Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sep 17:

Walking BookFairs, an independent bookstore from Odisha, has bagged the prestigious 'Bookstore of the Year Award' at the Publishing Next 2016 Industry Awards in Kochi yesterday.

“The 7^th Publishing Next Industry Award for the Bookstore of the Year has been presented to Walking BookFairs on Friday. They have been adjudged as the winner for making visiting a bookshop and selling books exciting, and for taking books right where they belong - to the people in the streets,” the organizers said.

While the Bhubaneswar-based bookstore won the first prize, Delhi-based Full Circle Bookshop won the first runner up award.

The founders of Walking BookFairs, Akshaya Rautaray and Satabdi Mishra, received the award in Kochi.

Bookstores from all over India were shortlisted for the award including Oxford Bookstores (Kolkata), Full Circle Bookshop (Delhi), Om Bookshop (Delhi), Pitara and Walking BookFairs (Bhubaneswar).

Notably, the Publishing Next Industry Awards is an annual event celebrating the publishing industry in India.

Walking BookFairs recently made news with their 10,000 km tour across India in a traveling bookshop and free library to promote reading.

The duo arrived in Kochi on a scooter with books in their backpacks traveling through Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are on a road trip to promote books and have been gifting books to various people they meet on the highways for free. They will reach Bhubaneswar on September 22 completing their 4000 km road trip on a scooter with books. They said "Books are for everybody and books should reach more people, everywhere."