LITERARY CALENDAR
Literary calendar- Dates of interest
January
National Braille Literacy Month
1 – Copyright Law Day
2 – National Science Fiction Day
9-15 – Universal Letter Writing Week
11 – Poetry at Work Day
18 – Thesaurus Day
18 – Winnie the Pooh Day (birthday of author A.A. Milne)
19 – Edgar Allan Poe’s birthday
23 – National Handwriting Day
25 – Burns Supper (Robert Burns’s birthday)
26 – Library Shelfie Day
27 – Family Literacy Day in Canada
February
Library Lovers’ Month
2-8 – Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week
2 – World Read Aloud Day
5 – Take Your Child to the Library Day
7 – Charles Dickens’s birthday
9 – Read in the Bathtub Day
12 – Judy Blume’s birthday
14 – International Book Giving Day
14 – Library Lover’s Day
19 – Amy Tan’s birthday
20-26 – Freedom to Read Week in Canada
26 – Tell a Fairy Tale Day
27 – John Steinbeck’s birthday
March
National Reading Month
Small Press Month
2 – Read Across America Day
2 – Dr. Seuss’s birthday
3 – World Book Day in the UK and Ireland
4 – National Grammar Day
6-12 – Read an E-book Week
6-12 – Return Borrowed Books Week
16 – Freedom of Information Day
20 – World Storytelling Day
21 – World Poetry Day
26 – Robert Frost’s birthday
30 – Pencil Day
April
D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Month
National Poetry Month
School Library Month
1 – Reading is Funny Day
2 – International Children’s Book Day
2 – National Children’s Picture Book Day
2 – Hans Christian Anderson’s birthday
3-9 – National Library Week
4 – National School Librarian Day
4 – Maya Angelou’s birthday
5 – National Library Worker’s Day
6 – National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day)
7 – Take Action for Libraries Day
9 – National Unicorn Day
12 – Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.) Day
12 – Beverly Cleary’s birthday
13 – Scrabble Day
14 – Celebrate Teen Literature Day
15 – Rubber Eraser Day
15 – World Art Day
16 – National Librarian Day
17 – International Haiku Poetry Day
18 – Newspaper Columnists Day
23 – Shakespeare’s birthday
23 – World Book and Copyright Day
23 – World Book Night
24 – Congress approved the Library of Congress
27 – National Tell A Story Day
28 – Harper Lee’s birthday
28 – Great Poetry Reading Day
30 – Independent Bookstore Day
May
Get Caught Reading Month
Short Story Month
1 – Mother Goose Day
2 – International Harry Potter Day
2-8 – Children’s Book Week
3 – World Press Freedom Day
5 – National Cartoonists Day
7 – Free Comic Book Day
9 – Peter Pan Day
12 – Limerick Day
20 – Eliza Doolittle Day
22 – Sherlock Holmes Day
31 – Walt Whitman’s birthday
June
Audiobook Appreciation Month
10 – Ball Point Pen Day
12 – Anne Frank’s birthday
16 – Bloomsday (celebration of Irish writer James Joyce’s life)
22 – Octavia Butler’s birthday
23 – Typewriter patent awarded
July
Read an Almanac Month
11 – E.B. White’s birthday
21 – Ernest Hemingway’s birthday
30 – Paperback Book Day
August
Romance Awareness Month
2 – National Coloring Book Day
9 – Book Lover’s Day (also November 6)
18 – Bad Poetry Day
21 – Poet’s Day
31 – We Love Memoirs Day
September
Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month
Library Card Sign Up Month
National Literacy Month
Read a New Book Month (also December)
4 – Newspaper Carrier Day
6 – Read a Book Day
8 – International Literacy Day
18 – Read an E-book Day
18-24 – National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week
22 – Hobbit Day
22 – Dear Diary Day
24 – National Punctuation Day
24 – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s birthday
25 – National Comic Book Day
25-October 1 – Banned Books Week
October
National Book Month
National Reading Group Month
6 – Mad Hatter Day
11 – Myth and Legends Day
16 – Dictionary Day
16-22 – National Friends of Libraries Week
20 – National Day on Writing
27 – National Tell a Story Day in Scotland and the U.K.
November
National Family Literacy Month
National Memoir Writing Month
National Novel Writing Month
Picture Book Month
1 – National Family Literacy Day
1 – Author’s Day
3 – National Non-Fiction Day in the UK
6 – Book Lovers Day (also August 9)
8 – Young Readers Day
15 – I Love to Write Day
18 – High-Five a Librarian Day
29 – Louisa May Alcott’s birthday
December
Read a New Book Month (also September)
7 – Letter Writing Day
16 – Jane Austen’s birthday
21 – Crossword Puzzle Day
21 – National Short Story Day
24 – Jolabokaflod, Iceland’s Yule Book Flood