Bhubaneswar: The state culture department will organise book fairs in the district level to promote the habit of reading in rural pockets.

In the first phase, book fairs will be hosted in nine districts - Cuttack, Sundargarh, Khurda, Dhenkanal, Boudh, Deogarh, Nayagarh, Kalahandi and Nuapada. - with the department sanctioning Rs 28 lakh for it. Subsequently, the fairs will cover all 30 districts.

"The Internet and e-commerce websites have completely changed how we buy books. Even sworn bibliophiles now prefer buying books online instead of going to a store and searching for one on the shelves. This attempt is to buck that trend," said culture minister Ashok Panda.

Panda hopes the book fairs will succeed in creating interest among people, especially youngsters, to explore books physically and read those.

A large number of renowned publication houses, mainly from the state, will set up kiosks at the fairs. It will feature bestsellers by veteran Odia writers, including Gopinath Mohanty, Manoj Das, Nityananda Mahapatra and Surendra Mohanty.

"Books are easy to order online, but there is still a large section of people who love to hop into shops and buy books. We are looking forward to having them," Panda said.

A variety of books on mythology, fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers and books for competitive exams will be available at the fairs. Every evening, there will be discussions where young readers will get a chance to interact with eminent litterateurs. Poetry sessions with literary exponents will also take place.