gamage, National Savings Bank (NSB) Director Manohari Abeysekera, Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association Secretary Samantha Indeewara Samarasinghe, Book Sellers Association Secretary Neomal Wijegunawardena, Ceylon Booksellers, Importers and Exporters Association Chairperson Dinushi Abeywickrema, Kamal Perera of the Sri Lanka Writers Association, and Read Plus Publisher and Director M. Safeer.

A highlight of the book fair is that thousands of books in all three official languages of Sri Lanka; Sinhala, Tamil and English, will be made available for all Sri Lankans. The RPF is a consortium of 15 leading publishing houses in Sri Lanka. Over the past three years, the members of the Foundation have been committed to expanding and exploring the publishing industry, engaging in various reading activities and promoting literature in Sri Lanka and abroad.

One of its key goals is to promote Sri Lankan writers in Sinhala, Tamil and English, locally and enable translations of these writings to promote them internationally.

Online book launches will continue to be held throughout the virtual book fair. Among the workshops held by Read Plus so far at this Book Fair include ‘how to appreciate a book’ and ‘Story Telling with kids’; and the book launches include Samanala Perahera by Ranjith Maliyawadu.

Founding member of the Read Plus Foundation Dinesh Kulatunga said: “What we are carrying out at this book fair is well beyond merely selling books. As a publisher, this has always been my philosophy that books are not general merchandise and we show it in many ways through our activities held throughout the year.”

Kulatunga is also the owner of Neptune Publications, which specialises in publishing Sri Lankan heritage-based themes alongside many other local and international cultural themes. “Although postponed due to the pandemic, arrangements are currently being made to hold a specifically focused children’s book festival next year,” he said.

The Virtual Book Fair from 15-30 September will continue to feature veteran writers and artists who will be reading from their work.

A number of international book fair organisations, including the Frankfurt International Book Fair and the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), are associated with the local and international book festivals of Read Plus.

The Zoom meeting ID for the virtual book fair event of Read Plus today is: 821 67685343

Passcode: readplus

The time of the event is from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.