Texan author Larry King is no more

Pakistan News & Features Services

Lawrence Leo King, more famous as Larry King, was a famed journalist, author, essayist and playwright. He expired at the age of 83 on December 21. According to reports he died after battling emphysema at Chevy Chase House, a retirement home in Washington where he had been living the past six months. 

He was born on January 1, 1929, in the town of Putnam in West Texas. He grew up mostly on a rural farm until his family moved to Midland, where he went to high school. 

His father, Clyde Clayton King, was a farmer and a blacksmith and the subject of ‘The Old Man’ known to be one of his son’s best-known essays.

Larry King had left the high school prior to graduation to join the Army just after World War II and served most of his stint in the New York area making training films. Upon return he got his first writing job at The Hobbs Daily Flare, a New Mexico newspaper, and later briefly attended Texas Technological College, now Texas Tech University, in Lubbock. 

In the mid-1950s he had moved to Washington as an aide to a Texas congressman, J T Rutherford. Later he joined the staff of another Texas representative, Jim Wright, the future speaker of the House. He left in 1964 to become a full-time writer. 

He was granted a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard for the 1969-70 academic year. He wrote about it for Harper’s in an essay called ‘Blowing My Mind at Harvard.’ 

‘The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ was made into a 1982 film starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton, and a sequel to the stage musical, ‘The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public’ appeared briefly on Broadway in 1994. 

His books included ‘None But a Blockhead’ about the act of writing, and a children's book called ‘Because of Lozo Brown’ about the fears children have of meeting others. Collections of his essays were also published, including ‘The Old Man and Lesser Mortals’ which began as an article about his father. He won an Emmy for his 1982 television documentary for CBS ‘The Best Little Statehouse in Texas’ while He taught at Princeton and was a fellow at Duke.

Spotlight on Japan in 23rd Doha International Book Fair 2012

Pakistan News & Features Services

The 23rd Doha International Book Fair 2012 opened at the Doha Exhibition Centre in Doha, Qatar, on December 12, featuring publishers from 27 countries including the US, Japan, France, Germany and Sweden. The event will continue until December 22. 

‘Global Thought Forum’ is the theme of the 11-day book fair being organised by the Qatari Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage with collaboration of the Department of Public Libraries. 

Japan is the ‘chief guest’ in the exhibition this year, which is participating with a special pavilion, with the support of the Japanese Embassy in Doha. 

The publishers from almost every Arab country are participating in the fair and the huge majority of the titles are in Arabic. The Qatar Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari opened the exhibition in the presence of senior officials from the Ministry and other departments and organisations. 

“The Doha international Book Fair is an extension of Sharjah international Book Fair (SIBF) and other book events in the GCC countries. Book fairs across the Arab world encourage reading habits, and help shape people's conscience, whereby offering an excellent opportunity to everyone to get first-hand acquaintance with the latest titles on the most pressing issues of the world,” the Minister noted. 

Several leading Qatari organisations and institutions have also set up stalls, including the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, Qatar University, RAF, Supreme Council of Family Affairs, Family Consulting Center, National Human Rights Committee, besides several media outlets in Doha. 

A series of lectures on social, political and cultural issues as well as scientific and educational topics are being held on the sidelines of the exhibition. 

A delegation from the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF), headed by Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Amri, Director of SIBF, along with Omran Al Qatari, Head of Procurement Section at the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, also participated in the 23rd edition of the Doha International Book Fair. 

The SIBF participation at Doha came in line with the directives of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, himself an avid reader, having made extraordinary efforts to inculcate the love of books among his people.

Amitabh Bachchan launches Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's book

Pakistan News & Features Services

The Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan, launched music maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's book ‘My Father, Our Fraternity: The Story of Hafiz Ali Khan and My World’ in Mumbai on December 14. 

The book launch ceremony, which caught the attention of the media, was also attended by Amitabh Bachchan’s son Abhishek Bachchan and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai, both of them the shining stars of the biggest movie industry in their own right. 

Quite a few other celebrities from the world of music and entertainment were in attendance in the programme which began with a minute's silence to mourn the demise of sitar maestro Ravi Shankar. 

The book, published by Roli Books, is based on the sarod maestro's memories of his father Hafiz Khan, who passed away in 1972, and includes anecdotes and narrations from a diary which he used to write. 

It dwells on the life and times of his father, giving a glimpse of the 'guru-shishya parampara' (teacher-disciple tradition) in Indian classical music and also features some rare photographs dating back to 1930s. 

While lauding the maestro and his sons Amaan and Ayaaan for keeping the musical legacy going, he underlined how his family and the maestro’s shared a warm and close rapport. 

“What parents do for their children is beyond measure. So whatever a child does for his father can never be enough," Amitabh Bachchan said. 

Speaking of his father, Amjad Ali Khan said, "Music was his life. There are books available on other musicians, but nothing on my father, so I decided to write this book." 

"I am lucky I was born as his son. He was a great musician and also a very kind, compassionate man," the veteran musician said. 

Born on October 9, 1945, Amjad Ali Khan is an acclaimed classical musician who plays the saror. He was born into a musical family and has performed internationally since the 1960s. 

He was awarded India's second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan in 2011. His family, which claims to have invented the sarod, is a part of the Bangash lineage and Amjad Ali Khan is in the sixth generation of musicians.

Iqbal Saleh Mohammad delighted with record sales in 8th Karachi International Book Fair 2012

Pakistan News & Features Services

Iqbal Saleh Mohammad, the doyen of the bookselling professionals in the country, has expressed his delight with the record sales witnessed in the eighth edition of the Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF), held at the Karachi Expo Centre from December 6 to 10, 2012. 

The owner of Paramount Books and Paramount Publishing Enterprise reckoned that the volume of sales in the KIBF 2012 was about 40 percent higher than any of the previous editions of the KIBF which was launched in 2012. 

Himself one of the founders of the KIBF, Iqbal Saleh, was particularly happy with the substantial increase in the demand for the children books. 

“It’s very gladdening indeed to note that greater number of books is being sold at the KIBF. These are healthy signs which augur well for the future,” the KIBF official remarked. 

He has remained vocal for the cause of the local publishing and bookselling industry, firmly believing that stronger measures should be taken to make it bigger. 

Iqbal Saleh, who has been driving force in motivating the local authors, hoped that the KIBF would be taking even greater care of them in future.

Fiction legend Ishtiaq Ahmed cherishes KIBF experience

Pakistan News & Features Services

Ishtiaq Ahmed, a legendary suspense and fiction writer, expressed his delight at watching the huge turnout in the eighth edition of the Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF), held at the Karachi Expo Centre from December 6 to 10, 2012. 

“The book fairs play a crucial role in developing the habit of reading in our society. It’s a pleasant experience for me to watch a large number of people, belonging to all groups of ages, visiting the fair,” the noted writer who became a household name with the success of the Inspector Jamshed Series remarked during his visit to the KIBF 2012. 

“In my opinion easy access to internet and the latest forms of personal computers and electronic gadgets have supported the trend of book reading through wild spreading information about books and literature,” Ishtiaq Ahmed reckoned. 

“In the past the publication of a new book and information about literature used to remain confined to a particular circle but it’s a different scenario now with the advent of the internet and it has become easier for people to tell each other and discuss about books, literature and new developments,” he thought. 

“Such book fairs, however, are vitally important in further motivating the young generation to read more and more books. The presence of thousands of people here reflects their passion for reading,” he added. 

The Lahore-based Ishtiaq Ahmad has done wonders with his detective publications in Urdu language, having written 700 novels, reported to be the highest by any author in any language throughout the world. 

He has been extremely popular, particularly among the youth, since the 1970s. His Inspector Jamshed series, Inspector Kamran Mirza series and Shoki series were blockbusters. 

He has produced suspense thriller novels thick and fast. His books have appealed to the kids as well as the adults. He had become the most sought after author in the 1990s and nearly every book of his became a success story.

8th Karachi International Book Fair sustains traditional intensity despite heavy odds

Pakistan News & Features Services

The eighth edition of the Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF), held at the Karachi Expo Centre in the centrally located Gulshan-e-Iqbal, from December 6 to 10, 2012, succeeded in sustaining the traditional intensity despite the heaviest of odds. 

By turning up in large number on all five days, and evenings, the Karachiites proved once more how much they love to read books even in the age of information technology and internet. 

By purchasing a lot of books on the various subjects that were on offer on discounted prices, they dispelled the impression that the reading habits were on the decline in this part of the world. 

With the publishers of all kinds from different countries of the world in attendance, the bookworms of Karachi availed the opportunity by visiting the fair with their families whose enthusiasm gladdened the stall-holders, who generally kept the margin of profit minimal by offering generous discounts. 

Another heartening feature of the event was the growing ratio of the young visitors who spent a lot of time at the various stalls to have a good look at the huge number of titles on display before making their choice. 

The availability of so many interesting titles on nearly every topic under the sun and that too at heavy discounts brought more and more people to the fair. 

There were a large number students as well as professionals, besides the families, who turned up during the five days of intense activity at three halls of the Karachi Expo Centre. 

According to the organizers, about one million books were on display at 321 stalls, set up by mostly by the publishers in the KIBF 2012. 

They estimated 60,000 to 80,000 visitors on each of the four working days with more than 1.5 million people believed to have turned up on Sunday.

8th Karachi International Book Fair 2012 gets underway

Pakistan News and Features Services

The 8th Karachi International Book Fair (KIBF) 2012 has got underway at the Karachi Expo Centre on December 6. The event will continue for five days until its closure late in the evening on December 10. The entry for the visitors would remain free of cost and the timings would be 10 am to 9 pm. 

The Sindh Education Minister, Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq, was the chief guest in the inauguration ceremony with Dr Farooq Sattar, Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and a former Mayor of Karachi, was the guest of honour. 

More than three hundred stalls have been set up in the three vast halls of the huge complex which is wearing festive look and there has been brisk activity since morning despite the gas problems having choked the city traffic. 

As in the past, the KIBF 2012 is being organized by the Pakistan Publishers and Booksellers Association (PPBA) with the collaboration of the National Book Foundation (NBF). The provincial Education Ministry has also extended its support to make the event a great success and dedicate to promote literacy in the country. 

Around 200 publishers and distributors, including foreign companies, have displayed their collection to attract the students, teachers, librarians, academicians, writers and institutional customers besides the general public. 

The organizers expect a record number of 300,000 people during the five-day event which, they reckon, presents considerable charm to the bookworms with the substantial discounts on offer at nearly every stall. 

Arrangements have also been made to facilitate book launching and book release ceremonies during the KIBF besides holding various contests like drawing, recitation, extempore speech, and quiz for kids in order to keep the audience entertained.