Yeah, savour those dates a moment. A book fair launching Christmas Eve and running on Christmas Day and still running on New Years Day.
Assam’s publishing sector enters a pivotal moment as the state concludes its ambitious “Year of Books” 2025 initiative with the Guwahati Book Fair (24 December 2025–6 January 2026).
Yeah, savour those dates a moment. A book fair launching Christmas Eve and running on Christmas Day and still running on New Years Day. Is it any wonder India was on my shortlist when I decided to quit the UK?!
The fair represents the culmination of an unprecedented eight‑city tour that began in October, transforming the region into a dynamic hub for literary commerce. The previous edition already shattered records with nearly ₹7 crore ($865,000) in sales and 500,000 visitors, signalling robust demand in a market historically underserved by national publishing houses.
Government Initiative
The declaration of 2025 as “Book Year” unlocked substantial institutional support. The state allocated ₹40 crore ($4.9 million) for book‑purchase vouchers (₹1,000 per government employee) and ₹2.5 crore ($305,000) in direct grants to 1,000 emerging writers.
District‑level fairs receive ₹5 lakh ($6,000) each, while the Publication Board Assam’s fellowship programme commissions manuscripts across 22 subjects, retaining exclusive publication rights.
This strategic intervention addresses distribution challenges and cultivates a sustainable local author pipeline.
Event Details & Opportunities
Publishers should note the Guwahati fair’s scale: 13 days at the Veterinary College playground, Khanapara, co‑organised by the Assam Publication Board and All Assam Publishers & Booksellers Association. Headliners include Amish Tripathi, Akshat Gupta, and multilingual poets, drawing diverse readerships. The ceremonial Lai‑Khuta – a traditional pole‑raising ritual – emphasises deep cultural integration, differentiating this fair from metropolitan counterparts.
With Assamese achieving classical language status in 2024, the territory offers rich, untapped content opportunities in translation and academic publishing.
The View From The Beach
For publishing professionals, this is more than a regional event; it’s a case study in state‑led literary revitalisation. The combination of fiscal stimulus, cultural validation, and grassroots engagement positions Assam as India’s emerging frontier market. Participation now offers first‑mover advantage in a readership being actively, and lucratively, cultivated.
This post first appeared in the TNPS LinkedIn newsfeed.
