By all standards, the maiden International Book Fair at Marine Drive grounds, Kochi, held from 1-11 March 2018 was a grand success both for the organizers and for over 60 national and local exhibitors. The fair brought together many prominent Malayalam Literary figures and a sea of book lovers—students, teachers, academia and professionals—who generously patronized different publishers and their books and services.
Seizing the available opportunity, ST PAULS and BETTER YOURSELF BOOKS participated in the fair under the able leadership of Brother Richard Vallikattuparambil, Director, ST PAULS Book and Art Centre, Kochi. He was generously supported by Fathers Sebastian K.V, Joby Mathew and Michael Raj.
Brother Richard reported that the final outcome of the fair was much above our expectations. Visitors to our stall found our books, both English and Malayalam, not only different in style and presentation but in content as well. Some of our titles in Malayalam were sold out completely by the end of the fair.
Interestingly, we were the only publishers that distributed a standard catalogue, both in Malayalam and English. In fact, it was for the first time that Malayalam Publications brought out a multi-colour catalogue of our books. Congratulations to Father Sebastian K.V, Editor of ST PAULS Malayalam, for skilfully designing the catalogue and making it available at the fair.
Truly, the fair not only offered us great sales, but also much exposure in terms of visibility and publicity for our books. This proves the significance of regular participation in such fairs across the country.