In this occasion, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn was the award presenter for winners of the 2017 National Book Award, afterwards, viewed the exhibitions organized by various sectors as well as book stores in the fair. Mr. Charun Homtienthong, President of Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (PUBAT) states that the book fairs have been receiving attentions from the public and especially this year, "45th National Book Fair and Bangkok International Book Fair 2017" will be another big event of the year as there are not only 430 publishers and 947 activity booths organised on 21,000 square metres, but Findland also joins the fairs as Guest of Honor to celebrate the centenary of Finland's independence with "The Joy of Reading – Key to Lifelong Learning" activity. A variety of books for this activity will be imported directly from Finland in order to educate about the literature and design knowledge of Finland which will broaden Thai people's reading perspectives from different reading culture from another part of the world.
"On behalf of PUBAT who has important missions to promote reading, I realize that books and reading are parts of building a strong country and leading to 'Thailand 4.0' which is the current policy of Thailand's economic development or economic development model of the government. Reading builds and makes quality people and people are the best resource to develop the country." says Mr. Charun.
As for the highlight activities of this year, "The exhibition of Memorial Books: the National Cultural Heritage" will be organized by the National Library of Thailand, Fine Arts Department, Ministry of Culture. There are three parts of the exhibition: part 1 the memorial books of King Rama V, King Rama VI, King Rama VII and King Rama VIII; part 2 the memorial books of royal families, civil servants and ordinary persons; part 3 the memorial book of King Rama IX as royallyendorsed to be published.Moreover, there are several expos worth visiting: such as the media exhibition to celebrate the 60th birthday anniversary of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, the royally-initiated media to enhanceteaching and learning in small remote schools and schools with mixed-grade classes; The display of 51 award-winning books in 2017 National Book Awards exhibition; The exhibition of the literature contest Phan Wan Fa Award, and the knowledge about democracy and citizenship, organized by the Secretariat of the House of Representatives.; and "9 Decades of Chatchaipracha" an oil-paintings exhibition by Piak Poster (Somboonsuk Niyomsiri), a 2015's national artist in performance arts (films and dramas), where the Entertainment Critics Association will be selling art collection books, each consisting of 13 paintings reprinted on drawing papers, and the profits of which will be given to Piak Poster without any deduction.
On the other hand, Publishers Association, after having relentlessly promoted the project like "One Reading, Waking Millions" (๑ อ่าน ล้านตื่น), has issued another campaign "Read for the South." It invites everyone to participate in helping buying books to school libraries in the South, which have been affected by the floods. By only posting a unique reading pose on social networks (Instragram, Facebook, Twitter) together with one of (or all of) the following hashtags #สัปดาห์หนังสือครั้งที่45 (bookfair45th) #อ่านเล่นท่า (readingpose) #อ่านช่วยใต้ (readforsouth) and setting the picture for public view, the participants can help contribute to the donation funds as each post will be given a worth of 10 baht by the Publishers Association. The project starts on March 23rd and lasts until April 9th, 2017, with all its proceeds going to purchasing of books for 50 school libraries in 11 provinces that have been affected by the floods.
Even if the overall economy has been in recession, more than 350 books are debuted in this book fair, inspiring the prediction that not less than 1.7 million people will be attending the National Book Fair. This creates confidence and much expected revenues for many publishing companies, especially for the small-and-medium-sized publishing houses that are mostly run by book-lovers. Considering the present state of publishing, it can be said that in the future the quality of books will be put more emphasis on, rather than just quantities. If able to keep the quality increasing gradually, books made of paper may still be profitable, but the quantity of books is likely to decrease, since the price is no longer a deciding factor for readers. At present, the most marketable books are young-adult novels, educational novels, and supplementary textbooks.
"The 45th National Book Fair and Bangkok International Book Fair 2017 will be held from Wednesday, March 29th to Sunday, April 9th, 2017, for a 12-days period, from 10.00 to 21.00 hrs. at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center."
Be ready to bring happiness and knowledge back to your home.