The fair, organised every year by Bangla Academy, is one of the biggest annual festivals for book-lovers, scholars and publishers as they can buy and sell books on the occasion. Moreover, the publishers get a chance to know about the expectations of readers from on-the-spot interaction.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia will inaugurate the book fair at 2.30pm and lay the foundation stone of the Bangla Academy Bhaban.

A total of 461 stalls of 305 organisations have been set up at the fair this year, with a unanimous decision of all the publishers, including the Bangla Academy, to sell books at 30 percent discount this time to attract more buyers.

Although the number of new books that are expected to hit the stalls during the fair by publishers were not available, but Bangla Academy will publish 23 new books during the knowledge festival.

The fair venue has been divided into five blocks this year after the name of Salam, Rafique, Jabbar, Barkat and Shafiur - the language movement martyrs, who sacrificed their lives for Bangla language in 1952.

The Amar Ekushey Book Fair is held marking the Language Martyrs Day on February 21, which is now also observed as the International Mother Language Day.