2026 Literary Calendar
A curated year of bookish moments, author birthdays, and global reading celebrations to guide your reading journey through 2026. Most of these events repeat every year, so you can revisit this calendar again and again.
How to Use This Calendar
- Plan your TBR: Match your reads to monthly themes (poetry in April, spooky in October, etc.).
- Create content: Use these dates for blog posts, reviews, wrap-ups, and social media themes.
- Discover new authors: Celebrate birthdays by reading or featuring one of their works.
January: New Beginnings & Classics
- January 1 – Public Domain Day. New works enter the public domain each year; great for discovering classics you can read and quote freely.
- January 3 – J.R.R. Tolkien’s Birthday. Perfect for epic fantasy, rereading The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings.
- January 18 – A.A. Milne’s Birthday. Celebrate with gentle, comforting reads like Winnie-the-Pooh.
- January 25 – Virginia Woolf’s Birthday. Ideal for modernist fiction, women’s interior lives, and stream-of-consciousness narratives.
February: Love, Libraries & Intimate Stories
- All month – National Library Lovers’ Month. Highlight library resources, borrowing tips, and library-themed recs.
- February 7 – Charles Dickens’ Birthday. Great for chunky Victorian reads or adaptations.
- February 14 – Library Lovers’ Day. Bookish love, reading dates, and romance novels.
- February 19 – Amy Tan’s Birthday. Feature Asian-American lit and family-saga stories.
- February 27 – John Steinbeck’s Birthday. Ideal for American classics and working-class narratives.
March: Poetry, Folklore & World Storytelling
- March 2 – Dr. Seuss’ Birthday / Read Across America Day. Focus on children’s books and early reading.
- March 8 – International Women’s Day. Celebrate women authors across genres and regions.
- March 21 – World Poetry Day. Share favorite poems, poets, and beginner-friendly collections.
- March 22 – World Folktale Day. Explore myths, legends, fairy tales, and folklore retellings.
- March 26 – Robert Frost’s Birthday. Perfect for nature poetry and reflective verse.
April: National Poetry Month
- All month – National Poetry Month. Dedicate posts to poets, forms, and approachable collections.
- April 10 – Encourage a Young Writer Day. Share prompts, writing tips, and YA writing resources.
- April 13 – Samuel Beckett’s Birthday. Highlight absurdist, experimental, and existential works.
- April 23 – World Book & Copyright Day. Celebrate reading globally and talk about book rights and access.
- April 23 – Shakespeare’s Birthday & Death Anniversary. Feature plays, sonnets, and retellings.
- April 28 – Harper Lee’s Birthday. Spotlight classic American lit and discussions on justice.
May: Asian Lit, Magic Realism & Short Stories
- All month – Asian heritage & diaspora lit focus. A beautiful time to highlight Asian and Asian-diaspora authors.
- May 7 – Rabindranath Tagore’s Birthday. Poetry, philosophy, and Bengali literature.
- May 12 – Dante Alighieri’s Birthday. Classic epic poetry like The Divine Comedy.
- May 25 – Africa Day. Celebrate African authors and stories from across the continent.
June: Pride, Freedom & Young Voices
- All month – Pride Month. Highlight LGBTQ+ authors, characters, and queer joy.
- June 2 – Thomas Hardy’s Birthday. For tragic love stories and moody classics.
- June 12 – Anne Frank’s Birthday. Reflect on wartime diaries, memoirs, and resilience.
- June 26 – Pearl S. Buck’s Birthday. Focus on cross-cultural and historical fiction.
July: Fiction, Imagination & Adventure
- July 2 – Hermann Hesse’s Birthday. Great for introspective and spiritual fiction.
- July 4 – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Birthday. American gothic and moral tales.
- July 10 – Marcel Proust’s Birthday. Perfect excuse to talk about memory, time, and very long books.
- July 21 – Ernest Hemingway’s Birthday. Short, powerful prose and literary minimalism.
August: Women Authors & Dark Academia Vibes
- August 6 – Alfred Tennyson’s Birthday. Lyrical Victorian poetry and Arthurian themes.
- August 12 – Mary Oliver’s Birthday. Nature, gentle spirituality, and accessible poetry.
- August 16 – Charles Bukowski’s Birthday. Gritty, raw, modern poetry and prose.
- August 28 – Goethe’s Birthday. Romanticism, Faustian bargains, and German classics.
September: Literacy, Libraries & Mysteries
- All month – Literacy Month. Promote reading access, education, and beginner-friendly books.
- All month – National Teacher’s Month (Philippines). Perfect for children’s books and classroom-friendly reads.
- September 6 – Read a Book Day. Simple, cozy, perfect for reading sprints and low-pressure recs.
- September 8 – International Literacy Day. Talk about literacy charities, reading programs, and inclusive publishing.
- September 15 – Agatha Christie’s Birthday. Mysteries, crime fiction, and whodunits.
- September 22 – Hobbit Day. Celebrate Tolkien again with The Hobbit and Middle-earth.
- September 24 – F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Birthday. Jazz Age, glamour, and tragedy.
October: Horror, Mystery & Spooky Season
- All month – National Book Month. A general celebration of books—great for any genre focus.
- October 4 – Anne Rice’s Birthday. Vampires, gothic New Orleans, and lush paranormal reads.
- October 16 – Oscar Wilde’s Birthday. Wit, decadence, and aestheticism.
- October 31 – Halloween. Horror, thrillers, dark fantasy, and gothic literature.
November: Writing, Memoirs & Philosophy
- All month – National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Share writing advice, prompts, and writerly reads.
- November 7 – Albert Camus’ Birthday. Existentialism, absurdism, and philosophical novels.
- November 8 – Bram Stoker’s Birthday. Gothic horror and vampire classics.
- November 13 – Robert Louis Stevenson’s Birthday. Adventure tales and seafaring stories.
- November 29 – Louisa May Alcott’s Birthday. Cozy domestic fiction and sisterhood stories.
December: Cozy Reading & Year-End Reflections
- December 10 – Emily Dickinson’s Birthday. Slant rhymes, solitude, and introspective poetry.
- December 16 – Jane Austen’s Birthday. Regency romance, social commentary, and comfort reads.
- December 24 – Christmas Eve. Holiday stories, winter classics, and cozy book traditions.