If you’re out and about in the UK on Saturday, you might just bump into one of an army of volunteers waving copies of books by authors from Carol Ann Duffy to Jonathan Coe.
Thousands of book lovers around the UK are preparing to give away 187,500 copies of 15 titles printed for World Book Night, as they try to reach the 36% of the population who don’t read for pleasure. They will be tempting their targets with a range of titles, from Sarah Hilary’s thriller Someone Else’s Skin to Matt Haig’s exploration of his depression, Reasons to Stay Alive.
World Book Night organisers quoted research that suggests 80% of recipients who typically read less than once a month, have read more as a result of the event. Almost half of this group have bought more books since World Book Night, and 32% have borrowed more from the library. The event was founded in 2011, and has seen 56,000 volunteers give away more than 2.25m books over the past five years.
Widnes resident Amanda Curries said that after she was given a World Book Night title at her son’s school, she began reading more, and has herself become a volunteer this year. “The warmth and the feeling of receiving a book spreads, and the sense that everyone is included is overwhelming,” said Curries.
Luke Jenkins from Swansea, meanwhile, had volunteered at his local library to save it from closure, but didn’t describe himself as a reader until he picked up a World Book Night title and went on to read two more books by the same author. This year, he is organising a World Book Night event at the library. “It was weird talking about books,” he said. “I’d not previously had that experience and it was great – like watching and talking about a television series. It made me want to go on to the next book and see what it’s like.”
Author Lucy Diamond, whose novel A Baby at the Beach Cafe is included in this year’s giveaway, said she was thrilled and proud to be featured. “As someone who has always turned to books for comfort, escapism, education or simply joy, it’s a great honour to know that my book will be passed on to others as part of this innovative, dynamic initiative,” said Diamond.
World Book Night celebrations are taking place across the country this year in libraries, bookshops and communities, with the flagship event taking place at the British Library. This year for the first time, publishers will also be giving away copies from their own stock, with Penguin Random House donating a copy of Ali Smith’s Public Library and Other Stories to every library in the UK, and Pan Macmillan carrying out a “rescue” of 1,400 books from its warehouse, which staff will give away over the weekend.
“This year on 23 April we celebrate…the transformative power of books. Please accept this book, from me and everyone at Penguin, for the invaluable and unsung work our libraries and librarians do for all of us,” writes Smith in a letter to librarians.
Canongate, whose chief executive Jamie Byng dreamed up the inaugural event, will be giving away titles in London and Edinburgh, ranging from The Finishing School by Muriel Spark to The Gift by Lewis Hyde. “To give a book is to start a conversation, to open a door, to build a bridge, and it is a beautiful and generous way to connect with another person,” said Byng. “We are all thrilled at Canongate at this latest development of World Book Night and will be one of many publishers celebrating books, authors and reading in this way. What’s not to love?”
The World Book Night 2016 selections
A Baby at the Beach Café, Lucy Diamond (Pan Macmillan)
Am I Normal Yet?, Holly Bourne (Usborne)
Band of Brothers, Stephen E Ambrose (Simon & Schuster)
I Can’t Begin to Tell You, Elizabeth Buchan (Michael Joseph)
Last Bus to Coffeeville, J Paul Henderson (No Exit Press)
Love Poems, Carol Ann Duffy (Pan Macmillan)
Now You See Me, Sharon Bolton (Transworld)
Perfect Daughter, Amanda Prowse (Head of Zeus)
Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig (Canongate)
Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo (Hachette Children’s)
Someone Else’s Skin, Sarah Hilary (Headline)
The Rotters’ Club, Jonathan Coe (Penguin General)
Too Good to be True, Ann Cleeves (Pan Macmillan)
Treachery, SJ Parris (HarperCollins)
Whispering Shadows, Jan-Philipp Sendker (Birlinn)
