Amy Poehler is Named as the Honorary Chairperson of World Book Night

Posted on March 26, 2014

Amy Poehler has been named as the honorary chairperson for the 2014 World Book Night. World Book Night is a really cool annual event in which between 3-35 books are chosen by an independent panel of booksellers and librarians. The authors waive their royalties for the event and the publishers pay to have special editions bound. Communities have a designated volunteer who gets 20 copies of the books to give away at the designated bookstore or library in their community.

Amy, who is best known for her stint on Saturday Night Live and starring in Parks and Recreation had this to say about the event, "I grew up loving books. In today's digital world, it's more important than ever to know how it feels to have a good book in your hands. I'm thrilled to be part of World Book Night. People who read are people who dream, and we connect through the stories we live and tell and read."

World Book Night Executive Director Carl Lennertz said said in a statement: "This news is the icing, cherry and candles on the year three WBN cake. We've already announced a seven-author New York Public Library launch event, our highest percentage of free books going to teachers and students in underfunded schools, and a record number of participating librarians and booksellers, and Amy Poehler joining our cause is a happy, happy event. On behalf of our 25,000 volunteer givers and 500,000 book recipients this coming April 23, we say thank you."

This year's event will be the third annual World Book Night. It will take place on April 23rd, 2014. The books being given away this year include special editions of After the Funeral by Agatha Christie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky and The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman, The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Hoot by Carl Hiaasen and 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup which was turned into an Oscar winning movie. You can see the full list here. You can learn more about World Book Night at the events's website.