World Book day was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995 to celebrate books and authors and encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading. It is an annual event.
The first World Book Day in the UK and Ireland took place in 1997 to promote reading for fun. As World Book Day founder, Baroness Gail Rebuck, recalls “We wanted to do something to reposition reading and our message is the same today as it was then – that reading is fun, relevant, accessible, exciting, and has the power to transform lives.”
Now World Book Day continues to encourage children and young people to read for pleasure through its work with authors, illustrators, bookshops and libraries.
A related event in the United Kingdom and Ireland is observed in March.
The annual celebration on 23 April is World Book Night, an event organized by independent charity The Reading Agency.
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day, or International Day of the Book,