Contest: Author James Patterson has given £25,000 to encourage reading . When they asked for entries, organisers expected a modest response. Yesterday it emerged that more than 800 schools had applied for a share of a £25,000 book fund. World Book Day director Kirsten Grant said the response was proof of the continuing demand for books, despite the popularity of e-readers. ‘World Book Day is all about the celebration of traditional books,’ she said. ‘For children there is still that wonderful thing of sitting down with their parents and reading a book and that amazing bond it performs. 'Children don’t want physical books to be replaced, they already spend so much time on the internet and devices so books actually provide them with a break from that.' To earn a share of the fund, which was donated by best-selling crime author James Patterson, schools were asked to respond to the statement: Why I can’t live without books. Miss Grant and a panel of judges then drew up a shortlist, selected for their creativity and passion for books. The £10,000 first prize went to Hexthorpe Primary in Doncaster. Six other schools split the remaining £15,000 between themselves. She added: ‘World Book Day is all about the celebration of traditional books. Children can go into a bookshop with a £1 World Book Day token and get an actual physical book. 'So many children don’t have access to physical books so this is an opportunity for them to get one. There is definitely a huge demand. 'School libraries are suffering, book budgets in schools are being slashed, so this is a brilliant way to counter that.’ Huge response: More than 800 schools applied for a share of a £25,000 book fund as part of World Book Day . Mr Patterson, who has also written several children’s books and has donated another £25,000 for an award fund next year, said: ‘Libraries are shutting their doors left and right. 'I firmly believe that every child needs access to a school library, which is why I’m supporting WoBoD: they encourage a love of reading in our children that we can’t afford to lose. ‘Reading is one of the building blocks of life and can take you to another world. Reading encourages imagination and helps with education.’ World Book Day is an annual celebration of reading for children. Set up by UNESCO, an agency of the United Nations, it aims to encourage children to buy books by giving every school child given £1 book token.
Huge response shows books still popularity despite e-readers . Children had to answer question 'Why I can't live without books'
Fund set up by bestselling crime author James Patterson .