Minigolf consultancy

As marketing and sales professionals Emily and I use our extensive knowledge and skills in supporting and promoting the game we enjoy as a hobby.

Since 2006 we have visited more than 900 minigolf courses in the UK and overseas. This has given us an insight into many aspects of minigolf, from course operators, pop-ups, competitions, clubs, national associations, international federations, suppliers, designers, builders and technology providers.

At our 900th course visit - the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough

Our involvement in the world of minigolf includes blogging, media relations, sponsorship, course design, advice and consultancy, event organisation and promotion, and participation in tournaments around the world.

The Ham & Egger Files blog contains over 3,000 posts that have attracted 1.5 million page views.

Emily playing at Joe Joe Jim's Crazy Crazy Golf at Fletcher's Arcade in Cofton Hackett, Birmingham

As a volunteer I served three terms on the Executive Committee of the British Minigolf Association and was a member of the World Minigolf Sport Federation’s Marketing and Media Committee for six years.

Putting at Lane7 in Newcastle

Please do get in touch to find out how we can help with your minigolf, crazy golf and adventure golf activities.

You can also buy my ebook 'The Minigolfer’s Guide to Marketing' on Amazon and Kobo.

Link:
- Marketing consultancy

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf
- Marketing

Player profiles:
- Richard Gottfried
- Emily Gottfried

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook

My ebook to help minigolf players better market themselves, their clubs, tournaments and courses is now available to purchase from Kobo.

You can also buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon.

I've been so pleased to see the book bought and used by a number of competition players, course owners and managers, bloggers, course reviewers, minigolf associations and federations around the world.

As a minigolfer with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about.

Playing in the World Crazy Golf Championships in Hastings

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

When Emily and I began travelling around the country on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've now visited 918 courses, including 39 overseas, and there are still many more for us to play. The game is really booming and not a week goes by without the announcement of a new course opening.

At our 900th course - the North Bay Mini Golf course in Scarborough

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, clubs and our fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Much of the guidance could also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing is available on Amazon and Kobo

A very BIG thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of the book to date. It's very much appreciated.

Links:
- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Amazon
- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook on Kobo

Related blog posts:
- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing
- Marketing
- Minigolf

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing ebook

Marking two years since the publication of my marketing ebook.

Time certainly flies when you're having fun!

Two years ago today I published The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing, my ebook guide to promoting the brilliant sport of miniature golf.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing could help you wow the crowd in the crazy world of miniature golf

It's amazing how fast the last two years have flown by. I'm so pleased to have seen the book bought and used by a number of competition players, course owners & managers, bloggers, course reviewers, minigolf associations and federations around the world.

Check out the Amazon listing for The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing to read a preview and see reviews of the book.

As a player with over a decade of experience as a tournament competitor and years of experience in marketing and communications I designed the guide so that anyone interested or involved in minigolf could help promote the game. It's a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about. 

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national minigolf tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association (BMGA) and the World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF).

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

When Emily and I began travelling around the country on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour there were around 600 courses in the UK. We've now visited 865 courses, including 38 overseas, and there are still many more for us to visit. The game is really booming and not a week goes by without the announcement of a new course opening.

There are a huge amount of interesting and fun stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, clubs and my fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

Much of the guidance could also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

A BIG thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of the book to date. It's very much appreciated.

Links:

- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon
- RG Marketing & Events
- Minigolf Consultancy

Related blog posts:
- Minigolf
- Marketing
- Exhibition Minigolf
- Richard Gottfried's minigolf player profile
- The Crazy World of Minigolf - the story so far

Amazing Strokes minigolf book by Gretchen Smith

Checking out the new Amazing Strokes miniature golf book by Gretchen Smith.

Last year minigolf super-fan Gretchen Smith published a new book all about minigolf.

Amazing Strokes is a mammoth tome all about minigolf, crazy golf, adventure golf and Putt Putt. It's packed full of information, stats, facts, reviews and interviews with players, course owners, tournament organisers and other fans of the game.

Amazing Strokes is a massive minigolf book. It's almost as thick as a golf ball!

It was really nice to be able to contribute to the book with details from our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour and the Crazy Golf Museum.

The BIG minigolf book weighs in at a whopping 606-pages and it'll certainly take a while to read through.

Check out the Amazing Strokes website for more information and details on how to purchase the book. You can also buy the book on Amazon.

Visit Minigolfnews.com for an interview with Gretchen.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

Marking a year since the publication of my marketing ebook.

A year ago today I published The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing, my ebook guide to promoting the great sport of miniature golf.

Find out how to wow the crowd in the crazy world of miniature golf

It's amazing how quickly the last year has flown by and I've been really pleased to see the book bought and used by a number of players, courses, bloggers, associations and federations around the world.

Check out the Amazon listing to see a preview and read reviews of the book.

The marketing and communications guide was designed for anyone interested or involved in minigolf. It's certainly a niche title, but an audience and subject I know a lot about. 

Writing the book was brilliant and enabled me to bring two areas of my life together. I've worked in marketing since 2003 and have played minigolf since I was a child. Stepping up to compete on the national tour circuit and in international tournaments opened my eyes to the potential of the game. I’ve also had the honour of serving on the committees of the British Minigolf Association and World Minigolf Sport Federation.

Minigolf is a sport for all. People of all ages, sexes, backgrounds and abilities can pick up a putter and play the game.

There are a huge amount of stories to tell and positive aspects to highlight to potential players, the media, sponsors and the wider sporting community. The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing should give federations, associations, clubs and fellow players ideas, inspiration and support in their marketing efforts.

A lot of the guidance could also be applied to a number of other sports clubs and organisations to help raise their profile and boost memberships.

Links:

- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon

- The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Ganxy

Olivia Prokopová's minigolf book

Minigolf superstar Olivia Prokopová has a book and DVD out.

My friend, minigolf rival and all-round miniature golf superstar Olivia Prokopová has a book and DVD out and I've finally added them to my collection. While my Czech language skills are non-existent the book is still well worth a look as it is a great archive and chronicle of Olivia's career.

Google Translate tells me that "Cesta za Zelenym sakem" means "The path behind the green jacket"

Flicking through the pages there are lots of brilliant photos from tournaments and courses around the world and it was great fun spotting characters from the world of minigolf - past and present - in the book.

Olivia is the reigning and two-time World Crazy Golf Champion and has won a multitude of titles over her career. Visit Olivia Prokopová's website for more information.

The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing

As a keen marketer, writer and minigolfer I've written an ebook to help promote the great game.

You can now buy The Minigolfer's Guide to Marketing on Amazon and Ganxy. There's a preview of the book below.



If you'd like to know more about my marketing work and how I can help please do get in touch via my website.

World Book Day 2015

World Book Day 2015 is on 5 March.

Since I last blogged about World Book Day I've added some more great books to my collection.

In that post in 2012 I wrote about Nutters With Putters, 10 Courses for 10 Years, the Beginner's Guide to Miniature Golf, Montegue Blister's Strange Games, Wacky Nation, The Underdog, Tilting at Windmills and In Search Of The Tiger: A Golfing Odyssey.

Since then new books within my spheres of interest have included:

- 'Come Home at Once' by avid postcard collector Guy Atkins.

- 'The Year of Reading Dangerously' by Andy Miller (the author of the excellent minigolf book Tilting at Windmills).

- 'Crap Days Out' by Gareth Rubin, with contributions by Jon Parker.

- 'Bushell's Best Bits' by BBC TV's Mike Bushell.

- 'Mini Golf' by photographer Simon Martin.

- 'Seaside Polaroids' by Jon Nicholson.

- ‘The Other Olympics’ by Matt Roebuck.

World Book Day is the biggest annual celebration of books and reading. Check out the World Book Day website for information, FAQs and more.

Although World Book Day takes place on 5 March in the UK and Ireland, most other countries hold World book Day on 23 April each year!

Links:
- World Book Day website
- World Book Day (UK and Ireland) on Facebook
- World Book Day (UK and Ireland) on Twitter
- Miniature Golf in Books on The Crazy Golf Museum website

Related blog posts:
- Books
- World Book Day
- Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day

Come Home at Once postcard book by Guy Atkins

A new book about Edwardian postcards by Guy Atkins.

Postcard collector, writer and blogger Guy Atkins has a book out and it's well worth a look.

Come Home at Once by Guy Atkins. Currently the number one read on our coffee table

Published by Bantam Press the book, 'Come Home at Once', has a lot of great Edwardian postcards (showing both the fronts and the messages on the back) from Guy's collection that he has built up over the last decade.

You can buy the very nice hardback book in the shops and online. More info on how and where to order can be found on Guy's excellent Postcardese blog.

After speaking with Guy via postcards, twitter and email over the years it was great to meet Guy in person at the recent launch event for his book

I've been corresponding with Guy for the last couple of years - mostly by Twitter and Postcard - and he recently wrote a piece in his regular column in Stamp and Coin Mart about my minigolfing and postcard hobbies and how I've combined the two.

Links:
- Postcardese
- Bantam Press
- Picture Postcard Monthly
- Stamp and Coin Mart
- Guy Atkins on Twitter

Related blog posts:
- Postcard
- Postcards

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

Meeting author, and former Miniature Golfer, Andy Miller in Whitstable.

Back in 2006 I read a book called Tilting at Windmills. It was one man's attempt to stop worrying and love sport. One of those sports the man - Andy Miller, a self-confessed 'sports atheist' - played was Crazy Golf. The book is a great read and recommended reading for Minigolfers everywhere. It's also a good read in general.

Fast forward to now, well May 2014, and Emily and I were in the seaside town of Whitstable, Kent for a stopover before heading to nearby Margate for that weekend's BMGA British Minigolf Championships.

While wandering around the town we spotted a display in the window of Harbour Books for Andy Miller's brand new book - The Year of Reading Dangerously! We hadn't realised he lived in the town but had known that his new book was being published and that he was embarking on a tour and speaking at events such as WhitLit.

The book display in Harbour Books, Whitstable

Minigolfers on the whole are a friendly, and a little odd, bunch and many of us keep in touch through Twitter, so after seeing the book in the window I tweeted Andy to see if he fancied a pint. He did, and we had a great evening chatting about Minigolf and his new book.

Andy Miller presenting me with a copy (hot off the press) of The Year of Reading Dangerously

The Year of Reading Dangerously is all about the true story of the year Andy spent reading fifty of the greatest and most famous books in the world. Fifty books that he had at one time or another lied about having read! The year of reading dangerously was his attempt to become the person he had pretended to be.

Looking through the book I've read a grand total of one of the fifty books listed (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson). I don't know what that says about me! Emily has read a lot more of them.

The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller

I'm just finishing reading the Wool trilogy by Hugh Howey and then I'm looking forward to giving Andy's book a read. As well as re-reading Tilting at Windmills.

Check out Andy's website for further details of his new book, tour dates and info on his previous work. You can also read the first chapter online, as well as find stockists of the book.

Links:
- Andy Miller's website
- Andy Miller on twitter

Crap Days Out - at The Crazy Golf Museum?

The Crazy Golf Museum included in Crap Days Out book.

A recent online search for mentions of The Crazy Golf Museum turned up a link on Google Books to the 2011 book 'Crap Days Out' by Gareth Rubin, with contributions by Jon Parker.

The tongue-in-cheek book looks at a wide-range of places to go and things to do around the UK that would make for a crappy day out.

On page 97 you'll see "Crap Days Out Coming Soon" which features The Crazy Golf Museum!

I hope it doesn't take until the age of the jet-pack for the bricks and mortar version of The Crazy Golf Museum to open, but as one of the curators of the museum I look forward to welcoming the authors of the book to the Grand Opening 'do'.

The book is published by John Blake Publishing - who also published the great sports book 'Bushell's Best Bits' by BBC TV's Mike Bushell.

Links:

- The Crazy Golf Museum
- Gareth Rubin's website

- Book-related posts on The Ham & Egger Files

Bushell's Best Bits – a new book by BBC TV's Mike Bushell

I recently received the book Bushell’s Best Bits as a birthday present from Emily. It’s written by BBC TV sports presenter by Mike Bushell and is a great read, with a view into many odd, obscure and alternative sports and games.

Mike Bushell has taken part in and profiled over 350 different sports and events and a lot of these are covered in the book – with the 2012 World Alternative Games getting a great write-up. Other sports covered include many that I compete in, including Finger Jousting, Crazy Golf, Rock Paper Scissors, Dodgeball.

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for someone I highly recommend Bushell’s Best Bits – who knows, they may be inspired to try out a new sport, game or recreational activity in 2014!

Links:

- John Blake Publishing

- Buy Bushell’s Best Bits at John Blake Publishing’s onlineshop

- Follow Mike Bushell on Twitter

Related blog posts:

- Book-related posts
- Behold...

Mini Golf by Simon Martin

New Minigolf book from photographer Simon Martin.

London, Kent & Brighton based photographer Simon Martin recently completed his latest project entitled 'Mini Golf'.

'Mini Golf' by Simon Martin - a great coffee table book

From late 2012 until May 2013 Simon travelled around the UK photographing a range of Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf courses, as well as following the competition players on the British Minigolf Association Tour circuit to capture portraits of the players.

Simon Martin (l) presents Richard Gottfried with a copy of 'Mini Golf' at the 2013 WMF World Adventure Golf Masters tournament in Hastings

The book produced is a brilliant document of his travels to Minigolf 'hot spots' such as Brighton, Wroxham, Herne Bay, Blackpool, Great Yarmouth, Birmingham, Hemsby, Cheddar, Margate, Newport, East Finchley, Camden, Worthing, Sidcup, Canvey Island, The Mumbles, Arkley, Cwmbran, New Barnet and West Horndon. There are a couple of courses in the book that even Emily and I haven't yet visited on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour!

The player portraits are a nice touch too - some of us stars of the BMGA Tour are actually quite photogenic!

For more information on the Mini Golf project and to view some of the book's images please check out the Simon Martin Photography website.

Links:

- Simon Martin Photography

- Simon Martin Mini Golf Project

- British Minigolf Association

- Miniature Golf Books at the Crazy Golf Museum

Related blog posts:

- Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

Seaside Polaroids book

Attending the launch of the book 'Seaside Polaroids' by Jon Nicholson.

Emily and I recently attended the launch event for a great new book with a subject that greatly interested us. The photo book is called Seaside Polaroids and is by renowned photographer Jon Nicholson.

The event, held at the City office of travel agents Abercrombie & Kent, gave us a chance to look at prints of some of the photos from the book and chat to Jon himself.

During Jon’s journey around the coast with an old Polaroid camera he visited 22 English seaside resorts looking for subject matter for the photos, among the images are piers, amusements, fun fairs, beaches and shops.

Ahead of seeing the book for the first time I was interested and excited to see if Jon had managed to capture and include any of the country’s many seaside Crazy, Mini or Adventure Golf courses. Happily he has and it’s one that had me and Emily guessing as to its location when we saw it reproduced on one of the prints placed around the Abercrombie & Kent venue. Chatting to Jon we found that the course was in Exmouth – in the one part of the country we are yet to thoroughly explore! The course appears in a couple of photos in the book and as a whole if you’re a fan of the seaside then do pick up a copy.

Seaside Polaroids by Jon Nicholson and some seaside rock from publisher's Prestel

The photo adorning the cover of the book is of the pier and a beach full of seagulls (is one of them Top Gull?) in Worthing, West Sussex.

Since making a resolution in 2006 to visit as many of the UK’s seasides as possible Emily and I have so far made it to 175 resorts and coastal towns. The latest being Burnham-on-Sea, Brean and Berrow while on a trip to the Weston-Super-Mare area.

We’ve also got caught up in the spirit of that ever-so-British past-time of Miniature Golf and gone on to play 112 courses at the seaside (and visit 523 courses overall around the UK and a few overseas).

While beside the seaside we’ve also promenaded on 46 Piers in the country and spent countless pounds in the numerous amusement arcades dotted around the coast. We’re looking forward to many more days out and holidays at the great British seaside, and while we’re not there Jon’s book makes for a great look while sat at home in ‘sunny’ Luton.

Links:

- Jon Nicholson Photography

- Abercrombie & Kent

- Seaside Polaroids on Jon Nicholson’s blog

- Seaside Polaroids on Amazon

- Seaside Polaroids on Random House / Prestel

- Abercrombie & Kent and Jon Nicholson's Photo Journey Holidays

Related Blog Posts:

- Six Years on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour
- Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day

The Other Olympics

A great new book about international multi-sports competitions!

I’ve recently finished reading the new book ‘The Other Olympics’ by Matt Roebuck and must say what a great read it is.

During 2011 the author, Matt Roebuck, travelled around the world visiting thirteen international multi-sports games (the ‘Other Olympics’) and took in events such the Games of the Small States of Europe, the World Transplant Games, the Island Games, the European Masters Games, World Skills 2011 and the Pan-Armenian Games!

It was great to read about people's motivations for getting involved in different sports and multi-sport events as athletes, organisers and officials.

Whether you are involved in sport as an athlete, official, coach, media, organiser, committee member, volunteer or in any other capacity I think The Other Olympics is well worth a read.

I heard about the book after it was mentioned in a tweet by the TINTYPE Gallery when the author managed to score a hole-in-one on the very tricky (and crazy) ‘window hole’ at the Crazee Golf exhibition in London.

As someone who plays a lot of Minigolf (and a fair few other sports and games) and helps to organise and promote events on the British Minigolf Association Tour and within the World Minigolf Sport Federation I found the book interesting on a number of levels. Whether sports, associations, multi-sport events are big, small or somewhere in-between they have to deal with similar problems and issues, while there are also great opportunities to get people involved in sports.

The Other Olympics website has a comprehensive listing section of ‘Other Olympics’ from 2011, this year and for 2013.

While not featuring in the book (as it took place this year rather than last) it was great to see the World Alternative Games does appear on the Other Olympics website. I had a great time running the WFJF Finger Jousting Championships at the event and also came away as one-half of the World Egg Throwing Champion Team at the event! An excellent event in a great town (the smallest in the UK!).

This year I was also involved in bringing the sport of Minigolf to its first multi-sports games in the UK when it was included in the 2012 Oswestry Games in Shropshire. The Oswestry Games (aka The Oslympics) consisted of over 30 sports and 50 sports & cultural events over a ten-day festival of sport. It was a mammoth undertaking from the team at Oswestry Sports Council, but well worth it. You can check out the report from the British Minigolf Association activities at the Oswestry Games here.

Minigolf was also a part of the Hans Christian Andersen City Games in Denmark in July this year and back in 1989 the sport (Bahn Golf) was a demonstration event in the IWGA World Games in Karlsruhe, Germany. The World Minigolf Sport Federation (WMF) is also hoping to have Minigolf included in other multi-sport events in the future.

Please have a look on the links below for more about The Other Olympics and details of how you can buy a copy of The Other Olympics book.

The Other Olympics Links:
- The Other Olympics
- The Other Olympics on Twitter
- Matt Roebuck on Twitter

Other Links:
- World Alternative Games 2012

- Oswestry Games 2012
- World Finger Jousting Federation
- World Minigolf Sport Federation
- British Minigolf Association

Related Blog Posts:
- Becoming a World Champion in Egg Throwing!
- Minigolf Report - Gottfrieds win at the Oswestry Games in Shropshire
- Playing Crazee Golf at the Tintype Art Gallery in London
- Miniature Golf and the Olympic Games

Miniature Golf Books for World Book Day

Celebrate World Book Day today by picking up one of these books about Minigolf (and some other interesting sports and games).

With the 1st of March being World Book Day I thought I'd post some links and information on a selection of books about Minigolf/Crazy Golf and other Strange & Wacky Games that I highly recommend.

Nutters With Putters - Book, eBook & DVD - Crazy golf instructional DVD and Book from BMGA Tour Legends Tim 'Ace Man' Davies & John 'Big Top Ted' McIver. Covers a lot more besides Crazy Golf training too!?

10 Courses for 10 Years - Book - The Putting Penguin Minigolf Team have put together a great minigolf book "10 Courses for 10 Years" with reviews of ten Miniature Golf courses from their first ten years. It's available from Lulu.com.

Beginner's Guide to Miniature Golf - Book - written by Lionel Bender, Peter Parr and Jon Angel this 16-page booklet was produced as an introduction to minigolf and to give hints and tips on improving your game.

Montegue Blister's Strange Games - Book and eBook - covers Mini and Crazy Golf, and a whole lot more in the world of Strange Games (includes another Ham & Egger Files favourite - Finger Jousting).

Wacky Nation - Book - Covers the World Crazy Golf Championships and 49 other Crazy Contests in the UK. The Wacky Nation team of Sally and James are also the organisers of the UK Rock Paper Scissors Championships.

The Underdog -  Book - Written by the Arm-Wrestling, Backwards Running, Sumo Wrestler Joshua Davis. The website also has links to loads of other 'Underdog' Sports and Games where you can find out more before you 'Enter The Fray'! Miniature Golf gets a listing there too.

The Crazy Golf Museum has a listing of books that cover Miniature Golf, you can view them over at "Miniature golf in books". Of the books listed Andy Miller's 2002 book Tilting at Windmills: How I Tried to Stop Worrying and Love Sport is well worth a read. I picked up a copy before I joined the British Minigolf Association back in 2006 and have re-read it a few times since then.

The 2004 book In Search Of The Tiger: A Golfing Odyssey by Ian Stafford is another great read and has an excellent chapter on the time the author represented Great Britain at the European Minigolf Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. You can read Tim 'Ace Man' Davies' report from the tournament here. The event has gone down in history as the British Team managed to defeat a Finnish Player, one Tervaskangas Anssi, due to the fact that he got stang off of a wasp and was forced to retire after only three of the eight rounds of play had been completed.

If you'd like to recommend any other sports books that you think are worth a read, or have spotted Miniature Golf mentioned in a book, let me know in the comments below...

About World Book Day

World Book Day is the biggest celebration of its kind, anywhere. Millions and millions of book vouchers given out, great free books for kids, excitement everywhere (on blogs, in newspapers, on TV and in schools, libraries and, of course, bookshops), people coming together (including lots and lots of young readers) in a big, loud, happy celebration of reading. For more information about World Book Day check out the website, twitter profile and facebook page.