City book fair attracts more than 700,000 visitors

More than 700,000 readers visited the sixth annual HCM City book expo which closed on Sunday.
The Book, Knowledge, Integration and Development exhibition featured more than 200,000 titles, of which more than 4 million copies were sold during the week-long fair, a 30 per cent increase over last year.
Total revenue also increased by 30 per cent over last year, reaching to more than VND20 billion (US$1.16 million).
The HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (FAHASA) topped the list with the highest revenue, with VND8.5 billion ($447,370), while best-selling Vietnamese writer Nguyen Nhat Anh’s Dao Mong Mo (Island of Dreams) published by Tre (Youth) Publishing House was the best-seller, with 10,000 copies sold at the fair.
This year’s expo attracted 31 publishers from the UK, the US, France, China, Germany, and Spain and more than 150 publishers, stationary companies and educational organisations from Viet Nam, including Apolo, ILA, and Cleaverlearn. More than 400 stalls featured books and stationeries.
Apart from workshops to introduce new titles and discussions between writers and readers, an English Day, organised by FAHASA and the city Education and Training Department, was held on March 20 for primary students.
A photo and book exhibition on the 1,000-year history of capital Ha Noi, as well as the subjects of Uncle Ho and Sea and Islands, was held at the fair to mark several major national events this year.