Hyderabad: This year’s 37th Hyderabad Book Fair has drawn mammoth crowds, especially on the weekends. Along with an endless collection of non-fiction, fiction, and reading materials, this year there has been a huge stock of young authors’ books alongside the opportunity to interact with young authors.

The main attraction of the fair, along with the several books, was the writer’s hall, which caught the interest of many book lovers. The event was held for the third time, with authors directly interacting with visitors. From fiction to non-fiction, drama to sci-fi, and philosophical discourses to political documentation, the venue had all sorts of compilations. Around 347 stalls have been installed, and few renowned publishers, including Sage, Penguin, PalaPitta, Emesco, and many more, were present. Apart from this, the book fair is organising several literary events, guest sessions with renowned authors, poets, debates and discussions, book launches, and cultural events.

Sampreeth Shivaiah, an agricultural engineering lecturer turned author with a stream-of-consciousness writing style, said, “I have written several books such as Samudram Dachina Keratalu, Maarani Manushula Kathalu, and Mahabhoomi Mahakavyam, Vedant inevitable. Most of the work is in Telugu and a few in English. For the very first time, I have launched these books in this book fair. In the beginning of the book fair, I was a little nervous, as not much crowd was visiting the fair, and later we had a good response.”

Susmitha Manasa, an author of the Blurb, said, “Book enthusiasm is still alive, as the especially young crowd has been visiting me, interacting with me, and enquiring about my book, which is a love story.”

“From history to poetry, heritage to literature, culture to politics, and comics to humour, the Book Fair covers a wide range of subjects and for the past three year what has attracted me is the writer’s hall, where I could directly interact with various authors and could know about their books,” said Sunil Rao , a third year degree student.

“Seeing the huge crowd thronging, we can see that book enthusiasts still exist, and to encourage this zeal, such types of fairs should be organised at least monthly. For the past several years I have been visiting this fair and love to dig into the vast collection of books that are on display,” said Dr Bhuma Srinivas Rao, a graphologist.