The decision to select the city was announced at the National Library and Archives of Iran on Saturday during a ceremony attended by Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyyed Abbas Salehi and a number of cultural officials.
Shiraz was selected from among over 30 nominees, including Urmia, Tabriz, Hamedan, Sabzevar, Bushehr, Babol, Bandar Abbas and Bojnurd.
The ministry picks Iran’s Book Capital every year in collaboration with several cultural organizations, including the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.
In addition, ten villages across the country were selected as Book Loving Villages of the Year.
The villages are Zavarom in North Khorasan Province, Vadeqan in Isfahan Province, Seyyedabad in West Azarbaijan, Bonegaz in Bushehr Province and Alavieh in Fars Province.
Also included are Kheirabad in Kohkiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Khorshid in Mazandaran Province, Isin in Hormozgan Province, Seyyedshahab in Hamedan Province and Gerdkuh in Yazd Province.
Yazd, the central Iranian city that is home to many magnificent historical mosques and ancient Zoroastrian fire temples, was Iran’s 2019 Book Capital.
Source: Tehran Times