The First World Book Day in Wolfsberg
On the 23rd of April, the city council in Wolfsberg will be hosting the first World Book Day on the Hohen Platz Square. From 9.00 am to 1.00 pm you will be able to meet authors from the Lavant Valley and see their works. Author Amelia Marriette tells us how this idea came about:
“In February, I had the idea to invite all the authors of the Lavanttal Valley to get together and to be able to have an opportunity to meet their readers. We have been living through such a difficult period recently. Everybody has suffered, of course, but for writers who work alone so much, the idea of hosting book readings and organising book signings is really very important. But, unfortunately, authors have not been able to do that for the past few years, or we have organised them, but even more disappointedly, they had to be cancelled.
My passion is Shakespeare and I lecture on this subject both in Austria and in the UK. The 23rd of April is not only Shakespeare’s birthday but both Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same day, the 23rd of April, 1616. I thought this was interesting. I then discovered that UNESCO created a World Book and Copyright Day to be celebrated yearly on the 23rd of April. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to have a book day in the Lavant Valley too!
I thought about how I could organise such an event and realised that I couldn’t!
So I contacted my good friend Claudia Kronlechner. Claudia and her son Markus Hochegger translated my English book Walking into Alchemy: The Transformative Power of Nature into German last year. Alchemie des Gehens: Selbstfindung in der Natur was published in December 2021 and has sold really well, but I have not met many of my readers, and I love doing that.
Claudia approached the city council in Wolfsberg on my behalf and spoke to Eva Schatz from City Marketing, and she, as well as city councillor Christian Stückler, were immediately excited about my idea and offered to organize the event. So I am pleased to say that on the 23rd of April 2022 the first World Book Day will take place at the same time as the wonderful regional market KuKuMa on Hohen Platz Square in Wolfsberg. Authors are invited to host a table, meet and chat with their readers and other authors and present and sell their books. Students from the music school Wolfsberg will accompany the event with various ensembles.
If you are a published author from the Lavant Valley or you live here, then, of course, you can also take part. Simply call Eva Schatz from City Marketing on 04352 537227 for the event details.
I’m British, but the Lavant Valley is my adopted and spiritual home. I’m delighted to be living here and to have been able to write a book about my new life in Austria and my newfound love of walking. I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone at the World Book Day event. I hope to see you there!”.
