Embargoed to xxxx 2014
World Book Night 2014: [CITY] Inspires ‘People Power’ to
champion reading in their local community
On April 23 2014, 250,000 World Book Night titles will be given by a network of volunteer reading
enthusiasts and institutions focusing on reaching the 35% of the population who don’t read for pleasure. As
World Book Night plays out, strangers will become friends, colleagues will pause and reflect, libraries and
bookshops will go the extra mile to ‘stay up late’, and authors of all genres will share their writings and love
of the written word with audiences of all ages.
Since it began in 2011, World Book Night has created an extraordinary group of 46,000 volunteers, giving
books away to over 2 million people. This will be a landmark year for World Book Night which has recently
come under the guardianship of The Reading Agency: the charity with a mission to give everyone an equal
chance to become a reader.
This year for the first time, The Reading Agency is launching Community Book Giving, a new way of
getting involved in World Book Night which will widen the opportunity for volunteer participation further
than ever before, allowing even more people to spread a love of reading to those who don’t normally read
for pleasure or own books. Community Book Giving means that anyone can take part in the annual gifting
of books on April 23 without applying to give away copies of the official books donated by publishers for
the occasion; anyone can sign up, and they will be responsible for giving their own book, which can be
anything they choose, either taking it from their book shelves, or buying it new or second-hand. Special
World Book Night branded stickers and bookplates will be available from libraries, participating bookshops
– including Waterstones and independents – or available online to download so that books can be officially
branded as part of the celebrations.
As in previous years, World Book Night will be celebrated on UNESCO International Day of the Book with
many experiences unfolding simultaneously across the UK, the USA and Ireland. In the UK flagship events
will be held in Birmingham and London.
In [CITY], the city will be celebrating by [EVENT/ACTIVITY/VENUE/DETAILS]
World Book Night is committed to reaching the 35% of people who don’t regularly read, and with this in
mind, the 2014 list of edition books has been curated with a view to offering a range of brilliant books
explicitly chosen to appeal to and inspire people who haven’t yet been turned on to reading. There is
particular emphasis on books for teenagers and young adults, 46% of whom don’t read for pleasure; and
men, 42% of whom don’t read for pleasure. The quantity of easy to read and accessible books has also
been increased. As well as a wide range of fiction the list features four Quick Reads, five young adult titles,
three non-fiction titles and two short story collections.
The titles for 2014 are:
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Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch (Orion)
Four Warned by Jeffrey Archer (Quick Read) (Macmillan)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (Vintage, Random House)
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith (Simon and Schuster)
Confessions of a GP by Dr Benjamin Daniels (The Friday Project, Harper Collins)
Hello Mum by Bernardine Evaristo (Quick Read) (Penguin General)
Getting Rid of Matthew by Jane Fallon (Penguin Michael Joseph)
Theodore Boone by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton)
The Humans by Matt Haig (Canongate)
The Perfect Murder by Peter James (Quick Read) (Macmillan)
Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (Transworld)
Today Everything Changes by Andy McNab (Quick Read) (Transworld)
CHERUB: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore (Hachette Children’s)
Whatever it Takes by Adele Parks (Headline)
Black Hills by Nora Roberts (Little, Brown)
The Boy With the Topknot by Sathnam Sanghera (Penguin General)
Geezer Girls by Dreda Say Mitchell (Hodder & Stoughton)
59 Seconds by Richard Wiseman (Macmillan)
After the Funeral by Agatha Christie (HarperCollins)
Vengenance is Mine Inc. and other Stories by Roald Dahl (Penguin Michael Joseph)
Whether you’ve signed up to be a giver, you’re the lucky recipient of a book, or you’ve come along to one
of the regional or flagship events, you can be part of something really special. Just go to
www.worldbooknight.org to find out more about what’s happening in your area, and help World Book
Night spread a love of reading across the UK and around the World.
The giver application process for giving away World Book Night editions is now closed, but you can still take
part in World Book Night as a Community Book Giver, and by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook,
or following all the news on www.worldbooknight.org. Full details of countrywide events will be available
here.
The Authors
Many of the title authors are lending their support to the campaign, and may be available for interview.
Please send all interview requests to [XXXXXXXX].
Sue Wilkinson, CEO of The Reading Agency, says: “World Book Night is one of the highlights of the year for
us and for all our partners; this year it promises to be more exciting than ever. All over the country people
are coming together to celebrate and share their love of reading. The generous tradition of volunteer book
giving inspired and supported by publishers is being extended this year to include community book givers all
of whom will give away a book of their own to inspire someone in their community to love reading. We hope
that this, together with the events taking place in libraries across the UK, will ensure that April 23rd is an
evening we will all long remember; the night when many more people realise that everything changes when
we read.”
For all media enquiries please contact Sam Evans at FMcM
Email: same@fmcm.co.uk / Tel: 020 7405 7422 / Mobile: 07952 761617
Notes to Editors:
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About the selection process: Publishers were invited to submit titles, and the final list was chosen
by an editorial committee made up of experts across the literacy and literary worlds.
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World Book Night USA: After the Funeral and Tales of the City also feature on the 2014 World Book
Night US list.
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The Reading Agency will now run World Book Night as one of its programmes. The charity was a
founding partner of World Book Night. The Reading Agency is an independent charity with a
mission to give everyone an equal chance in life by helping people become confident and
enthusiastic readers. It runs big programmes and partnerships across the whole library network. It
is funded by the Arts Council. (readingagency.org.uk)
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Quick Reads: the Charity was founded in 2006 in response to the substantial literacy issues in the
UK and the lack of resources for the 12 million adults in the UK who find reading difficult and may
never pick up a book. Each year they commission big name authors to write short, accessible books
to literacy guidelines. The books are written in clear language and are full of the storylines, drama
and emotional punch that would be found in the author’s other books.
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Community Book Givers can register up until 23 April 2014 through the World Book Night website
worldbooknight.org.