Naija ReadFest, a reading campaign powered by Nigeria Reads, has commenced an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon reading aloud by a group.

The event, which began on August 12 at Chrisland Schools, Idimu, is designed to run non-stop for 424 hours, which is equivalent to 17 days and 16 hours.

The current record of 365 hours is held by a team in the Dominican Republic.

Kingsley Sintim, lead of Naija ReadFest, said the campaign is not only about setting a new record but also about promoting literacy and celebrating Nigerian authors.

“We’re making a very bold attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest read-aloud marathon by a team. We started on the 12th of August, and currently we’re approaching the 72-hour mark,” Sintim said.

“This campaign is being undertaken by five Nigerians drawn from the five geopolitical zones, each representing their region, reading aloud Nigerian books for 18 days non-stop.”

The festival features groups of readers called “marathoners” who take turns reading from a curated list of books by Nigerian writers.

Beyond the record-breaking attempt, the organisers said side events such as poetry slams, spelling bees, book fairs, trivia nights and author meetups are lined up to sustain engagement.

Sintim noted that the campaign seeks to highlight the work of Nigerian publishers and sharpen conversations around literacy, while giving visibility to homegrown stories.

He added that participants are looking forward to reaching the 424-hour mark by August 30.