The Ministry of Culture is preparing the creation of a new organization for the book with a bill for the Hellenic Book Foundation, which was recently presented to the cabinet. The creation of a body that will be responsible for the development and implementation of the national book policy is a constant requirement of the country’s intellectual world ten years after the abolition of EKEBI. However, publishers and authors complain that, despite their letters to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for dialogue, they were not invited to cooperate so that the body of the book was structured in such a way as to guarantee smooth operation, financial independence and the opportunity to increase the love of reading in the country. .

Libraries “together”

In 1931, the first library in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, opened its doors to white visitors only. Almost a century later, a project is underway to restore the city’s libraries in “People’s Palaces”. The restoration of the Macmillan Memorial Library and others in the city is the brainchild of the non-profit organization Book Bunk, which has been in operation since 2017. Their goal is to leave the past of discrimination behind and turn libraries into inclusive spaces where Kenyans can share collective memories, be creative and have access to technology to collect and disseminate information.

Rushdie after the attack

“The main feeling that comes over me is gratitude,” writer Salman Rushdie, 75, told The New Yorker in his first interview since he was stabbed in the neck and chest during a lecture in New York six months ago. . . Elsewhere in the interview, Rushdie admitted that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and finds it very difficult to write. However, his latest book, Victory City, has just come out, and he says he hopes his personal adventure won’t overshadow his writing. “I have always found my books more interesting than my life. Unfortunately, people don’t seem to agree,” Rushdie said.