Literary Tattoos In Honor of World Book Day

World Book Day is a huge, global celebration of all things books. Created by UNESCO in 1995, the original idea was conceived by Valencian writer Vicente Clavel Andrés “as a way to honor the author Miguel de Cervantes”.

April 23rd was the day that Cervantes happened to have passed, but it’s also the date that a few other literary heroes have died as well, including the Great Bard himself, Sir William Shakespeare. Another thing World Book Day tries to promote is education, free books for all, as well as connecting a global community of readers who want everyone to find novels or stories out there that really resonate with.

In this lovely collection of literary illustrations, we celebrate World Book Day this year. Each one of these book tattoos depicts many different aspects of the written word: portrait tattoos that perfectly capture our favorite authors, quote tattoos from our favorite novels, even some of our most beloved book characters. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy some of our favorite picks and maybe got some idea for your own new tattoo.

h/t: tattoodo

Peter Pan and Wendy tattoo by Zihae

The Hobbit themed tattoo by Dani Tattoo NYC

Anthony Bourdain portrait tattoo by Goldy Z

Pride and Prejudice tattoo by Sophie Annison

Shakespeare portrait tattoo by Lee Lee Couture

Beatrix Potter tattoo by Harry

Hogwarts Castle tattoo by Saegeem

Alice in Wonderland themed tattoo by Hakan Adik

Franz Kafka tattoo by Katy Wiedemann

Hermann Hesse portrait tattoo by Pawel Indulski

Kurt Vonnegut tattoo by Davey CXC

Virginia Woolf portrait tattoo by Katie McPayne

Harry Potter themed tattoo by Roberto Euan

Le Petit Prince tattoo by Baris Yesilbas