While the first two days of the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela saw a good number of visitors, the third saw another early success for the fair, as publishers reported good sales figures.

After the gates opened at 11:00am, the fair grounds were thronged by children. From the afternoon, the fair became a blend of people of all ages, who stayed till the night and bought a handsome number of books. However, the children and their parents lamented the fact that there's no special children's corner this time.

"We've seen a good crowd since the first day. But today, the sales started flowing as well," said Aditya Antar, owner of Ittadi Grantha Prokash.

This correspondent spoke to book enthusiast Kanchan, who bought Dr Rabiul Murshed's "Have a Nice Day" from Daily Star Books, which is selling steadily.

According to Bangla Academy, 177 new books were published yesterday. Among them are Gyantapas Abdur Razzaq's "Political Parties in India" (UPL) and Mohiuddin Ahmeds's "Al-Waeda'r Khonje" (Batighor).