World Book Night Celebrates the Love for the Paperback on Shakespeare’s Birthday

Read any good books lately? On World Book Night, that’s kind of the million-dollar question. Or rather, the half-a-million-paperback question.

On April 23—a date picked in honor of Shakespeare’s birthday—volunteers across the country and beyond distribute free books to light or non-readers. The 500,000 specially printed paperbacks run the gamut from fiction to the classics, poetry, young adult, children’s books and beyond.

Last year, over 2,300 bookstores and libraries participated in the event and organized 25,000 volunteers. Publishers and book-manufacturing companies support the printing of the free books and authors agree to waive royalties.