The 43rd edition of the North Bengal Book Fair is set to begin on the Kanchanjunga Stadium Mela Ground in Siliguri on December 4.

Organised by the Greater Siliguri Publishers’ and Book Sellers’ Welfare Association, the fair will continue till December 14, bringing together readers, writers, students and publishers from across the region.

Gautam Deb, the mayor of Siliguri and the chief patron of the event, announced the dates on Tuesday, describing the fair as a “much-awaited cultural tradition” for the city.

Sahitya Akademi award-winning writer Amar Mitra will inaugurate the 11-day fair in the presence of the mayor and representatives of the publishing community. The organisers say the opening ceremony is expected to draw a large gathering of literary enthusiasts.

This year, the fair will see participation by a host of leading publishing houses from across India. Among the prominent names confirmed are Ananda Publishers, Oxford University Press, Penguin Books, HarperCollins, Mitra & Ghosh, Dey’s Publishing and Book Farm.

“This year, there will be 94 stalls, the highest number of book stalls ever featured at the North Bengal Book Fair,” said Madhusudan Sen, joint convener of the organising committee of the fair.

According to the organisers, enthusiasm among publishers and booksellers has been unprecedented.

“More than 100 publishing houses and book sellers applied to participate, but we were unable to accommodate all of them because of space limitations,” said Deb, the mayor. “We are exploring an alternative and larger venue to enable wider participation in future editions.”

The fair, sources said, will be open daily from 2pm to 8pm. Along with the book stalls, visitors can enjoy a variety of cultural programmes, interactive sessions, performances, and a live interaction with the mayor.

Sen said books worth around ₹5 crore had been sold at the fair last year. “We are hopeful of achieving similar figures this time as well,” he added.