Why creative book markets declining in Bangladesh?
Is there any exact number of creative publishing houses in Bangladesh? There are no specific statistics on how much money books are sold in a year.
The information that is available is only centred on ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’; for example, only 17 crore books were sold at the last book fair. Book fair statistics from the past few years show that the amount of creative book sales is gradually decreasing.
However, publishers themselves have various doubts about the veracity of this fair-centred sales data. Before the COVID pandemic, the Ekushey Book Fair was close to selling hundreds of crores of books, but why has it now come down to 17 crore? Why is the creative publishing sector struggling all year round?
The creative book markets in Bangladesh is declining due to surging inflation, soaring paper and production costs, weak copyright enforcement leading to rampant piracy, and a shift in youth engagement toward digital alternatives. Economic strains have reduced household purchasing power, shrinking sales at platforms like ‘Amar Ekushey Book Fair’.
According to publishers, the publishing industry, which was devastated by the impact of COVID, is sinking deeper into the abyss instead of turning around. Despite seeking the government’s attention, the desired response has not been met.
Although there was hope that the creative publishing industry would gain new momentum in the new Bangladesh after the July 24 coup, it has been dashed; rather, the dustbin controversy at the book fair, the division of publishers, the attack of the so-called ‘Tawhidi Janata’ at the publication stall, and the creation of fear among creative writers and publishers with the tag of ‘fascist’ have destroyed the natural form and character of the book fair.
As a result, there is still uncertainty about what next year’s book fair will be like. However, in addition to this, the initiative of the National Book Centre to formulate a book policy and the trend of overcoming fair-centric dependence are also opening the door to new possibilities.
A decade ago, where only the Ekushey Book Fair was the only centre for selling creative books, it has now created an immense potential for sales throughout the year thanks to the online platform.
Farid Ahmed, owner of ‘Somayo Prokashon’, said, “After COVID, it can be said that there has been no sales from the book fair, whatever is being sold is being sold outside the fair. Again, it is not that the sales throughout the year have increased much.
In fact, the sales of the book fair have decreased a lot.”
During the July Uprising, the online books’ platform Rokmari.com announced that it had stopped selling Professor Zafar Iqbal’s books. However, after searching, it was found that Zafar Iqbal’s books are being sold as before on other platforms and new books are also being published.
Although the ever-familiar excitement of readers surrounding this renowned writer at the Ekushey Book Fair is no longer seen as before.
Farid Ahmed said that Somoy Prokashon has been publishing a new book by Zafar Iqbal every year and in that vein, two new books by this writer have been published in the last two years, the sales of which are also quite satisfactory.
When you hear that book sales are decreasing, does it seem like this generation is turning away from reading? The answer to this question is not that easy.
Because, the way and habits of people reading books have changed; modern technology has taken over the place of reading books by turning pages.
Abul Bashar Firoz Sheikh, Director of the Central Executive Committee, and Convener of the book fair standing committee of the Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association (BAPUS), said that although their office does not have specific statistics on the sale of creative books, they have plans to conduct such a survey.
In a report published in the coming April, Prothoma gave an idea that about Tk 1500 million of creative books are sold in Bangladesh annually, which Abdul Razzak Rubel, publisher of ‘Gronthik’ Publication, also agreed with it.
According to Dipankar Das, owner of the publishing house and chain bookshop ‘Baatighar’, although the book market is more than Tk 1500 million, he has doubts whether it will reach Tk 1500 million or not.
In 2025, 721 organisations participated in the book fair, of which 703 were publishing organisations and the rest were media and healthcare-related.
Many believe that there are more than 700 publishing organisations in the country. However, 570 publishing organisations participated in the last book fair.
According to the Bangladesh Book Publishers and Sellers Association, they have about 250 member publishing organisations.
After reviewing the data published by the Bangla Academy at the book fair from 2013 to 2026, before COVID, book sales were on the rise every year; but after COVID, they have been on the decline. In 2026, 17 crore were sold, while in 2025, it was approximately Tk 40 crore.
Earlier, in 2024, Tk 60 crore and 47 crore were sold at the fair in 2023. In 2013, books worth Tk 10 crore 14 lakh were sold, in 2014, Tk 16.5 crore, in 2015, Tk 21 crore 95 lakh, in 2016, Tk 40 crore 50 lakh and in 2017, Tk 65 crore 40 lakh. In 2018, this figure stood at Tk 70 crore 50 lakh and in 2019, the sales amount was Tk 80 crore. And in 2020, the sales record reached Tk 82 crore.
At the last book fair, the publisher’s union said that due to political and economic instability, sales at the book fair in 2025 had decreased by about 60 per cent compared to 2024. And the sales of the 2026 book fair have surpassed the 2021 pandemic fair and it is very ‘deplorable’.
According to them, the dream of selling 5 million to 10 million books in this country of 180 million people is not an impossible dream. With proper management, coordinated initiatives and a specific marketing budget of Tk 5 million to 10 million, this goal can be achieved within the next three to five years.
