How will you support International Book Giving Day?

14th February 2013 offers not only the opportunity to line the pockets of card companies with absolutely no capacity for commissioning good romantic verse - it's also International Book Giving Day. This year, the organisers - determined to promote books around the world - are calling on book lovers to say how they'll support it.

The options are:

1. Give a Book to a Friend or Relative

Celebrate International Book Giving Day by giving a child a new, used or borrowed book.

2. Leave a Book in a Waiting Room or Lobby

Choose a waiting room where kids are stuck waiting and there are few to no good books available. Purchase a good book, and deposit your book covertly or overtly in your waiting room of choice. The goal here is to spread the love of reading to kids, so choose a fun book, nothing controversial.

3. Donate a Book

Wrap up a box of children’s books that your kids have outgrown and get them in the hands of children who could really use a book or two. Donate your books to your local second hand store, library, children’s hospital, or shelter. Alternatively, donate your books to an organization working internationally to get books in the hands of kids, such as Books for Africa.

International Book Giving Day is a volunteer initiative aimed at increasing children’s access to and enthusiasm for books, noting that most children in developing countries do not own books; in the United Kingdom, one-third of children do not own books; and in the United States, two-thirds of children living in poverty do not own books.

As well as the ideas for giving books away above, the organisers of International Book Giving Day, whose focus is on encouraging people worldwide to give a book to a child on 14th February, encourage people to support the work of nonprofit organizations (i.e. charities) that work year round to give books to children, such as Room to Read, Books for Africa, Book Aid International, The Book Bus, Indigenous Literacy Foundation and Pratham Books.

"We are not able to evaluate nonprofit organizations (i.e. charities) to ensure that they will put your money to good use," they point out on their web site. "The fact that organizations are listed on our website is not an endorsement.

In 2012, International Book Giving Day was celebrated by people in Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, India, Ireland, Japan, the Phillippines, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the US.

"We hope that people around the world will think about the best ways to help children in need in their communities and that they will celebrate International Book Giving Day in ways that make sense to them."

• For more information or to indicate your preference, visit: http://bookgivingday.com

Neil Gaiman short story part of World Book Day app line-up

A short story by comic creator Neil Gaiman is among the work by several authors being offered as part of a free World Book Day App, available now from iTunes for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

The App features six new and exclusive stories published exclusively for World Book Day 2012 by Neil, Malorie Blackman, Charlie HIgson, Anthony Horowitz, Sophie McKenzie and Rachel Vincent, plus sample chapters by Julie Cross, Matt Dickinson, Lauren Laverne and Ruth Warburton; plus book trailers and author interviews.

The App also includes "on-the-pulse news and information about events, books and authors" and will have regular content updates throughout the year, including new teen fiction samples, news, videos and special offers.

Print books, of course, haven't been forgotten despite the digital push for this year's event. To mark the day, British school children are entitled to receive a World Book Day £1 Book
Token (or equivalent €1.50 Book Token in Ireland). The Book Token valid until 25th March 2012 - can be exchanged for one of eight specially published World Book Day £1 Books, or is redeemable against any book or audio book of their choice costing £2.99 or more at a participating bookshop or book club.

The full list of World Book Day £1 books for 2012 is:

• The What the Ladybird Heard Song by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks
(Macmillan)
• Winnie Flies Again by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul (Oxford University Press)
• Where’s Wally Now? by Martin Handford (Walker Books)
• Magic Molly: The Clever Little Kitten by Holly Webb (Scholastic)
• Roald Dahl's Fantabulous Facts by Roald Dahl (Puffin)
• How to Train Your Dragon: The Day of the Dreader by Cressida Cowell (Hodder
Children’s Books)
• Big Day Out by Jacqueline Wilson, Illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Random House)
• Skulduggery Pleasant: The End of the World  by Derek Landy (HarperCollins)

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and is marked in over 100 countries around the globe. A partnership of publishers, booksellers and interested parties who work together to promote books and reading for the personal enrichment and enjoyment of all, a main aim of World Book Day in the UK and Ireland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures of books and reading by providing them with the opportunity to have a book of their own.

National Book Tokens are the perfect gift for book lovers everywhere and are the onlygift cards sold and accepted in bookshops across the UK and Ireland, including all the major chains and local independents. As proud sponsors of World Book Day, National Book Tokens supports lifelong learning and improving literacy and access to reading for everyone.

Other partners in World Book Day are The Reading Agency, an independent charity working to inspire more people to read more (www.readingagency.org.uk); and Book Aid International which aims to increase access to books and supports literacy, education and development in sub-Saharan Africa. It provided over 515,000 new books to more than 2000 libraries in 2011 and has sent over 30 million books to partner libraries since 1954. (www.bookaid.org/worldbookday).

• The World Book Day app is available now for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

• World Book Day web site: www.worldbookday.com

• Visit www.nationalbooktokens.com for more information