The 18th Ghana International Book Fair has been launched in Accra.
The Book fair which was launched on Thursday at the National Theatre is expected to come to an end on Sunday, 29th August 2021.
The 18th Ghana International Book fair was dubbed,“Ghana: A Nation of Readers for Development.”
It brought together key stakeholders, vendors, readers, book lovers and buyers together to share a common platform with focus on expanding and encouraging reading amongst the youth.
The book fair is an annual event which bring together publishers and other stakeholders around the globe under one umbrella to showcase the books and arts.
Speaking at the launch, the President of Ghana Publishers Association and Chairman, of the 18th Book Fair, Mr Asare Konadu Yamoah said although the Ghana Publishers were hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, there were also some opportunities they derived from it, which is the E- book that has also helped the Association to reach more audiences.
“Schools were closed for over a year and even when they were opened, things did not really go back to the same and so publishers were really affected. By September we printed books and in February, schools were closed and we were really challenged,” he said.
Mr Asare Konadu Yamoah continued that, “Although we were affected, it has also opened a new opportunity for us. As publishers, we knew about E-Books but we did not pay much attention to it but when the covid came and we were home and we were not selling books, we realised that if we put our books there, people will read and we will still get paid and it has also thought us to focus on that so that it can be beneficial to us.”
He also noted the use of live streaming for book launch and other projects relating to books, saying that one can now do all and have audience watch online.
“What we have noticed is that when you organise a programme physically, those who watch it online are more than those who attend in person. So, we have learnt from all these,” he added.
Mr Asare Konadu Yamoah, however, called on government to support reading and literacy promotion in Ghana by supporting Ghana Publishers.
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