Alien Abduction Day: Why Invented Holidays Live or Die
August 31, 2026
There is no founding body and no origin story, which describes most of the modern calendar. The interesting question is why a handful survive and the rest evaporate.
Tag: March
Writing and book holidays observed in March, as spring arrives. Every literary celebration, author day, and reading observance falling in March, each marked with an essay.
MarchNational Reading Month: The Books I Have Read Forty Times
June 14, 2026
National Reading Month is a time to celebrate reading for its own sake. So here's an honest confession from a writer: the handful of books I have read forty times, and what makes a book worth returning to.
MarchNational Proofreading Day: Proofreading Is More Than Grammar
June 14, 2026
National Proofreading Day promotes error-free writing, but real proofreading is bigger than typos. The dangerous errors aren't spelling mistakes, they're failures of logic and clarity. A look at what a true pass catches.
MarchWorld Storytelling Day: Story Is Your Life, Not Just Your Writing
June 14, 2026
World Storytelling Day celebrates oral storytelling, the spoken kind, not just the written. That distinction matters: story runs through your whole life, not just your manuscript, and shapes how you understand everything.
MarchNational Film Day
June 14, 2026
National Film Day is March 30. Why film matters as an art form, what separates great movies from product, and what writers can learn from the best films.
MarchSt. Patrick’s Day
June 14, 2026
St. Patrick's Day is March 17. Beyond the green beer, it celebrates a great storytelling culture. What writers can learn from the Irish oral tradition.
MarchNational Write Your Story Day
June 14, 2026
National Write Your Story Day is March 14. Why your story is worth recording, how to start when it feels impossible, and why the form can be anything.
MarchNational Grammar Day
June 14, 2026
National Grammar Day is March 4. Why grammar matters, when breaking the rules is right, and how to keep your writing clean with editors and tools.
MarchWorld Poetry Day
June 14, 2026
World Poetry Day is March 21. An honest take from a prose writer who doesn't love most poetry, on what poetry is for and what every writer can steal from it.
MarchNational Tolkien Reading Day
June 14, 2026
National Tolkien Reading Day is March 25. The boxed set I saved for, the boring opening I almost quit, the eagles plot hole, and what Tolkien taught me.
AmericaRead Across America Day
June 14, 2026
Read Across America Day is March 2. A lifelong reader on how books protected him as a child, how taste changes over a life, and why a book matters to a kid.
MarchRead an E-Book Week
June 14, 2026
Read an E-Book Week is the first full week of March. The honest case for e-books, why you don't really own them, and how they compare to print you keep.