World Book Day is a charity event held annually in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

on the first Thursday in March. On World Book Day, every child in full-time education in the UK is given a voucher to be spent on books; the event was first celebrated in the United Kingdom in 1995. The event is the local manifestation of the original, global

World Book Day World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyrig ...

organized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

to promote

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, and

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

, and widely observed on 23 April. Organizers in the UK moved the observance to avoid clashes with Easter school holidays and with

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Bulgaria, England, Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Cáceres, Alcoy, Aragon and Catalonia. Sa ...

. Conversely, the World Book Night event organized by independent charity

The Reading Agency The Reading Agency is a charity registered in England and Wales which promotes the benefits of reading among children and adults in UK, working with partners including public libraries, colleges and prisons. Operations Sue Wilkinson served as t ...

is held on 23 April.

History

The United Kingdom's own version of World Book Day began in 1998, launched by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...

at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in London. Several million schoolchildren in the UK were given a special £1 World Book Day Book Token (€1.50 in

) which could be redeemed against any book in any UK bookshop. A specially created WBD anthology priced at £1 (€1.50 in Ireland) was also published. All World Book Day

point of sale The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place at which a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice f ...

and the £1 book carried the special World Book Day logo to help unify the initiative through all outlets. Since then, World Book Day UK has followed a similar pattern, gradually growing each year to encompass more initiatives, such as ''Spread The Word'', ''

Quick Reads Initiative ''Quick Reads'' are a series of short books by bestselling authors and celebrities. With no more than 128 pages, they are designed to encourage adults who do not read often, or find reading difficult, to discover the joy of books. Quick Reads are a ...

'' and ''Books for Hospitals''. Every year, the number of children receiving a World Book Day Book Token has increased. In 2000, instead of a single £1 special anthology, four separate £1

books A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical ar ...

were published, covering a wider age-range. Since then, each year has seen a new set of special £1 books published. In 2006, World Book Day began its support of and association with the ''Quick Reads'' initiative for adult emergent readers. In 2007, World Book Day celebrated its 10th anniversary with the publication of 10 £1 books. Since then every child in full-time education in the UK and Ireland is entitled to receive a £1 World Book day Book token every year. They can swap their WBD token for one of specially-produced £1 WBD books or they can get £1 off a full-price book or audio book priced £2.99 or more.

Administration

World Book Day is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

. It does not raise funds for itself but does support Book Aid International and Readathon as its nominated charities, encouraging schools to hold special fundraising events for children less fortunate than themselves. World Book Day is not funded by the British Government although the Quick Reads element does receive support from ACE, DIUS and NIACE. The funding for World Book Day activities comes principally from the major sponsor, National Book Tokens{{Cite web, title=National Book Tokens, url=http://www.nationalbooktokens.com/, access-date=2021-03-04, website=National Book Tokens, language=en and the UK book trade (publishers and booksellers).

References

External links

Official site
Programmes of the Government of the United Kingdom Reading (process) March observances 1995 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1995 Annual events in Ireland Annual events in the United Kingdom Charity events in the United Kingdom Thursday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month)