thepioneer, Wednesday, 11 January 2017 | RACHITA MALHOTRA
From book launches to virtual reality content to digital marketing tool for authors and publishers and interactive panel discussions, quizzes and workshops, the ongoing World Book Fair in the Capital offers something for everyone. Rachita Malhotra reports:
The Capital is buzzing with the ongoing World Book Fair organised by National Book Trust India (NBT) that has become a one-stop destination for students, educators, young authors, poets, publishers and even the elderly. Open till January 15 at Pragati Maidan, the book fair was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Human Resources Development Mahendra Nath Pandey along with the guest of honour Dr Pratibha Ray, Oriya author and Jnanpith Awardee and special guest HE Tomasz Kozlowski, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union.
Themed Manushi which signifies writings on and by women, the idea is to show and project diversity in writing by women and to bust their homogeneity. While books by and on women in different genres like fiction, poetry, social science and children’s literature form the main ingredients of this fair, posters and panels of some of the eminent representative women scholars of ancient and medieval India are also displayed.
With the celebration of 60 years of journey, NBT has put up a special exhibition titled This is no Looking Back that emphasises on the culture of reading for last six decades. There is also a display of NBT’s bestsellers; Illustrators wall that showcase works of eminent Indian illustrators including Mickey Patel, Pulak Biswas, Mario Miranda, Ravi Paranjape, Jagdish Joshi.
There is a separate children’s pavilion at Hall 14 that provides thousands of books and also conducts various activities for the children like poetry recitation, painting competition, singing competition, creative gym and much more.
One of the largest publishing houses in India, the MBD Group, unveiled their virtual reality based content for up to Class XII students focusing on Science, Maths and Environmental Studies. They are also developing interactive walks through a solar system, zoo and other educational objects and environments to give better clarity to the students.
“The year 2014 was all about the launch of Augmented Reality App Nytra. In 2015, we launched 3D learning solutions. We brought E-book store in 2016 and this time we have brought virtual reality to education. We are trying to make it affordable for children so that many of them can use virtual reality and lean in a better way,” Monica Malhotra Kandhari, managing director, MBD Group, said.
The HRD Minister, Prakash Javadekar, launched a book Reflections of the Supreme authored by Dr Prasana Kumar Patasaani, a Member of Parliament.
Nielsen Book India, in collaboration with WITS Interactive, is promoting Book2Look, an advanced digital marketing tool that will allow authors and publishers to share their book content with readers, reviewers, bloggers via the internet and social media platforms. Book2Look was launched seven years go in Germany followed by Spain, the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand and has quickly become a must have tool for publishers, authors and booksellers across these countries. The Indian book industry can now take advantage of this unique marketing tool to help publishers, authors and booksellers reach out to their target audience globally in the most cost efficient way.
Ralph Möllers, MD, Book2Look International GmbH said: “I’m pleased that the Book2Look widget is coming home. It was conceived and developed in Mumbai by WITS Interactive. As a publisher I had been looking for a tool that would help me improve the online discoverability of my books and support my retail partners. Designed in close cooperation with publishing professionals, Book2Look has become exactly this tool.”
Apart from showcase print, digital and blended learning solutions, the Oxford University Press (OUP) conducted a panel discussion on ‘Emerging Trends in Hospitality – Role of Talent, Technology and Culinary Skills’ and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Quiz at the OUP stall in Hall 18. On January 12, 2017 OUP will be conducting a discussion on ‘Contemporary Dalit Politics’ at the author’s corner and run a quiz — Common Errors in English on January 13, 2017 at their stall.
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