[Press release] FEP welcomes the first edition of the Day of European Authors on 27 March

27 March marks the first edition of the Day of European Authors, a yearly initiative of the European Commission, led by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, to reconnect younger generations with book reading and help them discover the richness of European literature. The Federation of European Publishers welcomes the initiative as an opportunity to promote the diversity and wealth of European literature and emphasises the importance to foster reading in schools.

Ricardo Franco Levi, FEP President, said: “I wish to thank our Commissioner, Mariya Gabriel, for having initiated this special day where authors are invited to visit schools and share their love of books and reading. More readers mean more educated citizens and more democracy. I wish that this initiative will be repeated and that it will grow in the years to come: campaigning for reading should be round the clock."

Authors and translators answered the call of the European Union Prize for Literature, co-organised by the Federation of European Publishers and the European and International Booksellers Federation and will take part in the initiative. They will be joined by the authors invited by the European Writers Council, with a total of around 100 participating authors from all over the EU.

Different initiatives will run in parallel during the day: reading sessions in secondary schools and a conference on reading promotion in Sofia, with the participation of Commissioner Gabriel and, among the speakers, the President of the Bulgarian Book Association, Dessi Alexieva.

More information is available on the website of the European Commission. Information on the participating authors is available here and here.

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