Of the 41 authors slated to attend their book launches at the World Book Fair, only half make it

One of the writers says that they received a notice mid-January from the NBT regarding the fair’s inauguration on February 1. Their books were scheduled to be launched the same day. The book proposals were selected for publication after a shortlisting and interviewing process last year.

However, the writer said that they received an email from the NBT on January 28, conveying that the February 1 event would only be an inauguration, and that the book launch would happen on February 7.

“I had already booked my flights and stay in Delhi from January 30 to February 5,” she said. “But I didn’t cancel my flight and rescheduled it for the evening of February 7 as the fair only lasts till 8 pm. But on the morning of February 4, they said on a WhatsApp group that the launch was at 5 pm, February 7. I would not have been able to make it to the airport in time.”

“So I rescheduled my flight again, for 1 am, February 8. Then, on the evening of February 4, they said that the launch might be postponed from February 7 due to the Delhi elections,” she added.

The PM YUVA programme, which is in its second year, gives a stipend of Rs 3 lakh to selected writers, alongside mentorship by experienced writers and editors. But many of the books, which were slated to have been written, edited and printed by September, haven’t been completed yet. Another writer who flew back before the launch says that most of the books were released digitally on Saturday. They say that the final date and time of the event — Saturday morning — was only intimated to the writers on the WhatsApp group on Friday night.

“We modified our flights multiple times and had to manage the fare. Only authors from Delhi and nearby would’ve been able to handle such changes. Delhi isn’t a cheap city. Many authors came here with their parents. This is really unfortunate. They keep saying it takes hundreds of meetings to organise something like this — of course we understand that, but this made us feel betrayed,” they said.

However, Amit Singh, head of public relations at the National Book Trust, said that the authors were informed about the February 1 event only being an inauguration a month ago, given the fact that the Delhi assembly elections were around the corner. This meant that the Model Code of Conduct wouldn’t allow the Prime Minister to be named in any publicity material for the scheme.

“Their presence was optional,” Singh said. “The fair was closed on February 5 because of the Delhi election. The launch got shifted from February 7 to 8 because of practical reasons — many programmes had to be moved around because of the election,” he added.