World Book Day: Authors In Our Midst
Today is World Book Day. We think of the authors in our midst. Those of us with young ones would have been reminded of the day if it slipped under our radar. World Book Day is strongly driven by schools. Fund-raising activities by schools, nurseries, charities, etc are hallmarks of the Day.
Authors come in different guises. Authorship keeps ideas going when the author is not available. My little one’s school takes this seriously, organising talent opportunities for them to write.
At Defying Mental illness we celebrate authors. Starting from Zoë with her publications (Defying the Odds: one man’s struggle and victory over mental illness and his wife whose faith in God never failed), through guest bloggers like Stanley Popovich ( “A Layman’s Guide To Managing Fear” ), and others (Thomas Wright, Katherine Finburg) who have contacted DMI to partner in their publicity, we are surrounded by authors.
This is the first time we are having World Book Day in the world under the conditions of a pandemic. To help children cope with the various quarantine measures many support mechanisms were put in place not only to for coping but for direction in the way some authorities saw our world going. One of these was “My Hero is You, how kids can fight COVID-19” -Storybook for Children under COVID-19 by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee [IASC] Reference Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings. This was to be translated into major languages of the world to ensure global coverage. It was introduced to mark the International World Book Day 2020.
The uptake of reading is the obvious motivation for the Day. Habits formed early in life tend to be the most lasting. To this end, many groups target early readers. In addition, books are marketed at heavily discounted rates to motivate individuals to read more.
The International Event was created by UNESCO on 23rd April 1995. Since 1995 the International Event has been held on the same day. The Day also aims to promote publishing and copyright. The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Sweden hold their World Book Day on dates different from that of the International World Book Day established by UNESCO
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