April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day. The date was not chosen by chance. On April 23, great writers such as William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Vladimir Nabokov were born and/or died. Probably, the idea of celebrating such a holiday was also inspired by the Catalan tradition of giving a book as a gift on April 23.
The purpose of International Book Day – along with initiatives such as bookcrossing, the Big Read, the Little Big Read, the Book Walk, the building of book houses, the creation of online media and many others – is to promote reading and book publishing .
The title “World Book Capital” was awarded by UNESCO for the first time in 2001 to Madrid, and since then every year a world city has been awarded this title for its dedication to the cause of the book, reading, creation and access to books – through libraries, bookstores, publishing houses, educational institutions and all activities related to this marvel of human civilization.
In 2017, the capital of Guinea, Conakry, was chosen as the World Book Capital, in 2018, the capital was Athens, and in 2019, the Arab city of Sharjah in the UAE.
