World Book Day celebrates 25th anniversary in 2022

World Book Day celebrates its 25th birthday on 3 March 2022 and will be the charity’s biggest campaign to date.

The day will a focus on helping children discover a love for reading, while providing more opportunities than ever to get their own £1 book and get involved across a huge range of fun reading activities.
 
With the core message of “You Are A Reader”, World Book Day has a particular focus on reaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The charity’s 2022 campaign will aim to encourage parents and carers to support reading at home, helping them to feel more confident in reading together for a few minutes every day. Reading for pleasure is the single biggest indicator of a child’s future success– more than their family circumstances, their parents’ educational background or their income.
 
The 2022 £1 books, authors and illustrators reflect the energy and diversity of children’s literature in the UK and Ireland today. In its 25th year, World Book Day will highlight the importance of all children having the opportunity to own and be inspired by inclusive stories, written by authors and illustrators who are representative of the society we live in .  To celebrate the past, present and future of children’s literature, World Book Day will partner with BookTrust and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell MBE on a special edition of their #PassthePen campaign. Designed to help promote visibility, champion new voices and generate book sales, this year’s activity will see World Book Day legacy authors paired with up-and-coming writers and illustrators of colour.
 
World Book Day is also delighted to introduce its new illustrator Allen Fatimaharan. Best known for bring the Llama Out Loud books to life, alongside My Hair and The Rapping Princess, Allen’s work for the big birthday celebrations illustrates the magic of books and reading.
The most far-reaching and ambitious campaign to date, World Book Day 2022 will blend learnings from last year’s lockdown event with its traditional channels. Digital events, influencer engagement and live experiences will come together to ensure that children and their families can get involved and exchange their £1 token for £1 books easily.

An extensive 25th anniversary programme of activity will take place with authors, illustrators, publishers, retailers and partners taking part.
 
World Book Day will also continue to work in partnership with Read For Good: The Big Read and with publishers to supply almost 25,000 books to prisons to encourage reading and improved literacy.
 
Michael Morpurgo commented:  "World Book Day is a moment when we sound the trumpets for books and children, bringing children to books and books to children... World Book Day have been doing this now for 25 years and it's made a huge difference. There are many kids who do not have so many books at home. This is a wonderful way for children to access and enjoy books, and I'm delighted to be involved in 2022."