Tag Archives: stories

September 5, 2026 · 4:47 PM

4 Steps to a Successful Writing Career

In my decades of writing fiction – attending seminars and workshops, listening to and reading essays on the craft of various published authors – I’ve realized there are only 4 basic tenets of achieving that lofty and often unattainable goal of becoming a truly successful scribe.

They are:

Get money.
Write a book.
Get that book published.
Repeat.

Image: Awesome Content

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August 29, 2026 · 3:01 PM

September 2026 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 – 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 7 – Labor Day (U.S.)
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 19 – International Coastal Cleanup Day
September 19-October 4 – Oktoberfest
September 20 – Upton Sinclair’s Birthday
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; World Maritime Day
September 25 – National Comic Book Day; World Dream Day
September 26 – T.S. Eliot’s Birthday; 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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August 29, 2026 · 2:46 PM

In Memoriam – Dolly Parton, 1946-2026

“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 3 million children.”

Dolly Parton

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July 29, 2026 · 7:41 PM

August 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of August for writers and readers

Family Fun Month

Happiness Happens Month

Romance Awareness Month

August 1 – Herman Melville’s Birthday; World Wide Web Day
August 1-7 – International Clown Week
August 2 – Psychic Day (U.S.)
August 3-9 – International Dog Assistance Week; National Simplify Your Life Week (U.S.)
August 4 – Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Birthday
August 5 – Blogger Day
August 6 – Farmworker Appreciation Day
August 7 – International Beer Day; Purple Heart Day (U.S.)
August 9 – Book Lovers Day
August 10 – Vlogging Day; World Lion Day
August 12 – International Youth Day; World Calligraphy Day; World Elephant Day
August 13 – International Lefthanders Day; Women’s and Family Day
August 14 – Danielle Steele’s Birthday; Love Your Bookshop Day; World Lizard Day
August 15 – Chant at the Moon Day
August 16 – International Homeless Animals Day; World Honey Bee Day
August 18 – National Bad Poetry Day; World Breast Cancer Research Day
August 19 – World Humanitarian Day; World Photo Day
August 22 – International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
August 23 – European Day for Remembrance of Victims of Stalinism and Nazism; International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
August 23-27 – World Water Week
August 24 – Paulo Coelho’s Birthday; International Strange Music Day
August 26 – International Dog Day
August 28 – Leo Tolstoy’s Birthday
August 29-33 – International Bat Night
August 30 – Mary Shelley’s Birthday; International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances
August 31 – International Day for People of African Descent; International Overdose Awareness Day; We Love Memoirs Day; World Distance Learning Day

Famous August Birthdays

Other August Events

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June 28, 2026 · 3:06 PM

July 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of July for writers and readers

Good Care Month

National Anti-Boredom Month

National Blueberry Month

National Culinary Arts Month

National Lost Pet Prevention Month

National Picnic Month

Social Wellness Month

South Asian Heritage Month

Wild About Wildlife Month

July 1 – American Zoo Day (U.S.); Canada Day; International Joke Day
July 1-7 – Clean Beaches Week
July 2 – Freedom from Fear of Speaking Day; World UFO Day
July 3 – Air Conditioning Appreciation Day; International Plastic Bag Free Day
July 4 – U.S. Independence Day
July 6 – International Kissing Day
July 7 – Global Forgiveness Day; Tell the Truth Day; World Chocolate Day
July 8 – International Paramedics Day
July 11 – E.B. White’s Birthday; International Essential Oils Day; World Population Day
July 14 – Bastille Day (France)
July 17 – World Day for International Justice; World Emoji Day
July 18 – Nelson Mandela International Day; World Listening Day
July 20 – International Chess Day; Space Exploration Day (U.S.)
July 21 – Ernest Hemingway’s Birthday
July 22 – World Brain Day
July 24 – International Self-Care Day
July 25 – National Wine & Cheese Day (U.S.)
July 29 – International Tiger Day
July 30 – Paperback Book Day; World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
July 31 – J.K. Rowling’s Birthday

Famous July Birthdays

Other July Events

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May 29, 2026 · 10:39 PM

June 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of June for writers and readers

Audiobook Appreciation Month

Celibacy Awareness Month

Children’s Awareness Month

National Adopt a Cat Month

National Foster a Pet Month

National Men’s Health Month

National Oceans Month

Rainbow Book Month

June 2 – American Indian Citizenship Day; National Leave the Office Early Day
June 3 – Love Conquers All Day; Global Running Day
June 4 – Audacity to Hope Day; Hug Your Cat Day; National Cheese Day
June 5 – World Environment Day
June 7 – Cancer Survivors Day; World Caring Day
June 8 – Best Friends Day; Race Unity Day; World Ocean Day
June 9 – National No Apologies Period Day; World Sex Day
June 12 – Anne Frank’s Birthday; National Red Rose Day; World Day Against Child Labor
June 14 – Monkey Around Day; National Children’s Day; World Blood Donor Day
June 15 – Nature Photography Day; World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
June 15-21 – Animal Rights Awareness Week (U.S.); Learning Disability Week; Universal Father’s Week
June 16 – International Waterfall Day; World Sea Turtle Day
June 17 – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
June 18 – National Splurge Day
June 19 – Juneteenth (U.S.); National Watch Day; World Sauntering Day
June 21 – Father’s Day (U.S.)
June 21 – Andean New Year; Indigenous People’s Day (Canada); International Yoga Day; Summer Solstice (Northern Hemisphere); Winter Solstice (Southern Hemisphere); World Giraffe Day; World Humanist Day; World Music Day
June 21-27 – National Forgiveness Week (U.S.)
June 22 – Octavia Butler’s Birthday; World Rainforest Day
June 23 – Let It Go Day; National Pink Day; National Typewriter Day
June 24 – International Fairy Day
June 25 – Eric Carle’s Birthday
June 26 – International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking; National Food Truck Day (U.S.); National Safer Workplace Day (Canada; U.S.)
June 28 – International Day of Action for Elephants in Zoos; Paul Bunyan Day (U.S.)
June 29 – International Day of the Tropics; International Fisherman Day
June 30 – International Asteroid Day

Famous June Birthdays

Other June Events

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April 27, 2026 · 3:39 AM

May 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of May for writers and readers

American Cheese Month

Arthritis Awareness Month

Asian American and Pacific Islander Month (U.S.)

Be Kind to Animals Month

Better Sleep Month

Get Caught Reading Month

Indian Heritage Month

Jewish American Heritage Month

Labor History Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

Military Appreciation Month

National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month

National Anxiety Month

National Meditation Month

National Pet Month

Short Story Month

May 1 – Couple Appreciation Day; Free Comic Book Day (N. America); Global Love Day; May Day (Europe); Mother Goose Day; National Loyalty Day; National Space Day; Phone In Sick Day
May 2 – International Harry Potter Day
May 3 – World Laughter Day; World Press Freedom Day
May 3-9 – Hurricane Preparedness Week (U.S.)
May 4 – Greenery Day (Japan); National Day of Reason (U.S.)
May 4-10 – Children’s Book Week; Red Cross Week
May 5 – Nellie Bly’s Birthday; Cinco de Mayo (México); National Cartoonists Day; National Silence the Shame About Mental Illness Day; Poem on Your Pillow Day
May 6 – Sigmund Freud’s Birthday
May 6-12 – National Nurses Week (U.S.)
May 7 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Birthday; National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day (U.S.)
May 8 – Peter Benchley’s Birthday
May 9 – J.M. Barrie’s Birthday; Europe Day; Peter Pan Day
May 10 – Mother’s Day (U.S.)
May 11 – Irving Berlin’s Birthday; Martha Graham’s Birthday; Salvador Dali’s Birthday
May 12 – Limerick Day
May 16 – Love a Tree Day
May 18-24 – Dementia Awareness Week
May 19 – Nora Ephron’s Birthday
May 22 – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Birthday; Sherlock Holmes Day; Take a Road Trip Day
May 25 – Robert Ludlum’s Birthday; Memorial Day (U.S.)
May 27 – Ian Fleming’s Birthday; Dashiell Hammett’s Birthday
May 30 – National Creativity Day
May 31 – Walt Whitman’s Birthday

Famous May Birthdays

Other May Events

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March 29, 2026 · 3:33 PM

April 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of April for writers and readers

Arab-American Heritage Month

Child Abuse Awareness Month

Dog Appreciation Month

Earth Month

Genocide Awareness Month

Global Astronomy Month

International Guitar Month

Mathematics & Statistics Awareness Month

National Alcohol Awareness Month (U.S.)

National Card & Letter Writing Month (U.S.)

National Fair Housing Month (U.S.)

National Humor Month (U.S.)

National Poetry Month (U.S.)

School Library Month (U.S.)

April 1 – April Fool’s Day; International Fun at Work Day; National Greeting Card Day; Reading Is Funny Day
April 1-9 – Passover
April 2 – Hans Christian Anderson’s Birthday; International Children’s Book Day; Nature Day
April 3 – Jane Goodall’s Birthday; Independent Artist Day
April 4 – Maya Angelou’s Birthday; National School Librarian Day; National Love Our Children Day
April 5 – Booker T. Washington’s Birthday; Easter
April 7 –William Wordsworth’s Birthday
April 8 – Buddha’s Birthday
April 9 – Education & Sharing Day; National Unicorn Day
April 10 – Joseph Pulitzer’s Birthday; Take Action for Libraries Day
April 12 – Beverly Cleary’s Birthday; Tom Clancy’s Birthday; D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day
April 13 – Scrabble Day
April 15 – Corrie Ten Boom’s Birthday; Leonardo da Vinci’s Birthday; World Art Day
April 16 – Celebrate Teen Literature Day
April 17 – Thornton Wilder’s Birthday; International Haiku Poetry Day
April 18 – Newspaper Columnists Day
April 19-25 – National Library Week (U.S.)
April 21 – Charlotte Bronte’s Birthday
April 22 – Earth Day
April 23 – William Shakespeare’s Birthday; World Book Day
April 25 – Guglielmo Marconi’s Birthday; Independent Bookstore Day; National Day of Puppetry
April 26 – John James Audubon’s Birthday
April 27 – National Tell a Story Day
April 28 – Harper Lee’s Birthday; Great Poetry Reading Day
April 30 – Honesty Day; National Animal Advocacy Day

Famous April Birthdays

Other April Events

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February 25, 2026 · 3:30 AM

March 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of March for writers and readers

National Reading Month

Small Press Month

March 1 – Fredric Chopin’s Birthday; International Hug a Librarian Day; Plan a Solo Vacation Day; World Compliment Day
March 1-7 – National Ghostwriters Week; Read an E-Book Week; Returned Borrowed Books Week
March 2 – Theodore Seuss Geisel’s (Dr. Seuss) Birthday; Read Across America Day
March 3 – Alexander Graham Bell’s Birthday; I Want You to be Happy Day; If Pets Had Thumbs Day
March 4 – National Grammar Day
March 8 – International Women’s Day
March 9 – Amerigo Vespucci’s Birthday; Get Over It Day
March 10 – International Day of Awesomeness
March 11 – Worship of Tools Day
March 14 – Albert Einstein’s Birthday; Johann Strauss’ Birthday; National Write Your Story Day
March 15 – Everything You Think Is Wrong Day; Ides of March
March 15-21 – World Folktales and Fables Week
March 16 – Everything You Do Is Right Day; Freedom of Information Day
March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day
March 19 – International Read to Me Day; Let’s Laugh Day
March 20 – First Day of Spring (Northern Hemisphere); First Day of Fall (Southern Hemisphere); Extraterrestrial Abductions Day; International Day of Happiness; World Storytelling Day
March 21 – World Poetry Day
March 22 – As Young as You Feel Day
March 24 – Harry Houdini’s Birthday
March 26 – Robert Frost’s Birthday; Tennessee Williams’ Birthday
March 29 – Smoke and Mirrors Day
March 30 – Vincent van Gogh’s Birthday; I Am in Control Day; Pencil Day
March 31 – Johann Sebastian Bach’s Birthday; René Descartes’ Birthday

Famous March Birthdays

Other March Events

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January 29, 2026 · 12:18 PM

February 2026 Literary Calendar

Events in the month of February for writers and readers

African-American History Month (U.S.)

Library Lovers’ Month

February 1 – Change Your Password Day; National Freedom Day (U.S.)
February 1-7 – Children’s Authors and Illustrators Week
February 2 – James Joyce’s Birthday
February 3 – Norman Rockwell’s Birthday
February 4 – World Read Aloud Day
February 7 – Charles Dickens’ Birthday; Sinclair Lewis’ Birthday; Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Birthday; Take Your Child to the Library Day
February 8 – Jules Verne’s Birthday
February 9 – Read in the Bathtub Day
February 12 – Judy Blume’s Birthday; Charles Darwin’s Birthday
February 14 – International Book Giving Day; Library Lover’s Day; Valentine’s Day
February 15 – Galileo Galilei’s Birthday
February 16 – President’s Day (U.S.)
February 18 – Toni Morrison’s Birthday
February 19 – Amy Tan’s Birthday
February 20 – Ansel Adams’ Birthday; World Day of Social Justice
February 21 – Erma Bombeck’s Birthday; International Mother Language Day
February 22 – Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Birthday
February 22-28 – Freedom to Read Week (Canada)
February 25 – Pierre Renoir’s Birthday
February 26 – Tell a Fairy Tale Day
February 27 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Birthday; John Steinbeck’s Birthday

Famous February Birthdays

Other Notable February Events

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Tag Archives: stories

4 Steps to a Successful Writing Career

September 2026 Literary Calendar

In Memoriam – Dolly Parton, 1946-2026

August 2026 Literary Calendar

July 2026 Literary Calendar

June 2026 Literary Calendar

May 2026 Literary Calendar

April 2026 Literary Calendar

March 2026 Literary Calendar

February 2026 Literary Calendar

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