World Book and Copyright Day Date in the current year: April 23, 2026

April 23 is the anniversary of the death of the renowned Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes – or, more precisely, the anniversary of his burial, as it is now generally accepted that Cervantes died on April 22. When the idea for World Book Day was first conceived, however, April 23 was still considered the anniversary of Cervantes’s death.

Spanish publisher, editor, translator, writer, and journalist Vicente Clavel, founder of the Cervantes Publishing House, first came up with the idea for the holiday in the early 1920s. Clavel campaigned to have October 7, Cervantes’s birthday, designated as Book Day. In 1926, King Alfonso XIII of Spain signed a corresponding royal decree. In 1931, the holiday was moved from October 7 to April 23 and quickly grew in popularity, especially in Catalonia, where April 23 is the feast day of the patron saint, Saint George.

In 1995, UNESCO decided to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day on this date, as it is also the anniversary of the deaths of two more prominent writers: William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. All three died on April 23, 1616. Interestingly, Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same date, but not on the same day. England used the Julian calendar, while Spain used the Gregorian calendar; therefore, the two authors actually died ten days apart.

Several other notable authors were also born or died on April 23. Halldór Laxness, Maurice Druon, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Máté Zalka were born on this day, and William Wordsworth, Josep Pla and P. L. Travers died on this day. This makes April 23 an even more fitting date for World Book and Copyright Day.

One of the main UNESCO initiatives associated with World Book and Copyright Day is the World Book Capital program, which was launched in 2001. Each year, a new city is designated a World Book Capital, aiming to promote reading among people of all ages and backgrounds for a year, beginning on April 23. As of 2026, past World Book Capitals include Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Antwerp, Montreal, Turin, Bogotá, Amsterdam, Beirut, Ljubljana, Buenos Aires, Yerevan, Bangkok, Port Harcourt, Incheon, Wrocław, Conakry, Athens, Sharjah, Kuala Lumpur, Tbilisi, Guadalajara, Accra, Strasbourg, Rio de Janeiro, and Rabat.

Events organized for World Book and Copyright Day include, but are not limited to, book exhibitions and fairs, seminars, conferences, meetings with authors, and more. These events pay tribute to books and authors and encourage people to discover the pleasure of reading. They are organized by UNESCO, international partners (the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Publishers Association, the International Authors Forum, the European and International Booksellers Federation), and local stakeholders.

UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day should not be confused with the UK and Ireland’s World Book Day, which is held annually on the first Thursday in March. The latter is actually a version of UNESCO's celebration, but its date was changed to March because April 23 coincides with Saint George’s Day, a significant holiday in England that often falls during school holidays.