Fiction writer Afsana Begum has been reappointed as the director of the Jatiya Grontha Kendra also known as National Book Centre for a one-year term, following her sudden removal from the office on January 20.

Afsana confirmed the news, stating that she joined the office on Sunday.

On May 14, the public administration ministry issued a notification appointing her on a contractual basis.

Following the student-led mass uprising, she was initially appointed as director in September 2024 for a two-year term by the former interim government. The government, however, removed her more than seven months before the expiry of her tenure, a move that triggered widespread controversy.

Earlier, the ministry had appointed poet AHM Shakhawat Ullah, widely known as Shakhawat Tipu, as the director of the book centre for a one-year term.