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The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, August 18, 2025

Posted on August 18, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of the filmmaker and screenwriter Roman Polanski, born in Paris in 1933. When he was still young, his family moved back to Krakow, where his father owned a plastics business. The family did well, and Roman especially loved going to the theater. But Poland was occupied by the Nazis in 1939, just two years after the Polanski family moved back; and even though his parents didn’t practice Judaism, and his mother was actually raised Catholic, they were technically Jews, so the family was forced into the Krakow ghetto.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, August 17, 2025

Posted on August 17, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of poet Ted Hughes, born in West Yorkshire, England (1930). He grew up in the country, surrounded by empty, desolate moors. He said, “[I could] never escape the impression that the whole region [was] in mourning for the First World War.”

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, August 16, 2025

Posted on August 16, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Charles Bukowski, born in Andernach, Germany (1920). His family moved to Los Angeles when he was just two years old. His father was so frustrated by the difficulty of earning a living in the United States that he became abusive. He once beat Bukowski with a two-by-four.

The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, August 15, 2025

Posted on August 15, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of food writer Julia Child, born Julia McWilliams in Pasadena, California (1912). When she was growing up, she never cooked anything, and when she went to college, she wanted to be a basketball star. She eventually changed her mind and tried to write a novel, and then she finally decided to try studying at Cordon Bleu, the famous school of French cooking.

The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, August 14, 2025

Posted on August 14, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Danielle Steel, born in New York City (1947). Her books have sold more than 570 million copies and are read in 28 languages. She spends her days writing in her bedroom on a 1948 metal-body Olympia manual typewriter, wearing her flannel nightgown. She often writes 18 hours a day.

The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Posted on August 13, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, born in London (1899), the “Master of Suspense.” He directed many films, including Strangers on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), and Psycho (1960).

The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Posted on August 12, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of mystery novelist Mary Roberts Rinehart, born in Pittsburgh (1876). Shortly after she and her husband married, the stock market crashed in 1903, and they lost a lot of their assets. She began to write to bring in extra money. The first book she published, The Circular Staircase (1907), was a mystery novel and it became a big hit, eventually selling more than a million copies.

The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, August 11, 2025

Posted on August 11, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of playwright Fernando Arrabal, born in Melilla, Spanish Morocco (1932). When he was a child, the brutal Spanish Civil War began, and his mother and father took opposing political sides. His mother sided with the Fascists of Franco’s regime and even prevented her son from listening to “dangerously” democratic BBC radio programming, and his father—once a military officer—sided with the Republicans.

The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, August 10, 2025

Posted on August 10, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It’s the birthday of Herbert Hoover, born in West Branch, Iowa (1874), son of a Quaker blacksmith. In 1928, he ran for president with a reputation as a humanitarian for saving millions of Europeans from starvation during and after World War I.

The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, August 9, 2025

Posted on August 9, 2025 - Writer's Almanac

It was on this day in 1854, Henry David Thoreau published Walden; or, Life in the Woods. The first edition was 2,000 copies, and it took five years to sell them off.

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