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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Posted on February 17, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is the birthday of crime novelist Ruth Rendell, born in South Woodford, England (1930). Her parents were teachers, but after she graduated from high school she was determined not to become a teacher herself, so she went to work for the local paper. She covered local news, but she wasn’t the best journalist.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, February 16, 2026

Posted on February 16, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1848 that the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin played his final concert in his adopted city of Paris. Chopin only performed about 30 concerts during his lifetime; he wrote to his friend, the composer Franz Liszt: “I am not at all fit for giving concerts, for the crowd intimidates me, its breath suffocates me, I feel paralyzed by its curious look, and the unknown faces make me dumb.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, February 15, 2026

Posted on February 15, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of comic book artist and writer Art Spiegelman, born in Stockholm, Sweden (1948), the son of Holocaust survivors, who both suffered from depression and terrible nightmares. The Spiegelmans moved to Queens, New York, where the boy fell in love with the art of Mad magazine and developed a passionate interest in comics and cartooning. By age 14, he’d sold his first piece of art to the Long Island Post.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, February 14, 2026

Posted on February 14, 2026 - Writer's Almanac

Today is Valentine’s Day, a big day for greeting card and candy sales, which goes back more than 1,500 years to the Feast of St. Valentine established in the fifth century, though nobody is sure exactly which of the many martyred Valentines it is the feast day of. The ancient Romans had a fertility festival celebrated at mid-February of every year. The festival was called Lupercalia in honor of Lupa, the wolf who was said to have suckled Romulus and Remus, who went on to found the city of Rome.

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.

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