In 2022 the event pulled in 600,000, so no records are expected to be broken this time around.

Now in its 18th incarnation, the Karachi International Book Fair this year runs December 14-18.

Organised by the Pakistan Publishers & Booksellers Association, 150 domestic and 40 overseas exhibitors from 17 countries are participating.

Karachi International Book Fair chairman Aziz Khalid told a pre-event press conference the fair hoped to beat last year’s 400,000 turnout, noting the Karachi fair is the country’s biggest consumer and trade fair, this year attracting publishers from Iran, India, Turkey, Singapore, China, Malaysia, England, the UAE among others.

In 2022 the event pulled in 600,000, so no records are expected to be broken this time around.

600,000 at Karachi Int. Book Fair as New Delhi World Book Fair postponed

Per past TNPS coverage of the Pakistan publishing scene, there is still an overwhelming emphasis on print, with digital still being treated as a sideshow.

400,000 expected at Pakistan’s Karachi International Book Fair amid a shift to an international focus, but digital embrace not in evidence

Given Pakistan has over 100 million people online that’s a missed opportunity.