National Author’s Day 2023: Date, History, Activities, Facts about Writers

National Author’s Day 2023: We all have one or more books that we just can’t put down, and this occasion allows us to honour the talented authors who brought them to life. Like drugs, books can provide a momentary, however fleeting, reprieve from the stresses of everyday life. In honor of National Author’s Day on November 1, spend some time losing yourself in another universe while curled up with your best book and a hot beverage. It’s critical to understand the amount of time, blood, sweat, and tears that go into getting words on the page in order to appreciate the writers who inspire us. Books, whether they be biographies, fantasy, or fiction, have a profound impact on our lives, thus we should honor those who write them! Give thanks to the author or authors that have dedicated many hours to writing your favorite books.

National Author’s Day 2023: HISTORY

What is an author, wondered the famous French philosopher Michel Foucault once? He maintained that the notion of authorship, or attributing the work to a single person, had a profound impact on how the reader interprets it. There were more dense, intellectual debates, but the fundamental truth still stands: writers are creators in every sense of the word.

They are essentially the ones who have penned works of poetry, novels, graphic novels, textbooks, and a great deal more. J.K. Rowling and Stephen King are two authors who can create both fantastical and horrifying worlds and landscapes that allow us to reflect and provide insight on our own more mundane realities. William Shakespeare, the most famous author (and, debatably, a number of authors operating under one pen name), was enthralling and satirizing royalty and common people in ways that still resonate today.

Authors have always had the power to instruct, amuse, and move us—recalling the ancient, blind Homer who told his “Odyssey” without even penning it down. This ability to do so transcends time and place.

This returns us to the question posed by Foucault. In reality, Homer never penned a word. He read aloud his poems to anyone who would listen, and as his following grew, they copied down his writings. However, Homer is recognized as the author of the “Odyssey” and the “Iliad” because history has forgotten the other writers.

What, then, is an author? It’s a somebody who, both historically and presently, moves their following with words. In-depth research is done by writers, who frequently spend years honing the work that we eventually read. That equates to years of writing, editing, rewriting, and reworking these captivating stories. We should all be very grateful to them.

The concept to establish a day to honor American authors was conceived in 1928 by Nellie Verne Burt McPherson, head of the Illinois Women’s Club. She was a teacher and a voracious reader. While she was a patient during World War I, she had the idea for the holiday. After finishing “Eben Holden’s Last Day A-Fishing” by Irving Bacheller, she wrote him a note praising the novel.

He replied that he had received the letter by sending her an autographed copy of one of his stories. Overwhelmed by his kindness, McPherson considered a way to pay him back. She came to the conclusion that the Generation Federation of Women’s Clubs would benefit from a National Day for Authors and put the concept forth. The group gave its approval and supported the celebration of American authors on National Authors Day in May 1929.

In 1949, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared National Author’s Day. McPherson’s dream eventually came true, however it took 20 years, and the nation has commemorated the day annually ever since.

After McPherson’s grandmother passed away in 1968, Sue Cole, her granddaughter, had the duty of publicizing the event. She exhorts readers to thank their favorite writers for their contributions to making life easier by writing notes of appreciation. Honoring everyone who has made a contribution to American literature is the goal.

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ACTIVITIES ON NATIONAL AUTHOR’S DAY

Social media has made it possible for authors and readers to communicate much more. Let your favorite author(s) know that their work has influenced you by sending them a brief tweet! Or post an online list of your favorite books. It could be to support a budding writer or to tell people about a book you really enjoy. (And remember to use the hashtag #NationalAuthorsDay.)

Go to your neighborhood bookshop and pick up a book! Purchase some of your favorite writers’ works to show your support. Give a buddy the gift of your favorite writer. Don’t forget to simultaneously post a favorable review on Amazon!

How about writing a poem, a narrative, or a recent experience for one hour? Letting an author inspire you to write is arguably the best way to honor them.

5 ABOVE WRITERS’ FACTS THAT WILL ASTOUND YOU

• Every year, Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West, Florida, holds a three-day Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. The writer used to reside there.
• J.D. Salinger would frequently drink his urine and talk in languages, according to his daughter’s memoir.
• Stephen King did not remember writing “Cujo” since he was abusing drugs and alcohol so much in the 1980s.
• Dan Brown began his writing career as a solo pop vocalist before trying his hand at music.
• Maya Angelou spent five years silent after horrific childhood experiences that resulted in the death of her mother’s boyfriend because she felt that her words were to blame.

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