World Book Day, celebrated on 23 April every year, is a highly symbolic date for world literature. Organised and promoted by UNESCO, the day is a global celebration of reading.

It was on this very day - 23 April 1616, that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also either the date of birth, or death, of other world-renowned authors such as Vladimir Nabokov, Maurice Druon, Haldor K. Laxness, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Joseph Pla. Naturally enough, at the General Conference held by UNESCO in Paris in 1995, the 23 April was therefore designated World Book Day.

Tribute is paid across the globe to authors and the books we have inherited from them, encouraging everyone, especially young people, to discover the joy and immense value of reading. At the same time, the event aims to cultivate a keen appreciation of those authors who have furthered humanity’s social and cultural progress.

World Book Day celebrates many sectors involved in the book industry, such as publishing houses, libraries and booksellers, and also strives to promote intellectual property rights via copyright protection. The city of Wrocław in Poland has been chosen as World Book Capital 2016.

The UGR has organised an extensive range of activities in order to pay homage as part of World Book Day, including the following:

1. A literary and musical evening, as part of the UGR Library's V Literary Competition, at 19:30 on 21 April in the UGR's Biblioteca del Hospital Real.

2. An awards ceremony for the V Literary Competition.

3. Raffle of two tablets for those who have participated in the activity “Relato encadenado: Cervantes-Shakespeare” #bugrelato #Díadellibro2016

4. A release of books as part of a Bookcrossing.

5. The photography exhibition: “Andante, ingenioso y valeroso caballero” in the UGR's Central Library building.

6. Raffle of 20 cinema tickets for participants who have taken part in the activity “Año Olímpico, Novelas Olímpicas” at the Faculty of Sports Sciences.

7. Exhibition and literary reading “40 Lenguas para el Quijote” (literary reading of fragments from Quijote in 40 languages) at the Faculty of Humanities.

8. Exhibition: “El examen de de ingenios' de Juan Huarte y 'El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha': Miguel de Cervantes en la Filosofía y en la Psicología” in the Faculty of Psychology.

Photo: Book fair at the Faculty of Humanities

Find out more about World Book Day celebrations at the UGR:

• World Book Day at the UGR (in Spanish)