July 2019 #24in48 Sign-Ups are Open!

It is hot. Really, really hot. Steamy, sweltering, and gross. Which means it’s the perfect season for staying inside in lovely air conditioning with a stack of books, a glass of lemonade, and no one to bother you. Or if you’re an outside cat, summer means hammocks, beaches, hiking, or even just sitting on a deck with your feet up. Either way, its time for another round of #24in48!

📚 Join us on July 20-21, 2019 📚


Navigate to: How does it work? 🆕New Merch! 📝Sign-up details

We had an amazing January readathon, with 2,700 readers joining us for two days of non-stop page turning and we are so excited about this summer’s event. We know summer’s endless activities make setting aside a whole weekend to read much more challenging but it also opens up some new opportunities to get the whole fam in on the fun.

A screenshot of an Audible library showing multiple audiobook titles.

Taking a road trip? Put on a audiobook everyone in the car can get into! Hitting the beach? Slather on the sunscreen and pack a stack of paperbacks. Spending your days shuttling kids between activities? Load up your phone or ereader with books or short story collections you can dip in and out of and rack up the page count. Even if you’re hitting the trails, a good audiobook narrator in your ears can make for a fantastic companion (just bring a spare power pack so you don’t end up with an empty phone battery in case of an emergency).

Don’t forget, the point of 24in48 is not just about hitting an hourly goal – it’s always been about spending a weekend reading, however you can make that happen. And for so many of you, you’re making that happen together. We saw that in January with the 40+% increase in participation – you’re all doing this weekend together, whether it’s renting hotel rooms or houses together to escape the day-to-day or organizing readalongs through your libraries or book clubs (online AND in person).

How does it work?

If you’re new to 24in48, this is the basic gist: beginning at 12:01am (official timezone is EDT) on Saturday morning and running through 11:59pm on Sunday night, participants read for 24 hours out of that 48-hour period.

You can split that up however you’d like: 20 hours on Saturday, four hours on Sunday; 12 hours each day; six four-hour sessions with four hour breaks in between. You can pause as much as you need, enjoy regularly scheduled weekend activities, nap, stop for dance breaks with your kids or pets or neighbors. Whatever works for you.

And that’s it. The format never changes but it’s always an adventure.

Have more questions? There’s an FAQ page for that. As always, we’re accepting donations to help us send more prizes out to international winners through the PayPal donate button on the sidebar (or you can go here). Every dollar helps. And if you’d like to donate prizes directly, send us an email at 24in48readathonofficial@gmail.com.

New Merch!

In January, we rolled out a bunch of swag in advance of the readathon and you guys snatched it ALLLLL up. To celebrate all the things we love about summer reading (and the July 24in48), we created a limited edition design. Pick it up now in time for next month’s event. Don’t worry – if you missed the originals the first time, you can always add some of those sweet, sweet readathon goods to your cart too.

Stay tuned for even more changes and make sure you subscribe to the blog to get notified whenever we announce a new and shiny thing. 

Sign-up details

Ready to join? Fill out the form below (or if you’re having trouble, click through here) and feel free to list any and all of the places you’ll be hanging out online during the ‘thon. After you sign up, check out who else is participating. If your entry doesn’t immediately pop in to the spreadsheet, give it a few minutes to populate. (It’s also worth noting that mobile phones can make things difficult, so if the form doesn’t work on your phone, try a computer!)

And you can follow the readathon in all the normal places. We’re on TwitterInstagramFacebook, and Litsy and you can use the official hashtag #24in48 everywhere to keep up with your fellow readathon-ers.

See you soon!

January 2019 #24in48 Sign-Ups are Open!

I’m just going to come out and say it: It’s peak reading season, y’all. Winter was made for cozy blankets and book piles and a crackling fire, if you can swing it. And you know what else cozy winter reading season means:

We’re back with another round of the #24in48 readathon on

📚 January 26-27, 2019 📚


Navigate to: ❓How does it work?   🆕New this year   📝Sign-up details

This past July,  we welcomed 1,912 readers, and we’re looking forward to having each and every one of you back for an excellent weekend of reading.

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 12.23.48 PM

A screengrab of a Google calendar showing that January 26 and 27th are blocked off for 24in48

We’re also counting on you to spread the word, and bring your friends! The best part of this event is the community you’ve helped us build; As the years have gone by, we’ve seen you form reading teams, seen groups of you go away for the weekend for uninterrupted friend and reading time, and watched libraries and indie bookstores host events and recommend books.

It gives us ALL THE FEELS, and every time around it keeps getting better thanks to you.

How does it work?

If you’re new to 24in48, this is the basic gist: beginning at 12:01am (official timezone is EST) on Saturday morning and running through 11:59pm on Sunday night, participants read for 24 hours out of that 48-hour period.

You can split that up however you’d like: 20 hours on Saturday, four hours on Sunday; 12 hours each day; six four-hour sessions with four hour breaks in between. You can pause as much as you need, enjoy regularly scheduled weekend activities, nap, stop for dance breaks with your kids or pets or neighbors. Whatever works for you.

And that’s it. The format never changes but it’s always an adventure.

Have more questions? There’s an FAQ page for that. Also, just as we did in July, we’re still accepting donations to help us send more prizes out to international winners through the PayPal donate button on the sidebar (or you can go here; every dollar helps). And if you’d like to donate prizes directly, send us an email at 24in48readathonofficial@gmail.com.

New this year

For those joining us again: Y’all. Have we got some exciting things to share.

FIRSTLY: We’ve spent the past few months brainstorming, and the past few weeks working with a designer, and one result of that is…OUR SHINY NEW LOGO. Isn’t. It. The. Best?!?!? And…we’re not done yet.

24in48_v2-03_full color

The new 24in48 logo: A font evocative of handwriting that layers 24in48 over a horizontal stack of nine books. Font color is a muted navy, and the book stack is various shades of blue, red, and yellow.

SECONDLY: In the coming days, keep an eye on this space and our social platforms for a 24in48 merch announcement to fill your burning desire for more bookish gear (which we know exists because, hey, we feel it too).

We’re working feverishly to get it all up and running in sufficient time for you to outfit yourselves before the January ‘thon, and don’t worry—we won’t let you miss the announcement. The fanfare will last…for days.

There’s even MORE to come than this, and we’re so incredibly excited to get some other additions / surveys / initiatives off the ground. Stay tuned…and get excited.

Sign-up details

Ready to join? Fill out the form below (or if you’re having trouble, click through here) and feel free to list any and all of the places you’ll be hanging out online during the ‘thon. After you sign up, check out who else is participating. If your entry doesn’t immediately pop in to the spreadsheet, give it a few minutes to populate. (It’s also worth noting that mobile phones can make things difficult, so if the form doesn’t work on your phone, try a computer!)

And you can follow the readathon in all the normal places. We’re on TwitterInstagramFacebook, and Litsy (@24in48) and you can use the official hashtag #24in48 everywhere to keep up with your fellow readathon-ers.

See you soon!