World Book Day Now on April 23rd

Last year I wrote an article on the UNESCO World Book Day (www.associatedcontent.com/article/653465/march_23_2008_world_book_day_what_is.html), a day set aside to celebrate books and literacy. This year, instead of holding this special day on March 23rd, it is to be celebrated on April 23rd. It has also been renamed World Book and Copyright Day.

Why the change? On their website that features the event, UNESCO cites a strong historical background to the date of April 23rd. They state that in 1616 Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died on this date. Other prominent authors who share an anniversary (either of birth or of death) on this day are Maurice Druon, K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. Therefore, the coordinators feel that April 23rd is a more appropriate date to hold events which honor authors and reading and their contributions to world cultures and societies.

2009 marks the seventh anniversary of World Book Day- now World Book and Copyright Day- and a partial list of organised events can be found at portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38878&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.

How about sharing your favorite book with someone as a simple way to mark April 23rd this year?