The
Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF) is Sri Lanka’s leading retail book
market, and an all-round celebration of the written word. Sam Perera is
co-founder of the Colombo-based Perera-Hussein Publishing House, a company riding
the crest of the new wave of Asian fiction,
and committed to authors who inspire, provoke or entertain. Sam here writes
about visiting CIBF, which he attended as a publisher-exhibitor, and which
concluded last week.
"Noel
tells me he visited every stall at the book fair but didn’t find anything
unusual or exciting except with us. He congratulates me on our range of Sri
Lankan authors and proceeds to buy Randy Boyagoda’s Beggar’s Feast – a rags to riches picaresque which he says might
echo his own story. Fellow publisher Janaka Inimankada makes it a point to tell
me that his daughter loved our children’s book Milk Rice 2 which he bought her the previous evening. A young man
recovering from a boating accident and nursing 64 stitches on his arm tells us
that he wanted to stock up his bookshelf and that ours was the only stall he
visited. We remember him from the year before. A young lady announces that she
bought and read our foray into hint (flash) fiction Short
& Sweet from cover to cover, in one go, and that she is hungry for
more. This is the imagined reading
public we came to meet, and they do not disappoint us.
The
month of September is devoted to celebrating literature in Sri Lanka; festivals
and award ceremonies abound. The Godage Awards and State Literary Awards cover
the most categories, but for writers, the most desirable is the Swarna Pustaka
or Golden Book Award offered by the Publishers’ Association. The covetable jackpot
of LKR 500,000 is bagged by the year’s best novelist (in Sinhala) and LKR
50,000 each goes a fair way to console the runners up. Following hot on the
heels of this award ceremony, and easily eclipsing it, CIBF is a 9-day event (reduced to 7 days this year) organised
independently by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association, without state
sponsorship. The biggest such event in Sri Lanka, the Publishers’ Association
claims it attracts a staggering one million visitors or one-twentieth of the
Island’s population to Colombo and to the Bandaranaike Memorial
International Conference Hall (BMICH) during that period. Verifiable
entry estimates are based on ticket sales and exclude, according to its
organisers, free passes to school children, clergy, and staff and stall
holders.
We
began exhibiting at CIBF ten years ago – in the cheapest possible stall, in
the least desirable hall, with just 5 titles to our credit. Over the years, we
have watched CIBF grow and luckily, we have been able to keep pace. Moving steadily
from hall to hall, the Perera-Hussein
Publishing House can now afford to exhibit in prime halls and we now have
more than a hundred titles to our credit. This annual participation is the only
time we have a retail presence which provides us with an opportunity to meet
our readership.
As
always, I get to the Fair early and have my pick of prime parking spots. But
large though it might be, BMICH has inadequate parking to handle the crowds
the Fair attracts. The parking lots fill up very fast, spilling over into
adjoining streets. For once, the usually strict traffic police are indulgent
with vehicles parked in no-parking zones. If you still didn’t find a spot, free
shuttle buses ferry people regularly to the halls from designated parking
areas. Reasonably priced tuk-tuks and even a stepped up public transport will
drop you off just outside the BMICH premises. No one produces an excuse for not
turning up. Leaving is another matter altogether as inconsiderately parked
vehicles that block your exit will easily result in frayed tempers.
Once
you have joined the line, bought your nominally priced ticket (LKR 20), and received
a free map of the stalls, you will be amazed by the thronging mass of humanity
who share your objective – that of picking up a book at a bargain price. More
than 200 different exhibitors from all parts of the island compete to bring you
that bargain and make their Sinhala, Tamil or English books available to this
once-a-year extraordinary public. Of course the Sinhala language segment is the
biggest, and non-fiction often trumps fiction. School books, science books,
study aids, history books, collectible books, religious books, music books, art
books, translations – if I didn’t list your preferred reading matter, rest
assured that it can be easily found. And
yes, for general readers, those award winning books are available at lots of
stalls. The publisher of a novel shortlisted for this year’s Swarna Pustaka award made me green with
envy by saying that the nominated book had sold close to 7,000 copies by the 3rd
day of the Fair. Who says no one is reading?
By
11am the fairground is full. If you brought the kids, and they need
distracting, the children’s corner will take them off your hands. Reps from the
British Council or Room to Read will keep them busy while
reading them stories. For a few rupees you can have your portrait sketched or
learn to draw at the art camp. Book launches, readings and discussions
complement the main offering. Hungry? Want a break from browsing? Conveniently
placed food stalls sell everything from noodles to pizza to ice cream. Mount
Lavinia hotel offers more up-market restaurant food. Or if you prefer, you
could bring your own picnic and eat in the shade of a tree. Tea, coffee and
plenty of free filtered water keep you from dehydrating in the sweltering heat,
not forgetting the air conditioned stalls! Towards evening, you will witness
musical manifestations and mini theatre – for CIBF isn’t just any old
book sale or exhibition, it is a major red circle on everyone’s cultural
calendar.
Also
by 11am, you are rubbing shoulders with an amazing cross section of Sri Lanka.
If you missed the head of state, you will see presidential hopefuls, ministers,
hangers-on, off-duty armed forces personnel, teachers, clergy, office-workers,
housewives, collectors, architects, journalists, editors, film-makers, CEOs,
junior staffers, doctors, lawyers and ambitious parents who want their children
to improve their reading skills. In short, you will see anyone who can read or
wants to in a nation with a 91.2% literacy rate. Colombo being what it is, you
will undoubtedly run into old friends, close friends, new friends and various
levels of acquaintances, for, during the space of this event, the book fair is
THE place for chance encounters.
At
the commencement of the fair, self-published authors with limited readerships
tout their books around hoping an indulgent stall holder will exhibit their
book. Prospective authors target publishers who suit their work, but given this
is a retail rather than trade fair, I’m unsure of their success rate. Students
came to our stall looking for books we published in 2006, and have already declared
out-of-print, saying they are reading these titles in university. I am thrilled, but unfortunately, small
publishers like us can’t afford to keep an active backlist and we turn them
away with regret. Blue a collection
of naughty stories for a mature audience was also high on the asking list –
again, it is a title we let lapse after ceding sub-continental rights to an
Indian publisher. Students who are unfamiliar with our publishing profile ask
for every old, established and outdated author from Charles Dickens to Erich
Segal through Jane Austen (so that’s what they teach!) We direct them to the
major bookseller stalls that do a rollicking and continual business in school
texts.
Antiquarian
books on Ceylon which are in the common domain are reprinted by an Indian
publisher who does a steady volume of sales. They don’t have a corner on the
market and aren’t the only ones selling reproductions. A slew of vendors carry
reprints of obscure and famous writers who have commented on their week, months
or years spent in Ceylon. Emphasising the international element, UK, Malaysian
and Singaporean publishers are represented by local agents. Indian publishers
come themselves. One of them expressed surprise not only at the number of
stationery stalls, but at the long lines of people waiting patiently to buy
stationery. In quiet moments, exhibitors troll the stalls themselves and quite
often give each other trade discounts. This is also an opportunity for them to
see what’s out there and strike new alliances. Walking through the bargain section with my partner Ameena Hussein, she spotted the first edition of her
book Zillij, which has long been out-of-print. The vendor, who is unknown to us, greeted her warmly saying he
recognised her from TV and media photographs.
School
books and stationery are probably at the top of people’s wish list, followed by
leisure reading. This is also the one time that the general reading public has
access, in one location, to small publishers of esoteric works who don’t have
the marketing muscle to place their books with major retailers. A fair number
of people may have come just to check out the scene, but regardless of whether they
came to browse or buy, you would have seen very few people walking around
without any purchase whatsoever. More often than not, people carried multiple
bags from multiple stalls. Given that I like to guess what people spend, I think that on average, everyone spends a minimum of LKRs 1,000 per visit
excluding food and beverage. Multiply that by over one million entrants and you
will be blown away by the money changing hands at the exhibition alone!
Small
publishers like us exhibit more for visibility and goodwill rather than sales.
Unlike major booksellers, we have no stocks to clear or sales targets to reach.
For us, it is rewarding enough when people say they are familiar with our work
or that they have no hesitation in buying books that we have published. This
reassures us that we are on the right track. Our authors too enjoy coming to
our stall and chatting to a new readership.
Retired senior consultant surgeon and established author, Dr Philip G
Veerasingam who has written his third amazing memoir Tales of an Enchanted Boyhood dropped by from Avissawella and
autographed copies for his fans. New entrant Ashan Jayatilaka presented his fantasy-adventure debut novel Knights of
Olympus: Tristan’s Conquest to delighted visitors who snapped it up. School
teachers were especially interested in our books that have been approved for
school libraries.
This
year China was the Fair’s guest of honour, and as can be expected, their
pavilion carried unusual and interesting Chinese books. I was invited to attend
a formal ceremony where, on behalf of Sri Lankan publishers, Mr. Vijitha Yapa, who is one of the foremost motivators of CIBF, signed an
agreement with the Chinese Minister of Culture for a cultural exchange and
mutual translation of works between our two countries, paving the way for Sri
Lankan publishers to exhibit at the annual Beijing International Book Fair. As
a memento, I received a book mark and a beautiful woodcut, inked before my admiring
eyes.
Whatever
difficulties exhibitors or the general public encounter, they are really minor
annoyances considering that, arguably, CIBF is the world’s most
interesting place to be in the month of September and it is easily one of
Asia’s largest book fairs. Year-on-year attendance continues to show
growth - this year was no exception, with more visitors than ever
before. However, a victim of its own success, the CIBF has outgrown its
favourite exhibition grounds. Due to a fire at BMICH some time ago, the
space allocated for the book fair was reduced this year. As a result, the
demand for stalls was high, and the price of stalls was higher. Unable to
afford the raised prices, a few smaller publishers and organisations producing
interesting materiel dropped out, as did a few state institutions. The number
of days the book fair could run was reduced to seven. All of which should provide
enough incentive for the Publishers’ Association to look for a new or
alternative exhibition venue to host what is easily Sri Lanka’s largest and
most vibrant exhibition."
