The numbers speak clearly: lakh becomes 100,000, crore becomes 10 million, and India’s publishing sector becomes an unmissable growth story.

The 38th Hyderabad Book Fair is currently transforming NTR Stadium into a ten-day literary marketplace, running 19–29 December 2025. For publishing professionals monitoring India’s robust print sector, this event offers a microcosm of the market’s extraordinary reach.

Scale That Commands Attention

Hyderabad consistently delivers remarkable footfall. The 2022 edition attracted 12 lakh (1.2 million) visitors, while the 2024 fair saw 90,000 attendees on a single Sunday alone – nearly double typical daily numbers. Weekend crowds regularly exceed one lakh (100,000), with daily averages hovering around 40,000.

This year’s 368 stalls represent a significant increase from 2024’s 210 publishers, indicating growing industry confidence. For context, the comparable Kolkata Book Fair drew 2.7 million visitors with $3 million in sales – Hyderabad’s metrics suggest a similarly lucrative proposition.

Revenue Reality: From Crores to Dollars

Sales projections for the 2024 event reached approximately 25 crore – equivalent to ₹250 million or roughly $3 million USD. Perhaps modest by western trade-show standards, but this figure represents pure retail revenue within a ten-day window.

More significantly, it reflects a 30–40% year-on-year increase in footfall, demonstrating accelerating consumer appetite. For international publishers, this translates to direct access to a market where physical books generate $5.13 billion annually, with the broader Indian books market valued at $10.4 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $14.6 billion by 2030.

Strategic Opportunities

The fair’s composition reveals India’s publishing DNA: educational titles dominate, with regional-language content driving volume. ‘Pedda Bala Siksha’ topped 2024 sales, highlighting the continued demand for vernacular reference material. Yet the presence of 368 stalls – from academic presses to trade publishers – shows diversification. For western professionals, this represents a low-barrier entry point to test regional preferences and build distribution networks.

The View From The Beach

Hyderabad Book Fair is not merely a cultural event; it’s a high-volume sales channel in the world’s third-largest English-language publishing market, where other languages present even bigger opportunities.

With 71% of India’s book market concentrated in educational publishing, the fair offers a targeted opportunity to capture institutional and consumer sales.

The numbers speak clearly: lakh becomes 100,000, crore becomes 10 million, and India’s publishing sector becomes an unmissable growth story.

This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsletter.