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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



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