A few thoughts on World Book Day 2018

World Book Day is the British manifestation of a UNESCO organised event to promote reading, publishing & copyright

World Book Day is built on the work of authors, many of whom live by the word

Over the 20 years of its existence it has celebrated the works of many authors – some famous, others merely well-known

It is important for readers (both young and old) to see themselves reflected in the books as well as seeing people that look like them writing the books

Celebrity names sell books

Celebrities can be and are authors too

Many celebrities that now write books started out writing sketches, music and shows so celebrity-written does not automatically = ghost-written or bad

I think it is wrong to have a list made up predominantly of celebrities

I can understand that the organisers of WBD may want to jazz it up by using celebrities to catch the attention of reluctant and non-readers

It sends a message that to be able to write a book you need to be a celebrity

It excludes people that are not fans of the celebrities chosen and limits their choices in the £1 books

I think that it is a shame that the books are aimed at the younger end of Children and Young People which will exclude teenage readers and potentially alienate those that already feel marginalised

I had no idea who Tom Fletcher was before the list was released…

I have just seen the announcement that the teen selection for WBD is going to be made in ‘coming weeks’ this smacks of poor planning or they forgot to add YA in and had to wait for finished titles; either way separating the lists will weaken the second announcement and may reinforce the message that teen books are of secondary importance

3 Thoughts on “A few thoughts on World Book Day 2018

  1. Jane Morris on October 2, 2017 at 1:47 pm said:

    I agree Matt – thanks for posting

  2. Carolyn on October 2, 2017 at 2:26 pm said:

    Yes, I’ve often wondered why celebrities feel the need to diversify. I’m certain they earn enough from their day job.

  3. I have already tweeted my anger and disgust to #WBD about this. I am absolutely furious with the ‘celebrity’ authors this year and think the choice of books has been getting worse and worse over the past few years. I know this may seem like an over the top response, but it shows how the cult of celebrity has taken over everywhere – I foolishly made the assumption that #WBD would maintain a strong line with authors who live writing YA/Children’s fiction day in and day out, rather than those that do it as a sideline. Adds to the negativity librarians are constantly fighting against. Do you get I’m not happy!

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