The Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 has been postponed by a day and will now commence on February 26 instead of the earlier scheduled February 25.
The date is rescheduled for the second time as it was scheduled on February 20 earlier.
The inauguration ceremony will be held at Rabindra Chattar, Bangla Academy premises at 2:00 pm, with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman set to officially open the fair for the first time.
Commenting on the delay, Dr. Selim Reza, Secretary of Bangla Academy and Member Secretary of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 Organizing Committee, said the postponement was due to special circumstances. He confirmed that the Prime Minister will inaugurate the fair at 2 pm following the distribution of 21 awards earlier in the day.
Earlier, a meeting on February 18 at Shaheed Munir Chowdhury Auditorium, Bangla Academy brought together the Minister and State Minister of Cultural Affairs, Director General and Secretary of Bangla Academy, and representatives of publishers. The decision at that time was to start the fair on February 25, and preparations had begun accordingly. However, on February 21, the Cultural Minister announced that the Prime Minister would inaugurate the fair on February 26 after the award ceremony in the morning.
Concerns had emerged over whether more than 300 publishing houses associated with Prakashak Oikya (Publishers’ Unity) would participate. The organization had earlier announced they would boycott the fair due to **lack of transparency in stall and pavilion allocation and the limited preparation time. Leaders of the group, including Mazharul Islam, CEO of Onnoprakash, and Monirul Haque of Onnona, told UNB that the absence of a fair lottery and unclear pavilion assignments prevented their participation.
Disputes arose on Saturday night regarding stall allocation, prompting Prakashak Oikya to withhold participation. The matter was also discussed in a Ministry of Cultural Affairs meeting on Sunday, but no resolution was reached. Publishers argued that unequal pavilion allocations forced mainstream publishers into smaller stalls, undermining their participation.
However, publishers have decided to participate as the government has now accepted the publishers’ conditions.
Mahrukh Mohiuddin, Managing Director of UPL, announced this at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka at yesterday noon that Prakashak Oikya will participate in the fair.
Mahrukh said, “Initially, Publishers’ Unity demanded that no pavilion be assigned to anyone, including themselves, to ensure equality. When that demand was not met, they announced non-participation. But last night, a sincere agreement was reached between the Ministry of Culture, Bangla Academy, and the Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association (BAPS). With government approval of their conditions, the publishers are now participating.”
She added that more than 200 publishers submitted applications on February 19 following the agreement. Among those present at the press briefing were Mesbahuddin of Ahmed Publishing House, Syed Zakir Hossain of Adorn Publication, Dipankar Das of Batighar Publishing, and Mahbub Rahman of Adarsh Publishing.
