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The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, February 13, 2026

Posted on February 13, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the first man to travel faster than the speed of sound: Chuck Yeager, born in Myra, West Virginia, on this day in 1923. Whereas 20/20 is considered “perfect vision,” his was better than perfect at 20/10, and he once shot a deer from 600 yards away. This keen vision was a great asset to a future pilot.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, February 12, 2026

Posted on February 12, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Judy Blume, born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (1938), the best-selling author of more than two dozen books for young people. She was 27 years old, with two preschool aged children, when she began writing seriously. For two years, she received constant rejections. Then in 1970, she had her big breakthrough, with the young adult novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Posted on February 11, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of novelist and travel writer Pico Iyer, born to Indian parents in Oxford, England (1957). After college, he spent a year working in a Mexican restaurant in the U.S., disguising himself as a Mexican. Then he and a friend went on a trip from California through Central America to Bolivia.

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Posted on February 10, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Norwegian journalist Åsne Seierstad, born in Oslo (1970). She’s best known for her work The Bookseller of Kabul (2003), which was an international best-seller and the best-selling nonfiction Norwegian book of all time.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, February 9, 2026

Posted on February 9, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

On this day in 1964, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, as teenage girls screamed hysterically in the audience and 73 million people watched from home — a record for American television at the time. Their appearance on the show is considered the beginning of the “British Invasion” of music in the United States.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, February 8, 2026

Posted on February 8, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the best-selling novelist John Grisham, born in Jonesboro, Arkansas (1955). He became a successful lawyer and then decided to write a novel based on one of his court cases. He spent three years writing A Time to Kill (1989), but only a few thousand copies were printed, and it didn’t sell out on the first run.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, February 7, 2026

Posted on February 7, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of writer Laura Ingalls Wilder, born near Pepin, Wisconsin (1867). She grew up with three sisters in a pioneer family. Her father was a restless man, and every couple of years he packed the family into their covered wagon and moved on in search of a better place. During her childhood, she lived in a series of shacks, cabins, and sod houses in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, February 6, 2026

Posted on February 6, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1937 that John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men was published. Of Mice and Men was Steinbeck’s fifth novel (he had also published an excerpt from a novel and a book of short stories). His first novel, Cup of Gold (1929), was a total flop — it didn’t even earn back the $250 that Steinbeck received as an advance.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, February 5, 2026

Posted on February 5, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of Christopher Guest, born in New York City in 1948. He’s best known for writing and starring in “mockumentaries” like This is Spinal Tap (1984), Waiting for Guffman (1996), and A Mighty Wind (2004). His father, Peter Haden-Guest, was a British diplomat to the United Nations and a member of the House of Lords, and young Christopher divided his childhood between London and New York.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Posted on February 4, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1938 that Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town premiered in New York City at the Henry Miller Theatre. It almost didn’t make it there. After a one-night tryout performance in Princeton, Our Town moved to Boston for two weeks of performances, and critics hated it. They thought the staging was too experimental, with no set and few props, and that the content was bland.

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