🚀 go-pugleaf

I am saddened to hear of the Book Fair fire in Calcutta.  I would like to
suggest, in addition to the solicitation of money donations, that the
Publishers' Association hold a book sale in London, the proceeds of which
would go to the Calcutta publishers.  Having worked in the New York City
publishing industry, I learned of such a book sale held once a year to help
the New York homeless.  I'm sure in London, as in New York, publishing
companies come into large numbers of extra books circulated for publicity
purposes, etc.  These books are in mint condition, many having never been
opened.  To supplement such a venture, I'm sure people would be happy to
donate used books in good condition.


>
>The 22-strong delegation of British publishers, led by me,
>were well insured and their livelihoods were not threatened
>by what had happened. However, of the 600 or so stands
>destroyed about 400 were manned by small publishers,
>publishing in Bengali, whose stands were not insured. In many
>cases money had been borrowed to exhibit at the fair.
>
>Book-purchasing in Calcutta is quite different from elsewhere.
>There are very few bookshops in the city and the fair is the
>focal point of the year for these small publishers, where they
>do about 50 per cent of their annual business. Many if not
>most of them have been ruined by the fire and imaginative ways
>must be devised to get them back on their feet.
>
>In consultation with the British Council in Calcutta those
>British publishers who attended the fair have started a fund
>to help the smaller Indian publishers. We hope that enough
>money will be raised to alleviate in some small way the
>horrific burden on firms which lost everything.
>
>Yours sincerely,
>MATTHEW EVANS
>c/o Publishers Association,
>19 Bedford Square,
>London WC1B 3HJ
>United Kingdom
>
>Please send your cheques made payable to:
>
>Account name:   'The Publishers Association - Calcutta Disaster Fund'
>Account number: 87321726
>Bank Sort Code: 60-05-11
>Bank Address:   National Westminster Bank plc
>                PO Box 877
>                32 Cheapside
>                London EC2V 6HT
>                United Kingdom
>
>Thank you.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Dr Apurba Kundu <a.kundu@bradford.ac.uk>