Happy World Book Day in the United States! Run by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), World Book Day (aka World Book and Copyright Day, and the International Day of the Book) is, to quote their website:
“World Book Day is a celebration! It’s a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and (most importantly) it’s a celebration of reading. In fact, it’s the biggest celebration of its kind, designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and marked in over 100 countries all over the world.”
To explain this event further, let’s turn to Wikipedia for its origin story:
“The original idea was of the Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andrés as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes [author of Don Quixote], first on October 7, his birth date, then on April 23, his death date. In 1995 UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and [16th-century Spanish author] Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors.”
So then it’s really World Book Death Day? Hey, as long as it gets people to read…
Around the world (except for Ireland and the United Kingdom), World Book Day is held every April 23—so for more information, visit the World Book and Copyright Day site for all the latest news and events listings.
But the celebration doesn’t end at sundown, because April 23 is also World Book Night in the United Kingdom! Run by The Reading Agency, this annual gathering of book lovers is, to quote their website:
“World Book Night is a national celebration of reading and books which takes place on 23 April every year. Books are given out across the UK with a focus on reaching those who don’t regularly read, and are gifted through organisations including prisons, libraries, colleges, hospitals, care homes and homeless shelters, as well as by passionate individuals who give out their own books within their communities.”
For more information, visit the World Book Night site.
A whole day and night dedicated to reading? Well, that should actually be every day, shouldn’t it? Of course! Anyway, start celebrating and get to reading!