VIJAYAWADA: As many as 365 book stalls, including those of major and minor publishers, have been set up at the 28th Vijayawada Book Festival, which Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu inaugurated on Sunday at the Swaraj Maidan.
Vijayawada Book Festival Society in association with the State Department for Language and Culture and the NTR Trust are organising the Navyandhra Pustaka Sambaralu or the Book Festival for 11 days.
The Book Festival, which has been growing constantly over the years, has stalls set up by Andhra Pradesh Library Association, Emesco Books, National Book Trust, Oxford University Press, Cambridge Printing Press, Scientific International Pvt Ltd, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Visalandhra Publishing House, Sahitya Prachuranalu, Praja Sakthi Publishers and others. As many as 170 publishers are showcasing books of all genres. A separate pavilion has been set up for children’s literature. The pavilion includes play area and reading space.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said books hand down knowledge and history from generation to generations. He said book reading is a healthy habit.
He lauded the efforts of the Vijayawada Book Festival Society and complemented them for naming the literary forum for discussions after maestro Mangalampalli Balamurali-krishna.
Speakers of national repute, including former RBI governors Duvvuri Subbarao and Y V Reddy, JNU professor Gopal Guru, social activist Bezawada Wilson, I V Subbarao and others would be participating in the panel discussions being organised as part of the book festival.