Category Archives: News

December 2025 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of December for writers and readers

Read a New Book Month

  • December 1 – National Christmas Lights Day; World AIDS Day
  • December 2 – International Day for the Abolition of Slavery
  • December 3 – International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • December 4 – Wildlife Conservation Day
  • December 5 – Walt Disney’s Birthday; International Volunteer Day; World Soil Day
  • December 6 – Ira Gershwin’s Birthday; Joyce Kilmer’s Birthday
  • December 7 – International Civil Aviation Day; National Letter Writing Day
  • December 9 – John Milton’s Birthday; Christmas Card Day; International Anti-Corruption Day; International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide; National Llama Day
  • December 10 – Emily Dickinson’s Birthday; Dewey Decimal System Day; Human Rights Day; International Animal Rights Day; Nobel Prize Day
  • December 11 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s Birthday; International Mountain Day; International UNICEF Day
  • December 12 – International Day of Neutrality; International Universal Health Coverage Day
  • December 13 – National Day of the Horse (U.S.)
  • December 14 – Nostradamus’ Birthday
  • December 14-22 – Hanukkah
  • December 15 – Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof’s Birthday; Bill of Rights Day (U.S.)
  • December 16 – Jane Austen’s Birthday; Ludwig van Beethoven’s Birthday; National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
  • December 17 – National Maple Syrup Day (U.S.); Wright Brothers Day (U.S.)
  • December 18 – International Migrants Day; National Twin Day (U.S.)
  • December 20 – International Human Solidarity Day
  • December 21 – Crossword Puzzle Day; Look on the Bright Side Day; National Short Story Day; Summer Solstice (Southern Hemisphere); Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)
  • December 22 – National Short Person Day
  • December 23 – Robert Bly’s Birthday; Harriet Monroe’s Birthday; National Roots Day
  • December 24 – Mary Higgins Clark’s Birthday; Jolabokaflod (Iceland)
  • December 25 – Christmas Day
  • December 26 – Boxing Day
  • December 26 – January 1 – Kwanzaa
  • December 27 – International Day of Epidemic Preparedness
  • December 28 – National Call a Friend Day; National Short Film Day
  • December 30 – National Bacon Day
  • December 31 – Henri Matisse’s Birthday; No Interruptions Day

Famous December Birthdays

Other December Events

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Happy Thanksgiving 2025!

“With each meal, be aware that the food we eat was once a life, and to honor it as such. Say thank you to the members of the plant and animal kingdoms who have given up their life so we can continue ours: the vegetable, berry, four legged, swimmer and winged nations. Pray for their continued abundance and protection.”

Molly Larkin, “A Native American Teaching on The Gift of Food”

Feeding America

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Veteran’s Day 2025

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Robert F. Kennedy

Veteran’s Day

Image: Dave Granlund

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November 2025 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of November for writers and readers

Defeat Diabetes Month

National Family Literacy Month

National Memoir Writing Month

Native American Heritage Month

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

Picture Book Month

  • November 1 – Author’s Day; Day of the Dead; World Vegan Day
  • November 2 – All Soul’s Day; International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
  • November 3-9 – International Children’s Book Wee
  • November 6 – Plan Your Epitaph Day
  • November 9 – Book Lovers Day; International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism; World Adoption Day; World Freedom Day
  • November 10 – World Science Day for Peace and Development
  • November 10-14 – National Young Readers Week
  • November 11 – Veterans Day (U.S.)
  • November 12 – World Pneumonia Day
  • November 13 – World Kindness Day
  • November 15 – Day of the Imprisoned Writer; I Love to Write Day
  • November 16 – International Day for Tolerance
  • November 18 – Margaret Atwood’s Birthday; High-Five a Librarian Day
  • November 19 – International Men’s Day
  • November 20 – World Philosophy Day
  • November 21 – Voltaire’s Birthday
  • November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
  • November 27 – Thanksgiving (U.S.)
  • November 29 – Louisa May Alcott’s Birthday
  • November 30 – International Computer Security Day

Famous November Birthdays

Other November Events

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Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2025

Good Morning

Oh God, help us

To be generous in our opinions of others,

To be considerate of all we meet,

To be patient with those with whom we work,

To be faithful to every trust,

To be courageous in the face of danger,

To be humble in all our living,

To be prayerful every hour of the day,

To be joyous in all life’s experiences,

And to be dependent upon me,

For strength in facing life’s uncertainties.

Inuit Prayer

Indigenous Peoples’ Day

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In Memoriam – Jane Goodall, 1934-2025

Jane Goodall

Image: Dave Whamond

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Banned Books Week 2025 – October 5-11

Every “Banned Books Week” because it highlights the ongoing fight against censorship.  But it’s become especially critical in recent years in what has generally been considered the world’s most powerful democracy.  Under our current leadership, we’re heading towards authoritarianism, and the number of book bans across the U.S. has increased and intensified.

The hysteria won’t stop – certainly not as long as we have right-wing extremists in the White House and both houses of Congress.  Just remember: no one has the right to determine what’s appropriate for others to read!  That’s counterintuitive to the First Amendment to the Constitution and won’t succeed.  It will only drive readership underground and ultimately lead to anarchy.

Authors Guild Censorship Tracker: Monitoring Threats to Free Speech and Authors’ Rights

PEN America: Banned Books List 2025

PEN America: The Normalization of Book Banning

Keep writing and keep fighting!

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October 2025 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of October for writers and readers

National Book Month

National Reading Group Month

Other Famous October Birthdays

Other October Events

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Labor Day 2025

“Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change – this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.”

Bruce Barton

Image: John Darkow

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September 2025 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of September for writers and readers

National Hispanic Heritage Month

National Suicide Prevention Month

World Alzheimer’s Month

  • September 1 – Labor Day (U.S.); World Letter Writing Day
  • September 4 – Richard Wright’s Birthday; World Sexual Health Day
  • September 5 – International Day of Charity
  • September 6 – Fight Procrastination Day; Read a Book Day
  • September 8 – International Literacy Day; World Physiotherapy Day
  • September 9 – International Day to Protect Education from Attack
  • September 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day
  • September 11 – Patriot Day (U.S.)
  • September 13 – Roald Dahl’s Birthday
  • September 15 – Agatha Christie’s Birthday; Marco Polo’s Birthday; International Day of Democracy
  • September 16 – International Day for Preservation of the Ozone; National Voter Registration Day (U.S.)
  • September 18 – Read an E-book Day
  • September 20 – Upton Sinclair’s Birthday; International Coastal Cleanup Day
  • September 20-October 5 – Oktoberfest
  • September 21 – Stephen King’s Birthday; International Day of Peace; World Gratitude Day
  • September 22 – Dear Diary Day; International Hobbit Day; World Car-Free Day; World Rose Day
  • September 23 – International Sign Language Day
  • September 24 – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Birthday; National Punctuation Day
  • September 25 – National Comic Book Day; World Dream Day; World Maritime Day
  • September 26 – T.S. Eliot’s Birthday
  • September 27 – National Ghost Hunting Day
  • September 28 – World Rivers Day
  • September 29 – Miguel de Cervantes’ Birthday; International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste; National Coffee Day (U.S.); World Heart Day
  • September 30 – Truman Capote’s Birthday; International Translation Day

Famous September Birthdays

Other September Events

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