The second biennial fair will be divided into six areas and have 350 booths set up by 100 publishers.

The HCM City Book Distribution Corporation (Fahasa)’s 20 booths will feature 10,000 books besides thousands of stationery items, toys and souvenirs.

Since readers’ needs are slightly different in Cần Thơ compared to HCM City or Hà Nội, a number of agriculture- and forestry-related titles will be on display.

Besides domestic publishers, Oxford, Cengage, Cambridge, Macmillan, Efuture, Pearson, and other international distributors will also take part with children’s and language books.

There will be exhibitions on the formation and development of Việt Nam, President Hồ Chí Minh’s contributions and stories and images of Cần Thơ among others.

Other highlights will include book signing sessions and seminars featuring popular authors and music shows.

Visitors will enjoy 10-50 per cent discounts on books and stationery on the last three days.

The Cần Thơ Book Fair is the second largest in southern Việt Nam after the HCM City Book Fair.

The annual fair provides local publishers with opportunities to network with and learn from larger publishers from around the country.

To avoid clashing with the established HCM City Book Fair, the Cần Thơ fair is only held on odd years.