April 23rd is celebrated as World Book Day or World Book & Copyright Day by all the book lovers and bookworms throughout the world. This day is celebrated by UNESCO every year on April 23rd. In order to pay tribute to great literary figures such as William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes, and Vladimir Nabokov and many more, the date was selected by UNESCO. This date has prominence in the history of literature and hence it was finalized in the UNESCO General Conference, in the year 1995 which was held in Paris, to honour authors and book worldwide.
The year 2019 marks the 24th edition of the World Book Day. The theme for this year is to celebrate literature and reading as well as focusing on the importance of enhancing and protecting indigenous languages. Highlighting the importance of the International Year of Indigenous Languages, Led by UNESCO, this year it will reaffirm the commitment of the international community to support indigenous people and to preserve their culture, knowledge, and rights.
This day April 23rd marks the death anniversary of some prominent literary personalities like William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, this date also marks the birth anniversary of prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, Haldor K. Lazness and Manuel Mejia Vallejo. Hence it was obvious for the UNESCO to choose April 23rd to celebrate World Book Day worldwide.