On 21 March, the Great Reading Festival – the ceremonial closing event of the 2025 “Children, Youth and Parents Jury” reading promotion programme – took place at the National Library of Latvia. This year, it was held concurrently with the Riga Book Fair, as both initiatives bring books and their readers together.

This year, 23,300 readers participated in the readers’ jury. These include children from the age of 5 participating in the Children’s Jury, from age 11 in the Youth Jury, and readers of all ages, including seniors, in the Parents Jury. The programme stands out by speeding up access to recently published books in libraries and schools, and helping readers choose books they enjoy through a variety of activities. It also engages readers in discussions and evaluations of books, providing insight into the opinions of a large reading community.

Government and municipal funding, together with the active involvement of librarians, teachers, and parents, supports the successful rollout of the programme throughout Latvia and in 91 Latvian diaspora centres across 35 countries. A total of 912 libraries participated in last year’s reading marathon, fostering the development of literacy and supporting the publishing sector. Authors are genuinely moved by the hundreds of written reviews they receive from readers about their books.

The “Children, Youth and Parents Jury” programme is designed to be simple and easy to follow – anyone can join in active reading while building the habit of frequent library visits. The 2025 collection included 29 books across six age groups: 5+, 7+, 9+, 11+, 15+, and also the Parents Jury. The collection primarily highlighted original literature, with a total of 16 books by Latvian authors. Translated literature was also widely represented, including three books translated from Lithuanian and three from Swedish, two from English, and one each from Estonian, French, Slovenian, Danish, and Dutch.

The ‘Children, Youth and Parents Jury’ programme and the Great Reading Festival are supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the Latvian Publisher’s Association, publishers, and local municipalities participating in the programme. Content development and coordination are carried out by the Children’s Literature Centre at the National Library of Latvia in cooperation with regional libraries and other partners.