GWR partners with Penguin on World Book Day

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Great Western Railway (GWR) is celebrating World Book Day with publisher Penguin Books by giving its followers the chance to win a bundle of books. The prize comprising of seven books, including works by Richard Osman and Dolly Alderton, is up for grabs today (Thursday 2 March) to mark World Book Day.

Booklovers can enter the competition on Twitter and Facebook by simply following GWR’s account, retweeting their World Book Day post, and tagging in a friend to be in with a chance to win the selection. There are seven books up for grabs which include a mix of fiction and non-fiction:

  • Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
  • When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
  • See What You’re Missing by Will Gompertz
  • The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller
  • Book Lovers by Emily Henry
  • The Bullet that Missed by Richard Osman
  • In Memoriam by Alice Winn

GWR has a long affiliation with Penguin Books, dating back nearly 90 years. In 1934, while waiting to travel back to London after visiting Agatha Christie, Sir Allen Lane found himself at Exeter St Davids station with nothing to read.

This experience, together with Sir Allen’s passion to make quality literature affordable and accessible to all, led him to create the iconic sixpenny paperback and marked the beginning of Penguin Books and its lasting legacy.

The sixpenny paperback was affordable enough to be sold at railway stations, corner shops, and even in vending machines across the country, ensuring no-one would go without a quality book to read on their journey again. The first Penguin paperbacks included writing by Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie.

Sir Allen went on to found Penguin Books alongside his two brothers, Richard and John, in 1935.

A memorial plaque, commissioned by Sir Allen’s daughter Clare Morpurgo and designed by Penguin Random House, was unveiled at Exeter St Davids in 2017.

GWR’s #WorldBookDay competition runs until 23:59 on Wednesday 8 March 2023. To enter, simply tag a friend, follow @GWRUK on GWR’s Facebook page, or @GWRHelp on Twitter and share the competition post. Terms and conditions apply.

Image credit: GWR

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