The 51st National Book Fair & 21st Bangkok International Book Fair 2023 will feature a diverse selection of books at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center's Hall 5-7, Ratchadaphisek Road, from Thursday to April 9.
Organised under the theme "Bookfluencer" by the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (Pubat), this year's book fair aims to promote a reading culture and encourage everyone to become a reading influencer.
More than 330 publishers will participate, bringing their books to over 900 booths which are divided into seven book zones -- Children's and Educational Books, Foreign Books, Rare Books, Comic and Teenager's Books (Book Wonderland), Fiction and Literature, Y Fiction (Wonder Y), and General Books.
There will be many exhibitions running at the fair, namely "Cross-Cultural Translated Literature of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn", which will showcase the princess' intelligence and language proficiency, particularly in Chinese, and the exhibition "National Book Award 2023" by the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
Another highlight will be the 7th Chinese Publication Exhibition Tour In Southeast Asia, where nearly 100 publishers will bring 2,000 different types of books from China for copyright negotiations and business matching.
Many new books will be launched, and renowned authors and influencers will give a talk. They include Noom Kongkrapan, Milky Praiya, Fasai Puengudom and Paul Pattarapon.
Activities for children and families will be arranged by Plan for Kids and Pelangi Publishing (Thailand), as well as the launch of the bilingual version of Malong The Magic Cloth, a children's book from Praphansarn Publishing that won the Asean Children's Book Illustrator Best in Fiction at the International Children's Content Rights Fair 2017.
This is also a chance to rub shoulders with international guest writers, illustrators and cartoonists who will attend a seminar and give their autographs to Thai fans. Bookworms will be introduced to Book Walker, an e-book platform specialising in digital mangas and light novels, both of which are very popular in Japan, Taiwan and the US.
On the first day, the fair will open at 5pm. During the first three days, book lovers can enjoy extended hours until midnight, and a variety of special activities will be available from 9pm onwards, plus a chance win a cash coupon worth 500 baht for every 500 baht spent at the fair. From Sunday to April 9, the fair will run daily from 10am to 9pm.
Thailand Post will offer express delivery of books through EMS at a fixed price starting from 50 baht. Postage stamps and collectable items will also be available.
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