Book Night will be organised in bookshops, second-hand and antiquarian bookshops, libraries and various institutions throughout Croatia. Its aim is to provide a creative impetus to reading, promoting books and discussing the status and importance of books in contemporary society.
This year's theme "Favourite Book and Comic Book Characters and Heroes" was prompted by several anniversaries that are marked this year, such as 180 years since the publication of Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov’s novel "A Hero of Our Time", the 80th anniversary of the launch of Marvel Comics, 50 years since the first publication of Alan Ford, an Italian comic book hugely popular in Croatia and ex-Yugoslavia, 90 years since the first appearance of Popeye the Sailor, and the 50th anniversary of the birth and 20th anniversary of the death of Edvin Biukovic, an influential Croatian comic strip artist.
The event coincides with World Book and Copyright Day, which is observed on April 23, and follows up on Croatian Book Day, marked on April 22.