I had heard about World Book Night (WBN) after seeing literary agent Ayesha Pande's exclamation about it on her Twitter feed last year. So I delved into it further and found it to be an awesome cause! I made sure to be on the alert when it came time to apply and huzzah last week I found out I was accepted to be a WBN Giver on World Book Night (April 23rd) in the United States.
You get to choose three books from the list of titles available on WBN's site and are then given one of your choices. I chose two I read: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones (two fave reads from 2012). I also chose a book I haven't read Bossypants by Tina Fey.
What I will be distributing on April 23rd is:
I'm particularly psyched about this because in my neighborhood I think the tale of Esch and her family will resonate with the urban community I live in and near in Queens.
There will be numerous other givers throughout New York City and the nation on April 23rd. And it doesn't stop in the US, it'll be happening in the UK and Ireland too. Givers may be in front of libraries, bookstores, on random streets, working with non-profit communities and so forth to encourage you to read! I've already seen tweets from people in NYC, editors, agents, writers, and readers alike excited to help spread the written word.
You can keep updated with World Book Night on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, tumblr, and YouTube.