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"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."

Strange it may sound to some, but for book lovers there is nothing quite as blissful as taking a whiff off books, be it old or new. Every book smells subtly different; each emits a different combination of chemical-glue-ink-plastic-print-cardboard-paper fragrance.

The Colombo International Book Fair, Sri Lanka’s best-patronized public exhibition which is held for the 12th consecutive year will be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) from the 18th to the 26th of September. It will be open to the public for twelve hours each day.

The Colombo International Book Fair is held annually drawing thousands of keen readers from all parts of the island. Nearly half a million book lovers are expected to flock to this year’s exhibition at which the organizing committee says that there will be a total of 420 stalls of both local and foreign books this time and also that there will be around 120 publishing. The 420 stalls will be located in ten sections, two of them at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Exhibition Centre, four in the outdoor exhibition area in front of the centre, and four in the lobby areas of the main hall of the BMICH. Every bit of available space will be utilized in a well laid out stall plan to better accommodate the large crowds expected this year.

In Colombo this week, 15 leading book publishers and booksellers formally signed contracts to sponsor the CIBF 2009, with M.D. Gunasena taking on the mantle of Principal Sponsor. Malpiyali, Rathna Publishers and Wasana Publications took Platinum sponsorship, Buddhist Cultural Centre, Jeya Book Centre and Pitraban took Gold sponsorship, Godage Book Emporium, Makeen Books, Samayawardhana Bookshop and Sarasavi took Silver sponsorship and Ariya Publishers, Nalaka, Fast Publishing (Pvt) Ltd and Vijitha Yapa Bookshop took Bronze sponsorship. Sampath Bank will be the Official Bank for CIBF and Rupavahini will be the Electronic Media Sponsor.

This event which is organized by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, also facilitates the public to meet their favorite authors while the authors and the publishers also get a feedback from their viewers.

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Copyright © 2011 Xtream Youth. All rights reserved.

Written by Vindya Vithana (Creative Writer at Xtream Youth)

For further inquiries on articles please contact our administrators : Ignatious Jayathilake | Kasun Malith

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