Registration for the first national book marathon "Reading Nation" has begun in the East Kazakhstan region. The project will bring together participants from all regions of the country and will become one of the largest national initiatives aimed at popularizing reading and developing a reading culture.

The marathon will take place from September 2026 to April 2027 in Kazakh and Russian languages within two leagues.

The project includes 7 categories:

• "Reading School" — students of grades 6–10;
• "Reading College" — college students;
• "Reading University" — students of higher educational institutions;
• "Reading Educator" — school teachers and college instructors;
• "Reading Dynasty" — family teams;
• "Reading Civil Servant" — civil servants;
• "Reading Intellectual" — all citizens without age or professional restrictions.

Each participant must read 15 books from a specially curated collection comprising 330 works in the relevant category. Of these, 165 books are available in Kazakh and 165 in Russian.

The list includes works by domestic authors, world classics, and contemporary literary works. The selection also took into account works included in the "100 Books" list based on the results of a nationwide vote, as well as global bestsellers, including works by Nobel Prize in Literature laureates.

The main stage of the marathon will begin in September 2026 and will last until March 2027. During this period, participants will read books and publish their reviews in their personal accounts.

In March–April 2027, final testing and intellectual quizzes will take place.

Winners and prize-winners of the regional stage will be awarded cash prizes:

1st place — 600,000 tenge; 2nd place — 450,000 tenge; 3rd place — 300,000 tenge.

All finalists will be awarded diplomas and electronic certificates.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/vko-bilim/press/news/details/1288094?lang=ru