An online book fair kicked off on April 19 in celebration of the seventh Vietnam Book Day that falls on April 21 each year.

This is the first time the book fair has been held online in response to the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 16/TTg on urgent measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two-day fair, at book365.vn, is expected to attract at least 10 million views and thousands of participants.

Twenty-four publishing houses and 25 book distributors have joined the fair, introducing up to 10,000 book titles and offering a 25-percent discount for each book.

Within the framework of the fair, there are online exchange programmes between readers and translators, researchers, entrepreneurs, artists and individuals working in the publishing sector.

Organisers will contribute three percent of sales revenues to a fund for COVID-19 fight.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Hoang Vinh Bao, who is also President of the Vietnam Publishers Association, said the online book fair will make it easier for readers to access books and promote book reading habit amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Decision No.284/QD-TTg on February 24, 2014, designating April 21 as Vietnam Book Day in order to encourage reading culture among the public. VNA