World Book Day 2006 logo in the UK and Ireland

World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Day) is a yearly event on 23 April, organised by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. The Day was first celebrated in 1995. Image File history File links Wbd2006. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ... Reading is a process of retrieving and comprehending some form of stored information or ideas. ... This article is concerned with the production of books, magazines, and other literary material (whether in printed or electronic formats). ... In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. ... Copyright symbol Copyright is a set of exclusive rights regulating the use of a particular expression of an idea or information. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Origin

The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers in Catalonia as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day. This became a part of the celebrations of the Saint George's Day (also 23 April) in the region, where it has been traditional since the mediaeval era for men to give roses to their lovers and since 1925 for the woman to give a book in exchange. Half the yearly sales of books in Catalonia are at this time with over 400,000 sold and exchanged for over 4 million roses. April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Capital Barcelona Official languages Catalan Spanish In Val dAran, also Aranese . ... Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616), was a Spanish novelist, poet and playwright. ... Saint George oil painting by Raphael St Georges Day is celebrated in several nations of whom Saint George is the patron saint, including England, Georgia, Bulgaria, Portugal, and Catalonia. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ...

In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright day would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla, the birth of Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Halldór Laxness Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Garcilaso de la Vega, (b. ... Josep Pla i Casadevall (March 8, 1897, Palafrugell, Girona - April 23, 1981, Llofriu, Girona) was a journalist and a popular author. ... Maurice Druon (born April 23, 1918) is a French novelist and member of Académie française. ... Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Набо́ков, pronounced ) (April 22, 1899 [O.S. April 10], Saint Petersburg – July 2, 1977, Montreux) was a Russian-American author. ... Born in Jericó, Colombia in 1923 (died in El Retiro, Colombia in 1998), Manuel Mejía Vallejo was an important Columbian contemporary writer. ... Halldór Laxness Halldór Kiljan Laxness (born Halldór Guðjónsson) (April 23, 1902 – February 8, 1998) was a 20th century Icelandic author of such novels as Independent People, The Atom Station, Paradise Reclaimed, Icelands Bell, The Fish Can Sing and World Light. ...

Although 23 April is often stated as the anniversary of the deaths of both Shakespeare and Cervantes, this is not strictly correct. Cervantes died on 23 April according the the Gregorian calendar; however, at this time England still used the Julian calendar. Whilst Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar in use in his own country at the time, in actual fact he died ten days after Cervantes, due to the discrepancy between the two date systems. The apparent correspondence of the two dates was a fortunate coincidence for UNESCO. April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (September 29, 1547 – April 23, 1616), was a Spanish novelist, poet and playwright. ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ... The Gregorian calendar is the calendar that is used nearly everywhere in the world. ... The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and took force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ...

World Book Day in the UK and Ireland

On World Book Day a free book token is given to all school children in the UK and Ireland. The book tokens are for £1.00 in the UK and €1.50 in Ireland. They can be used to buy one of the books that are released especially for the day and cost the value of the token or any other book or audiobook. Many schools also choose this day to hold a readathon or a book sale. GBP may be: short for Game Boy Player the ISO currency code for the British Pound Sterling. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

In 2006 World Book Day was held on 2 March in the UK and Ireland because schools were closed on Sunday, 23 April. March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... April 23 is the 113th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (114th in leap years). ...

Novellas

This is a list of novellas released for various World Book Days.

• The Stone Pilot (2006)
• Cloud Wolf (2001)
• How to train your Viking (2006)
• Hannah The Happily-Ever-After Fairy (2006)

The Stone Pilot (2006) is a short novella in the Edge Chronicles series, created by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. ... Cloud Wolf (2001) is a short novella in the Edge Chronicles series created by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell. ...

External links

• World Book and Copyright Day at UN
• World Book and Copyright Day at UNESCO
• Message of the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day — 23 April 2005
• About World Book Day in the UK and Ireland