Clear some room in your “TBR” pile – the Kuala Lumpur Alternative Bookfest (KLAB) is making its return next week.
Now in its 16th edition, the festival runs from Jan 29 to Feb 2 at Central Market in KL.
Over 50 indie publishers, book sellers, distributors and niche bookshops will be at KLAB2025, including Buku Fixi, The Patriots, Karangkraf, IMAN, PTS, BookCafe, IBDE, Mangosteen, Biblio Press, Bundusan Books, BookHero dan Love Novel.
Not only will you get to browse Malaysian titles, but regional vendors, such as those from Indonesia, will also be there. There will also be vendors selling handicraft items.
Last year, KLAB welcomed more than 60,000 book lovers – a 20% increase from the year before – and is expected to hit similar numbers this year.
Though KLAB2025 coincides with the Chinese New Year holidays, the organisers aren’t too worried about its effect on the turnout.
“This was the only available slot in the early part of the year, so we decided to go ahead with it and treat it as a challenge,” says Amir Muhammad, managing director of Buku Fixi and co-organiser of KLAB2025.
“The talks and launches will be on Saturday and Sunday (Feb 1 and 2), which is when we hope for maximum crowds, whereas the weekdays are always less busy,” he adds.
KLAB2025 has three sections for visitors to explore: the Indoor Atrium, the First Floor and the Outdoor Artlane. Talks, forums, launches and other events will be held at the main stage at the Exhibition Gallery.
Key event highlights for this year's fest include a talk by Tokosue on "The Threat of Predators and Disruptors in the Context of Literature and Art", the book launches of Kumpulan Cerpen Pita Suara Mona Fandey (Mona Fandey's Audio Tape: A Collection of Short Stories) by author M. Navin and Biblio Press and Palestine: From the River to the Sea by author Ayman Rashdan Wong, as well as a session with best-selling author Nadia Khan to commemorate 11 years since the release of her hit novel Gantung, and much more.
Organised by the Malaysian Book Publishers Association and supported by the National Book Council Of Malaysia, this year’s theme is “Membaca Jambatan Emu” – a play on the Malay adage “Membaca jambatan ilmu”, or “Reading is the bridge to knowledge” – with the emu as the mascot.
Entry to KLAB2025 is free, and it will be open daily from 10am to 10pm. More info here.
