A view of  the Vietnamese Book Day 2018. — Photo anninhthudo.vn

HÀ NỘI — The National Library will host a celebration of Vietnamese Book Day on April 19 with many activities to promote reading culture.

With the theme ‘Books – Knowledge and Development’, the festival aims to honour the value of books and reading culture, affirm the role of books in society and respect people who work in publishing, writing and translating.

The event will include an exhibition of books printed in different historical periods as well as book launches and talk shows with authors.

Art expert Trang Thanh Hiền and researcher Thái Kim Lan from Germany will introduce their latest books.

Other activities include a painting competition, story-telling competitions in Vietnamese and English and donating books to poor children and libraries in remote areas.

The event will take place at the National Library, 31 Tràng Thi Street, Hà Nội, with entrance free.

On the occasion, a book fair will be held at Thống Nhất Park, Hà Nội, with 100 booths of 84 book companies, publishing houses and distributors.

The book fair is held on April 18-22 with other activities such as book launches, talk shows, seminars and exchanges with authors.

Nguyễn Ngọc Bảo, deputy director of the Department of Publishing, Printing and Distribution, said this year the sixth edition of Vietnamese Book Day will be held in a larger scale than before.

“In total, we have collected 11 million copies of books donated for libraries in remotes areas and schools. The Book Day celebrations really boost reading culture nationwide. The book festivals also have been held in various cities and provinces,” he said.

In the framework of the Book Day, a conference reviewing five years implementing Book Day will be held on April 18. A seminar on boosting reading culture in the community will take place on April 17.

Since 2014, April 21 has been registered as Vietnamese Book Day. VNS