Bhubaneswar Readies for another December of Words

Bhubaneswar welcomes the Odisha State Book Festival 2025, a 12-day literary celebration featuring authors, cultural events, and 550 book stalls

OdishaPlus Bureau

Bhubaneswar’s winter has its own rhythm. The mornings turn crisp, the afternoons mellow, and somewhere between the hum of traffic and the rustle of giant banners unfurled at the Exhibition Ground, the city begins preparing for an annual ritual older than many of its readers.

The gates of the Odisha State Book Festival opens once again — a 12-day celebration that is as much about books as it is about the culture of reading that has shaped generations in Odisha.

Though the festival carries the official title “Odisha State Book Festival,” for many in the capital, it is simply the Bhubaneswar Book Fair. The name evokes memories that stretch back decades — to the crowded aisles of the Rajdhani Book Fair in the early 2000s, the colourful stalls of the Kalinga Book Fair, and even earlier gatherings where readers queued with cloth bags and pocket money. Over time, with new organisers and shifting formats, the fair evolved into a state-level literary event, but its soul remained the same: a place where Odisha’s reading public came to lose themselves.

This year, the Exhibition Ground has been transformed once more. Workers were on their feet for weeks, erecting 550 stalls, arranging lights, laying carpets, marking out food courts and decorating the special theme pavilions. One pavilion pays tribute to Odisha’s women freedom fighters, another to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, both designed to remind visitors that the world of books is intertwined with the world of memory and struggle.

On opening day, the place will hum with familiar energy — children pulling parents to stationery stalls, college-goers hunting for discounts, retired teachers moving slowly from publisher to publisher, and writers drifting in for panel discussions. This year’s guest list adds a hint of glamour: Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, noted Odia writer Pratibha Ray, and several national literary voices.

For Bhubaneswar, this fair is not just an event but a season. It marks the beginning of December festivities, a time when reading is celebrated in the open, not tucked away in quiet corners. It is also, increasingly, a marker of aspiration — for young Odia writers hoping to find a publisher, for regional presses searching for new readership, and for students who still find the smell of fresh books intoxicating.

The fair’s evolution mirrors the city’s growth. Once a modest gathering for local publishers, Bhubaneswar’s book fairs now host international publishers, digital platforms, and academic institutions, drawing thousands daily. Yet, for all its expansion, the essential charm remains untouched: the leisurely browsing, the unexpected discoveries, the conversations over tea in the “coffee corner,” the serendipity that only a book fair can offer.

This year, the entrance arch is named after Maa Ramadevi, and the main stage is dedicated to Ramakanta Rath, reminders of the state’s deep literary and historical roots. And once again from today , for twelve days , Bhubaneswar will become a city of books.