April 23 marks the anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth and Cervantes’ death. It’s also become a major day to celebrate books across the globe.
Today is World Book Night, a celebration of reading and books where tens of thousands of people share books with others in their communities across the U.S., U.K. and Ireland. Their goal is to promote the value of reading, of printed books and of bookstores and libraries to everyone. As part of today’s celebration, booksellers and libraries across the country will act as distribution points to give pre-registered volunteers 20 copies of a featured title to give away.
Today also marks UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day, a day to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. The theme for their 2012 celebration is books and translation in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Index Translationum, a searchable database of translated works.
We encourage authors to raise awareness of these celebrations and the important contributions authors have made to the social and cultural progress of humanity. Feel free to share this post!