During Corona, various literary and artistic fields tried to be innovative, creative and did not remain in isolation. Some institutions turned the Corona virus into an opportunity by changing methods and tools. In discussing books in cyberspace or similar activities, the main goal was book and reading, and the change was made solely in the manner of reading. Of course, cultural and artistic events were held with the focus on activities in the virtual sector only within the framework of current laws and regulations of the country and with the approval of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. In this article, we take a look at the activities that took place in 2020 in the field of culture and literature in different ways.
Buy books online
From the last days of 2019, when we were subjected to special conditions (home quarantine due to the outbreak of coronavirus), many programs were postponed and bookstores closed. Many publishers paid a lot of attention to online sales.
Virtual Book Fair
The first virtual book exhibition was inaugurated on January 20, with the presence of Seyed Abbas Salehi, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It was publicly available on the tehranbookfair.ir website.
Visit the moon
The poetry reading ceremony of the poets in the presence of the Supreme Leader was held on the night of the birth of Imam Hassan Mojtaba (AS) in the framework of the "Meeting of the Moon" program, in memory of the annual meetings with him.
Iranian Book and Literature House
Organizing cultural institutions (Iranian cultural exhibitions, book house, the Iranian Poetry and Fiction Foundation) is one of the important events of this year. Ayub Dehghankar also started his activity as the managing director of this institute entitled "House of Books and Literature of Iran".
Spring, summer, autumn and winter book season
The implementation of the seasonal plans for the book subsidy distribution plan was one of the admirable events this year, due to the epidemic of Covid-19 virus and the damage done to booksellers and publishers through bookstores entitled "Book Spring 99", "Book Summer 99", "Book Autumn 99" And "Book 99 Winter" helped boost bookstores and encourage people to buy books at a lower cost.
Book Week
In November, the 28th edition of the Islamic Republic Book Week was held online and in person. Distribution of more than 60,000 books in rural areas of the country with the slogan "with books can be done" and with the aim of promoting the culture of reading and reading among the less privileged sections of society was also implemented.
Jalal Al-Ahmad Literary Award
In January 2020, we witnessed the closing ceremony of the 13th edition of the Jalal Al-Ahmad Literary Award. Honouring the creators of outstanding, original and progressive works has been awarded to Jalal Award.
Fajr International Poetry Festival
The closing ceremony of the 15th International Festival of "Fajr Poetry" was held in February at Vahdat Hall. There were three symmetries in this year's festival: on the one hand, the 40th anniversary of the holy defence, on the other hand, the festival coincided with the first anniversary of the martyrdom of Haj Qassem Soleimani and the 40th day of the death of Martyr Fakhrizadeh.
Book of the Year Award
The winners and honourees of the 38th Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the 28th World Book of the Year Award of the Islamic Republic of Iran were introduced and honoured in the presence of the President in early March, as usual.
Unveiling of artistic texts focusing on sacred defence
The unveiling of 31 titles of plays coincided with the 40th anniversary of the beginning of eight years of epic and defence by the Roudaki Foundation and the Arts and Cinema Affairs Organization of the Holy Defence at the end of March in Vahdat Hall.
From the festival to campaign with books
36 literary programs such as the sixth edition of "Ahmad Shamloo Poetry" award, the 17th "Book Criticism" festival, the 19th edition of "Sadegh Hedayat" literary award, etc. were performed in this section. The implementation of the "Post Book" system and the purchase of books by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance on several occasions are among the other activities we have gone through. In addition, the activities of the Association of Cultural Works and Honours, the Association of Children and Adolescent Writers, the Young Poetry Office and book-reading clubs were followed in cyberspace.