Registration has launched in Kazakhstan for the first republican book reading marathon, "Reading Nation." The project will bring together participants from all regions of the country and become one of the largest national initiatives aimed at promoting reading and developing a book culture.
The marathon will run from September 2026 to April 2027 in two language leagues—Kazakh and Russian. The project includes 7 specialized tracks:
- "Reading School" — for grades 6–10 students;
- "Reading College" — for college students;
- "Reading University" — for university students;
- "Reading Educator" — for schoolteachers and college instructors;
- "Reading Dynasty" — for family teams;
- "Reading Civil Servant" — for public sector employees;
- "Reading Intellectual" — for all citizens, with no age or occupational restrictions.
Each participant will need to read 15 books within their selected track from a specially curated library of 330 works (165 in Kazakh and 165 in Russian). The reading lists comprise works by local authors, world classics, and contemporary literature. They also include selections from the national "100 Books" voting poll as well as international bestsellers, including works by Nobel Prize winners in literature.
The main reading stage will begin in September this year and run through March 2027: participants will read books and post brief reviews in their user dashboards. Final testing and intellectual quizzes will take place in March–April 2027.
Winners and runner-ups of the regional stages will receive cash prizes:
- 1st place — 600,000 tenge;
- 2nd place — 450,000 tenge;
- 3rd place — 300,000 tenge.
All finalists will be awarded diplomas and digital certificates.
Bakytzhan Turlybekov, Chairman of the Public Foundation "Kіtap oqityn ұlt – Reading Nation," noted that the main objective of the project goes beyond the contest itself.
"Today, we are opening registration for the first republican marathon 'Reading Nation,' thereby launching a major national movement that will unite people of different ages, professions, and interests around books.
I invite everyone to join the marathon. I am confident that together we can make reading an essential part of modern life in Kazakhstan and demonstrate that a reading nation is a strong, educated, and thinking nation," said Bakytzhan Turlybekov.
Detailed participation rules, track guidelines, and book lists are published on the official project website: www.reading-nation.kz
A number of key partners have joined the implementation of the "Reading Nation" republican marathon. The Writers' Union of Kazakhstan, the Creative Industries Development Fund, and digital platforms KITAP and Yandex Books will assist in fostering a culture of reading, supporting modern literary initiatives, and creating new opportunities for readers to engage with books.
The project is implemented with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
