World Book Day is a yearly event on April 23, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright.

It is on this date in 1616 that Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of the birth or death of many other prominent authors, such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.

This year marked the 23rd World Book Day. For this year’s celebrations, Chinese singer and actor Yi Yangqianxi read an excerpt of his favorite book, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, to promote reading.