World Book Day announces 2019 tour line-up

Holly Smale, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, Tom Fletcher and Onjali Q. Raúf are among the line-up for next year’s World Book Day live tour, which has been organised around National Literacy Trust (NLT) hubs.

The World Book Day Share a Story Live tour will take place in four locations - Swindon, Dundee, Manchester and Bradford, which are all areas where the NLT has ‘hubs’ to combat low levels of literacy - and will feature a mix of established and up-and-coming writers.

Smale and Cottrell-Boyce will join Pamela Butchart, Martin Brown and Cathy Cassidy at the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon on 4th March. On World Book Day itself on 7th March, three events will take place in different locations: Sibéal Pounder, Steven Lenton, Catherine Doyle and Joseph Coelho will perform to children at the Whitehall Theatre in Dundee; Fletcher, Cressida Cowell, Alex T Smith, Abi Elphinstone and World Book Day 2019 illustrator Rob Biddulph will appear at Manchester airport and Raúf, Anna James, Humza Arshad and Dr Jess French will do an event at the University of Bradford.

Director of World Book Day Kirsten Grant said: “World Book Day is committed to increasing its social impact year-on-year. It’s our vision to offer every child in the UK the opportunity to read and love books, and our collaboration with the NLT plays a hugely important part in our efforts to bring the joy of sharing a story to young readers where this will make a real difference.

“Having the chance to be inspired by this amazing range of authors and illustrators will have an enormous impact on how the children in the audience view books and reading. It will be a very special experience for them.”

Last year 4,500 people came to the live shows to see 37 authors and illustrators perform, and a further 700,000 took part in online events, said World Book Day, whose ‘Share a Story’ campaign is now in its second year. Once again the campaign will encourage parents and carers to read with their children’s for 10 minutes every day.