Book fairs offer a physical space where readers, authors, and publishers intersect, fostering literary discovery and industry collaboration. As avid reader, I found the significance of book fairs spans several core areas, impacting everyone from students, teachers, parents, public at large and publishing industry owners & writers. In fostering a love for reading, book fairs create an inviting, engaging atmosphere that motivates children and adults to explore genres. When visitors, especially students at book fairs are given a wide selection of books to choose from, they take full ownership of their own reading journey.
In conjunction with the school holidays, my wife, Zarina & I accepted invite from our daughter-in-law, Nadja who arranged for our three grand-daughters, Iffah, Ilfi & Ilyan to visit the international bookfair - Pesta Buku Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur 2026, with the theme 'Malaysia Membaca Merayakan Buku' at the World Trade Center. I noticed this book fair bring together educational stakeholders (students, teachers, parents) & wider public to celebrate books. This 10-day book fair was graced by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. It was also attended by Minister of Education, Fadhlina Sidek & Minister of Higher Education, Dato' Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir. It features over 1,200 booths and opportunities to engage with the authors.
It was heartwarming to see the extraordinary response from the people from all walk of life to this book fair gave a clear signal that the culture of reading and gaining knowledge still has a special place in the soul of our society. I often emphasize to my grandchildren that the love of knowledge should not be born because of examination, recognition or promises of position alone. What is more important is the feeling of pleasure in seeking the best knowledge.
I observed the future of book fairs in acquiring knowledge lies in the transformation from simple marketplaces into dynamic, hybrid & experiential learning hubs. While digital information is readily available online, physical book fairs offer unique, immersive knowledge-gathering experiences that technology and AI cannot easily replicate.
Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
