The preparations of the forthcoming Amar Ekushey Book Fair 2026 are in full swing but ‘Prakashak Oikya’ announced that they would boycott the fair due to the month of Ramadan.

Ramadan, the month of fasting for the Muslims, is expected to begin on February 18 or February 19, depending on the sighting of the moon.

On Wednesday, on the fairground, the construction works of structures of the stalls were in progress.

Earlier, at a press conference, the management committee said that almost 60 per cent of the work has already been completed for the fair scheduled to be held from February 20-March 15.

One member of Prakashak Oikya members, Adarsha chief executive officer Mahabub Rahman said that they predict that after the election and during Ramdan, sales at the fair would not be satisfactory.

‘Without the stall rent, the expenditure exceeds Tk 10 lakh for decoration and operational cost,’ he said, adding that the reality is that since the COVID pandemic, the sales rate of books is alarmingly low which has not recovered through these years.

‘We demand a rescheduled of the fair after Eid-ul-Fitr to ensure industry’s stability’, he added. 

Srijonshil Boi Prakashak Samity president and the management committee member Saeed Bari said that the committee prepared to organise the fair and more than 450 publishers and organisations confirm their participation.

‘The committee focuses on preparation because after or before February the book fair might not be successful because of its history and tradition aligned with the language movement,’ he said, adding that commercially successful book fairs are rare in recent times while the cost of the publications and fair is too high but sales is too low.  

Earlier, the Bangla Academy postponed the 2026 book fair, which was scheduled to be held between December 17, 2025, and January 17, 2026, due to the February 12 national elections.

On September 21, 2025, the committee of the advisory council on law and order at a meeting decided to request the cultural affairs ministry to organise the book fair after the national elections due to security concerns ahead of the polls. Consequently, the Bangla Academy postponed the fair.