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Kazakhstan’s Creative Industries Development Fund has selected 10 winners in a competition for projects in literature, book publishing and digital reading technology. Nearly 50 million tenge is earmarked for funding, with up to 5 million tenge per project (qazaqcreative.com).
10 projects selected from 172 applications
The competition received 172 applications. The winners include projects for children’s books, comics, digital libraries and services using artificial intelligence (AI).
The programme’s terms are outlined in the article on literature and LitTech grants. Following the selection process, support is planned for all ten projects on the winners’ list.
Digital platforms set to receive support
Oqiber is designed for reading works in Kazakh. Its AI-powered dictionary lets readers look up unfamiliar words as they read. Abai Library brings together an electronic catalogue, online reading and AI tools.
COMPARA uses AI to compare Kazakhstani and world literature using textual sources. It is a multilingual platform. “Word Treasury” offers Kazakh classics with interactive explanations of word meanings.
Books and comics among the ten winners
“One-Page Book: Kazakh Fairy Tales” features illustrated collections of Kazakh fairy tales in a single-page format. “Sweet Fairy Tale” focuses on publishing children’s books in Kazakh and holding interactive events to promote reading.
“Kazakhstani Comics Collection” plans to produce locally created comics in Kazakh, with English versions for the international market. TULGA is a multilingual digital comics platform about historical figures from Kazakhstan. It includes accessible reading formats.
Satti.asia focuses on interactive colouring books and digital materials about Kazakhstan’s cities, history, landmarks, nature and cultural heritage. “I Want to Learn to Play the Dombra” is an English-language textbook for an international audience, with print and electronic editions.
Several projects plan content in multiple languages
The digital projects serve different purposes: explaining unfamiliar words, providing online access to books and comparing literary texts. Several winners also plan materials in other languages: English versions of comics and the textbook, and the multilingual platforms TULGA and COMPARA.
The programme aims to develop domestic book publishing, increase the amount of quality literary content in Kazakh and introduce modern reading technologies.
Another opportunity for authors is covered in the article on the “City Stories” novel competition.
