How to join the EWC Campaign #behindeverybook on 23 April, World Book Day 2023

INVITATION TO WRITERS, ILLUSTRATORS AND TRANSLATORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

Dear Writer, Dear Translator, Dear Illustrator:

Behind every book is a writer, often an illustrator or a translator, a life. Make your work visible on #WorldBookDay2023 and join #behindeverybook, a campaign of the European Writers’ Council(EWC)

Behind every book is a writer, a translator, an illustrator – a whole life.

To celebrate  the sources of the entire book value chain, the spirits of of knowledge, of cultural exchange, of democracy, free words and empathy, of understanding and mediation, we invite you to join now in the fourth year the original EWC campaign, which we invented in 2020 the first time.

HOW TO TAKE PART

• Take two pictures of yourself with your written, illustrated or translated book. All kinds of genres of books are welcome – novels, comics, translations, memoirs, non-fiction, plays, poetry, short stories, picture books ….
• The first picture is with the open book with your name in front of your face, and the second with your face visible. Our model, Mr Jens J. Kramer, Chair of SYNDIKAT – German Language Crime Writers’ Association – presented his version already in 2020:
• Post the two pics together on World Book Day 2023 (Sunday, 23 April) on every account you have – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Mastodon …
• IMPORTANT: use these two #hashtags: #behindeverybook and #worldbookday2023
• YES, YOU CAN: also translate #behindeverybook into your language, like #hinterjedembuch
• LOOP US IN: tag the European Writers’ Council (Twitter: @CouncilWriters, Facebook: facebook.com/europeanwriterscouncil/ AND your own Union / Writers’ Association, so we and them can share your post!
• Feel free to complete the sentence in English after #behindeverybook and add, for example:
  • is the author
  • is a person
  • is a translator
  • in an illustrator
  • is a whole life
  • … is anything you want to say!

… and feel free to share this invitation and the link https://europeanwriterscouncil.eu/join-behindeverybook-2023 before 23 April 2022 on your account, to let writers, but also illustrators and translators know how to join.

Please encourage your members or your writing, illustrating and translating friends to join and let’s rock the (online) world with pictures of books and their writers, illustrators and translators on World Book Day 2023. Share this link with your members and friends: https://europeanwriterscouncil.eu/join-behindeverybook-2023

 

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Flashback: #behindeverybook in 2022

• the hashtag #behindeverybook reached 1.1 Million Twitter, Facebook and Instagram users and led to 2800 interactions (retweets, likes, comments)
• the Instagram-posts can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/behindeverybook/

• the profile of European Writers’ Council reached 6000 views and visitors on Twitter
• the most used languages: English, German, Italian, Spanish
• we spotted writers, translators and illustrators from Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands and United Kingdom. And one from Canada
• most popular backgrounds: pure nature, flowers, mountains, book shelfs, living rooms
• most popular animal companions: dogs, horses, cats, ant bears
• noticeable increase in translators as well as female writers, and a lively participation also from visual artists for children’s books
• most frequently used hashtags together with #behindeverybook#paythewriter

Flashback: #behindeverybook in 2021

• + 2000 Facebook posts from writers, translators, illustrators …;
• commented, retweeted and reposted by the European Writers’ Council, by fans, by EWC Member organisations, and readers;
• 1990 Instagram-posts can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/behindeverybook/
• the profile of European Writers’ Council reached 18.4K impressions on Twitter;
• we spotted writers, translators and illustrators from Australia, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, the Netherlands…
• most popular backgrounds: book shelf, brick wall, trees;
• most popular animal companions: cats, dogs, dragons;
• most frequently used terms after #behindeverybook is (besides the term author, translator, illustrator): work, passion, doubts, hopes, lifeblood, soul.

Flashback: the start of #behindeverybook in 2020

#behindeverybook

the idea

Many debates on the policy level are about « sectors » or « the book industry » – but those with whom the book chain begins are individuals, people, personalities. To praise and celebrate these authors, writers, illustrators and translators, to make the spirits, minds and faces behind every book visible, is the basic idea of #behindeverybook.

the background

The annual UNESCO event World Book Day is the original idea of the Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andrés to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes, who died on 23 April.

On this day we praise the living authors, who enrich every society with their work and contribute to diversity, democracy and humanitarian education in all areas, with all genres.