REGISTRATION FOR THE FIRST REPUBLICAN MARATHON "READING NATION" HAS STARTED IN KAZAKHSTAN

Registration for the first republican marathon of reading books "Reading Nation" has started in Kazakhstan. The project will bring together participants from all regions of the country and will become one of the largest national initiatives to promote reading and the development of book culture. The marathon will be held from September 2026 to April 2027 in two language leagues — Kazakh and Russian.

The project includes 7 specialized areas:

• "Reading School" — for students in grades 6-10;
• "Reading College" — for college students;
• "Reading University" — for university students;
• "Reading teacher" — for school teachers and college teachers;
• "Reading Dynasty" — for family teams;
• "Reading civil servant" — for civil servants;
• The "reading intellectual" is for all citizens without restrictions on age and occupation.

Each participant will have to read 15 books in their field from a specially formed fund of 330 works (165 in Kazakh and 165 in Russian). The book lists include works by Russian authors, world classics and modern books. During their formation, the works included in the list of "100 books" according to the results of the national vote, as well as world bestsellers, including the works of Nobel laureates in literature, were also taken into account.

The main reading stage will begin in September of this year, and will last until March 2027: participants read books and publish short reviews in their personal account. The final testing and intellectual quizzes will take place in March–April 2027.

The winners and prize-winners of the regional stages will receive cash prizes:

• 1st place — 600,000 tenge;
• 2nd place — 450,000 tenge;
• 3rdplace—300,000tenge.Allfinalistswill be awarded with diplomasandelectroniccertificates.BakytzhanTurlybekov, Chairman of the "KitapOkitynult–ReadingNation"PublicFoundation, notesthat the maingoal of the projectgoesbeyondthecompetitionitself.

"Today we are opening registration for the first republican marathon "Reading Nation" and thus launching a large nationwide movement that will unite people of different ages, professions and interests around the book.

I invite everyone to join the marathon. I am sure that together we will be able to make reading one of the important components of modern life in Kazakhstan and show that the reading nation is a strong, educated and thinking nation," Bakytzhan Turlybekov said.

Detailed rules of participation, regulations on directions and lists of books are published on the official website of the project: www.reading-nation.kz

A number of significant project partners have joined the implementation of the republican marathon "Reading Nation". The Writers' Union of Kazakhstan, the Creative Industries Development Fund, KITAP and "Yandex Books" digital platforms will promote the development of reading culture, support modern literary initiatives and create new opportunities for readers to interact with the book.

The project is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan.