News story

World Book Day 2012

Authors, illustrators, books and reading celebrated across the globe

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

People in more than 100 countries around the world will be celebrating the fifteenth annual World Book Day today.

Events will be held across the UK and Ireland to celebrate books and encourage children to explore the pleasures of reading.

World Book Day UK live streamed a special event for schoolchildren, The Biggest Book Show on Earth, to mark the occasion.

DCMS is also celebrating World Book Day on Twitter by tweeting about our favourite book characters.

From Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice to the snozzcumber-eating, whizzpopping BFG, which literary characters have most captured your imaginations and why? Tell us by tweeting @DCMS and using the #worldbookday hashtag and we will retweet a selection of your replies.

We also have a picture quiz on our Facebook page using images from our museums, galleries and other arms-length bodies to provide clues to some famous book titles.

Further information

Article image by Alan Cleaver on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

Published 1 March 2012