The Canada Council for the Arts has announced it will contribute $100,000 to Montreal, World Book Capital. The funds will help support activities organized for the event’s celebrations this year. “The Council wants to show its commitment to literature,” said Simon Brault, Vice-Chair of the Canada Council. “The fact that Montreal has been selected by UNESCO as World Book Capital will have major repercussions on the literary community of the city and the rest of the country. Books need to play an increasingly important role in our society, not only in this year of celebration, but for the years to come. “Reading is what makes it possible for us to understand, analyze, empathize, envision, imagine and create. Reading nourishes the intellect and gives us a sense of the world and our place in it. Indeed, reading is what allows us to strive for a better way of living and a better world,” he said. UNESCO named Montreal World Book Capital City from April 23, 2005 to April 22, 2006. Montreal is the fifth city to be named World Book Capital City after Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003) and Antwerp (2004). For further information, CLICK HERE