Holidays and Special Occasions

Week of October 16—Finding Hooks to Inspire Your Books

Monday, October 17—Holidays and Special Occasions

When I visited Barnes & Nobles yesterday there were three (yes, THREE) separate Halloween picture book displays in the children’s book area. Holidays are a simple way to organize a display in a store or library, to create a flyer about new releases, or to organize critiques in a newspaper. You might have written a story that fits into one of the holiday “hooks” listed below, or perhaps one of these holidays will inspire a new story.

Let me quickly add that just because you have a holiday hook does not mean you have a winning book. (Oh, that it could be that easy.) And not every holiday is equal in the eyes of those who market and promote books. I have what I think is a wonderful Thanksgiving book, but my agent is reluctant to send it out to publishers. It seems that Thanksgiving is a short season for books to be on the shelf since it’s sandwiched between the Halloween push and the Christmas holiday rush. Because of that, few Thanksgiving books are published each year and, as rule, they don’t sell in large quantities because they are displayed for such a short period of time. With that in mind, choose your hooks carefully!

Holidays and Special Occasions

JANUARY

New Year’s Day

Inauguration Day

Marin Luther King Day

FEBRUARY

Groundhog Day

Valentine’s Day

Lincoln’s Birthday

Washington’s Birthday

President’s Day

MARCH

St. Patrick’s Day

MARCH/APRIL

Mardi Gras

Good Friday

Easter

APRIL

April Fool’s Day

Arbor Day

MAY

National Teacher’s Day/Week

Mother’s Day

Memorial Day (formerly Decoration Day)

JUNE

Flag Day

Father’s Day

JULY

Independence Day (4^th of July)

SEPTEMBER

Labor Day

Patriots Day

Citizenship Day

Grandparents Day

Rosh Hashanah

Yom Kippur

OCTOBER
Columbus Day (Discoveries Day or Pioneers Day)

Halloween

NOVEMBER

Election Day

Veterans Day

Thanksgiving Day

DECEMBER

Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Christmas Day

Hanukkah

Kwanza

(Please note: There are many other high and holy days of which I am less familiar. Please consider those as other “hook” options.)

Events that Occur Less Frequently

Leap Year

The Olympics

Presidential Election