Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon: October start time, how to join
The October 2026 Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon starts on Saturday 17 October at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time (12:00 UTC) and ends exactly 24 hours later, on Sunday 18 October at 8:00 a.m. Eastern (organisers' Goodreads group).
It is one shared start for the whole world, so the clock time depends on where you live.
Start time in your city
| City | Starts Saturday 17 October |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 5:00 a.m. |
| Denver, Mexico City | 6:00 a.m. |
| Chicago | 7:00 a.m. |
| New York, Toronto | 8:00 a.m. |
| São Paulo | 9:00 a.m. |
| London, Dublin, Lagos | 1:00 p.m. |
| Paris, Berlin, Johannesburg | 2:00 p.m. |
| Cairo, Nairobi, Riyadh | 3:00 p.m. |
| Dubai | 4:00 p.m. |
| Karachi | 5:00 p.m. |
| New Delhi | 5:30 p.m. |
| Jakarta | 7:00 p.m. |
| Manila, Singapore, Perth | 8:00 p.m. |
| Tokyo, Seoul | 9:00 p.m. |
| Sydney | 11:00 p.m. |
| Auckland | 1:00 a.m. on Sunday 18 October |
The readathon ends at the same clock time 24 hours later.
What it is
For 24 hours, readers around the world read as much as they like and share their progress online: on Goodreads, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, blogs and other apps. Through the day, the hosts post reading sprints, surveys and small challenges to keep everyone going.
It happens twice a year, in April and October. A blogger known as Dewey, of the blog The Hidden Side of a Leaf, held the first one in October 2007. She died in late 2008, and in 2009 the event was renamed in her honour (readathon history). A team of volunteer hosts runs it today.
How to take part
- Join the community. The organisers' Goodreads group is free to join and posts the updates and links for the day.
- Pick your stack. Choose more books than you think you need, with some short ones: novellas, comics, poetry or audiobooks keep you moving when you tire.
- Read any part of it. Nobody has to stay awake for 24 hours. Read for the hours that suit you and sleep when you need to.
- Share as you go. Post a photo of your stack at the start and an update every few hours.
Tips for a good readathon day
- Set out water, snacks and a charger before the start.
- Turn off notifications for everything except the readathon.
- Get up and walk for a few minutes every hour or two.
- Switch books when one drags. Finishing is not the goal; reading is.
