Peninsula College students, faculty and staff will join people around the world on April 23 to celebrate World Book Night, an international event designed to spread the love of reading from person to person.

Peninsula College’s celebration will be held in the Pirate Union Building. People are invited to stop by between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. to pick up a free book to read.

As part of the World Book Night giveaway, Peninsula College has also scheduled a special program in the PUB from 12:35-1:25 p.m. featuring acclaimed local storyteller Dennis Duncan.

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011. Since then, it has become an annual celebration timed to be on the same day as Shakespeare’s birthday. April 23 is also the UNESCO International Day of the Book and also honors Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 23, 1616 (the same day as Shakespeare). In the Catalan region of Spain, the day is celebrated by giving a book and a flower to a loved one.

The idea behind World Book Night was developed in 2010 at a round table discussion at London’s Book Industry Conference. Participants tried to imagine a way to encourage more adults to read. Collectively, they decided on a program: send passionate readers into their own communities to share copies of their favorite books with those who don’t regularly read.

The books that are distributed in the United States are chosen by an independent panel of librarians and booksellers, usually between 30 to 35 different titles. The authors of the books waive their royalties, and publishers agree to pay the costs of producing specially printed World Book Night U.S. editions.

The books that are selected must meet the following criteria: accessible books of quality, recently published as well as established classics, and available in paperback. Any genre can be included and the list must have an overall gender, ethnic, and geographical balance.

For more information, email Helen Lovejoy at hlovejoy@pencol.edu or call 417-6362.