Derby Book Festival will celebrate World Book Night with a special reading event on Thursday 23 April in QUAD. Each year World Book Night is held on Shakespeare’s birthday.

The event, World Book Night Unplugged, will offer people a chance to spend a quiet hour relaxing in a comfortable chair in QUAD and read their books without interruption.  It will be FREE but places must be booked as comfy chairs are limited.

2026 has been designated the National Year of Reading and the Festival organisers are keen to provide opportunities to encourage people to read, discover – or rediscover –  the joys that books and reading bring to our lives.People are also encouraged to bring books with them to swap at the end of the event.

The event will be held in The Box in QUAD from 6.30pm. There will be a short introduction and then an hour for everyone to read in peace and quiet.  If people want to, they can stay for around half an hour afterwards to mingle and chat about the books they are reading. The bar will be open in QUAD so people can buy a drink before or after the event.

Derby Book Festival’s Summer programmes and 2026 bookmarks will be given out to all who attend.

6:30pm – 8:00pm. Free entry. Bookable via the derbybookfestival.co.uk website.