Melville House Books

UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day poster

UNESCO has declared today World Book and Copyright Day. They explain on their site that they selected this date because it is “a symbolic date for world literature, for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.”

UNESCO site says, “The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George’s Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold.” But their celebrations are world-wide: a “big-read” at UNESCO HQ in NYC; the official launching of the Beirut World Book Capital City 2009; the State Library of Victoria, Australia launches a major new exhibition,The Independent Type: Books and Writing in Victoria; and much, much more, with events in over 21 countries.

What they don’t say is how exactly copyright is celebrated. Perhaps we should organize a world-wide “Day Without Google”?

Valerie Merians is the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.