City of Literature and Prairie Lights to Team Up for World Book Night

Media Release

The Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature and Prairie Lights Books are partnering with the World Book Night organization to get books into the hands of light or non-readers in the Iowa City area. 

World Book Night U.S. will be held April 23, and is an endeavor of the nonprofit World Book Night organization. On that night, volunteers who have signed up to participate will give away copies of books in their communities. The program debuted in 2012, and 500,000 books were distributed in 5,800 communities in the U.S.

This year, participants have until Jan. 25 to sign up at www.us.worldbooknight.org. They can select one of 32 books to receive. If they are selected to participate, volunteers will be given 20 copies of their selection for free to distribute in their community, with preference given to those who do not have access to books for reasons of means or geography. 

Among the books in the program are The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros,Bossypants by Tina Fey, Population 485 by Michael Perry and Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley.

The City of Literature organization will work with volunteers in the Iowa City area to help identify potential recipients and to coordinate distribution. Prairie Lights Books will aid in that process.

For more information, visit www.us.worldbooknight.org or contact the City of Literature office at (319) 356-5245.