As the April 23^rd celebration of World Book Night approaches, U.S. Executive Director Carl Lennertz is issuing weekly updates and reminders to volunteer givers, bookstores and libraries, and the publishing community.

With just under five weeks until April 23, World Book Night U.S. is launching a weekly countdown of scheduling, publicity, and resource material updates.

To help booksellers meet the demand that World Book Night publicity will bring, Ingram is offering an extra two percent discount on the event’s 32 featured titles from March 4 through April 30, 2013.

This week, U.S. Executive Director Carl Lennertz announced several major milestones in the preparations for this year’s giveaway of a half million free books during the April 23 celebration of World Book Night. 

World Book Night is still offering an Excel giver application form for booksellers.

Tomorrow — Friday, January 11 — is the last day to file a marketing agreement to be a host store for this April 23’s celebration of World Book Night.

Amy Broadmore, a member of the U.S. Planning Team, has extended an invitation to independent bookstores across the nation to join in the February 14 celebration of International Book Giving Day, which is dedicated to getting new, used, and borrowed books in the hands of as many children as possible.

World Book Night U.S. Executive Director Carl Lennertz urges booksellers to act now as two crucial World Book Night deadlines are just around the corner. Lennertz also shares some promotional ideas for right now.

Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize winner announced; $1.5 million gift will support literacy

Carol Chittenden of Eight Cousins has launched an initiative to help Bellevue Hospital in New York City rebuild its Reach Out and Read program, which lost thousands of books in Hurricane Sandy. The program serves approximately 11,000 underprivileged children a year.