Kozhikode: In a first in the country, Kozhikode district prison hosted the book launch of an officer's collection of short stories on Thursday. Writer Bhanupraksh Nallur released Jail Deputy Prison Officer Shyju Neelakandan's collection of short stories by handing over the first copy to Northzone Jail DIG Sunilkumar.

While state prisons have previously hosted the launches of books by inmates, this is the first time that a prison officer's work has been launched. Shyju's new book, 'Siana,' contains 10 short stories. His earlier works, 'Ayankariyile Chathanmar' and 'Benny Lloyd,' were novels published by the Sahithya Pravarthaka Cooperative Society (SPCS). Pravda Books has published his latest work.

Shyju said he was happy that his 'office space' became the launch pad for his work of fiction.

At the event on Thursday, Sreekala Menon familiarised the audience with the stories. District Jail Superintendent KV Baiju presided. 

Regional Welfare Officer Shivaprasad, Jail Welfare Officer KK Suresh Babu, VV Prajith, P Sanila, K Gangadharan, K Ahithkumar Ponnemparambath, K Chithran, CP Rinesh, and Subinlal addressed the gathering, which included prison inmates.