Empowering the audience through reading
Books serve as powerful tools for empowerment, education, they also foster creativity and innovation. Reading not only enhances language skills but also enriches people's ability to express themselves, gain confidence, and develop a curiosity about the joy of learning and the world in general.
Through this initiative, the European Union seeks to inspire younger generations to establish a relationship with the world of books. This is achieved through meeting authors, translators and other professionals of the book sector and inviting them to share their own experiences.
The European Authors Day, previously known as Day of European Authors, offers young people an opportunity to engage with ongoing social and personal challenges. It serves as a platform for promoting and supporting ongoing programmes and initiatives in European countries to encourage a culture of reading.
#ReadForReal in 2025!
In 2025, the celebrations of the European Authors Day will take place between 11 November and 12 December. As in previous years schools, bookshops, libraries and other organisations are encouraged to celebrate reading and European literature by organising their own reading events between these dates.
The consortium organising the Day of European Authors and their national hubs are at the disposal of event organisers to guide and provide them with support material. The action will also offer training opportunities and will organise a conference in May 2026.
Previous editions
-
2024 Day of European Authors
The second edition of the Day of European Authors took place on 25 March 2024 in all 40 Creative Europe countries. Almost 2 000 events took place in celebration of the day.
The event consisted of the following activities:
Reading events in school, libraries and bookstores
We invited schools, bookshops, libraries and other partners of reading promotion in all Creative Europe countries to organize events focusing on European authors.
The events were an opportunity to invite a writer, a translator or a publisher to talk about their job. The aim of these meet ups was to enhance the participants' experience, foster a love of books and literature, as well as raise awareness about the diversity of professions within the book and publishing sector.
Tour of European authors
The European Commission and the European Writers' Council organised a tour featuring 120 European authors who met with young readers in all 40 Creative Europe countries. Many of them travelled across borders to meet an audience from another country. Thus, the authors were able to share their work, engage in readings, and facilitate discussions on their works or other contemporary authors. This interactive initiative allowed young readers to explore and discover the richness of European literature.
A conference on reading promotion
The European Commission organised a conference on reading promotion, that took place on 25 and 26 March 2024 in Leuven, Belgium.
The conference gathered representatives from the ministries of culture and education from all 40 Creative Europe countries, along with key figures from the book and education sector, and organisations committed to promoting reading.
The theme of this conference - European dimension of reading promotion has been chosen to emphasize the importance of engaging young people in the development and implementation of reading promotion initiatives.
Missed the conference?
Here is a short video clip about the 2024 Day of European Authors conference:
Watch the recordings of the panels from the event.
You can also read and download the conference report.
Event locations of the 2024 Day of Authors
-
2023 - The first Day of European Authors
During the first edition of the Day of European Authors, which took place on 27 March 2023, over 1000 schools participated, including those featured in the Tour of European Authors.
Additionally, a conference held in Sofia brought together representatives from ministries of education and culture, as well as professionals from the book and reading promotion sectors. To learn more about the first edition and get inspired from the experience of schools participating last year, check this summary and the factsheet about the activities in 2023.