The Chennai International Book Fair 2026 expects over 1,500 expressions of interest and translation-rights grants compared to the 1,354 deals signed the previous year, said B. Chandra Mohan, Secretary of School Education Department and Chairman, organising committee, CIBF 2026 on Thursday.
The upcoming CIBF 2026 to be held on January 16 to 18 will see publishers from 102 countries and 90 publishers from Tamil Nadu participating in the fair, which will be held at Kalaivanar Arangam, here.
“Further, 42 publishers from States such as Kerala, Delhi, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Telangana will participate. For the first time, the event will be open to the public, and they can register online,” Mr. Mohan said.
While CIBF acts as a platform for publishers to buy rights of a specific book to translate it to other languages, this year, the fair will also have at least 42 stalls from Indian publishers. While panel discussions will focus on various aspects of books from publishing to reading, a panel on children’s reading habits, regarding holding their attention in the ‘age of reels’ will also be a highlight.
Meanwhile, in an effort to create more awareness regarding CIBF among students, the Directorate of Public Libraries have been holding awareness programmes on the fair. “There is a need for the student community to understand Tamil literature and the need for CIBF. They too need to be involved in such events to further their knowledge,” said an official from the District Library office.
Published – January 09, 2026 06:51 am IST
