Kerala Legislative Assembly Award for M T Vasudevan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the second edition of the International Book Festival, which will be held at the Assembly complex from November 1 to 7. The Chief Minister will present the 'Legislative Assembly Award' to MT Vasudevan Nair for his comprehensive contributions in the fields of art, literature and culture at a function to be held at the R Sankaranarayanan Thampi Members' Lounge at 4 pm. Speaker AN Shamseer said that the award consists of one lakh rupees, a sculpture and a certificate.

About 240 book releases, 30 book discussions, panel discussions, Meet the Author programs and other programs will be held in connection with the book festival. There will be various literary gatherings attended by around 125 prominent people. Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi will participate on November 1. 255 stalls have received bookings from around 160 publishers.

Libraries of government/aided educational institutions built by spending Rs.3 lakhs from the Special Development Fund of MLAs, libraries owned by government and local bodies and libraries recognized by the State Library Council have been allowed to purchase books from the book festival.