"The Moon is distant from the Sea –
And yet, with Amber Hands –
She leads Him – docile as a Boy –
Along appointed Sands –
"The Moon is distant from the Sea" (387) (Fragment)
Emily Dickinson
(Born on this day, 1830)
#literarybirthday
#EmilyDickinson
And yet, with Amber Hands –
She leads Him – docile as a Boy –
Along appointed Sands –
"The Moon is distant from the Sea" (387) (Fragment)
Emily Dickinson
(Born on this day, 1830)
#literarybirthday
#EmilyDickinson
December 10, 2024 at 2:32 PM
"The Moon is distant from the Sea –
And yet, with Amber Hands –
She leads Him – docile as a Boy –
Along appointed Sands –
"The Moon is distant from the Sea" (387) (Fragment)
Emily Dickinson
(Born on this day, 1830)
#literarybirthday
#EmilyDickinson
And yet, with Amber Hands –
She leads Him – docile as a Boy –
Along appointed Sands –
"The Moon is distant from the Sea" (387) (Fragment)
Emily Dickinson
(Born on this day, 1830)
#literarybirthday
#EmilyDickinson
'Diversity fuels everything I do. I read broadly, watch broadly, listen broadly, and write broadly. I don’t want to leave any genre or writing style unturned.' ~Daniel Kraus #botd #literarybirthday #danielkraus #booksky #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 7 June – Daniel Kraus
Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling American writer of novels, television, and film.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 7, 2026 at 1:19 PM
'Diversity fuels everything I do. I read broadly, watch broadly, listen broadly, and write broadly. I don’t want to leave any genre or writing style unturned.' ~Daniel Kraus #botd #literarybirthday #danielkraus #booksky #writingsky
'The paper is breathless
Under the hand
And the pencil is poised
Like a warlock’s wand.'
~Mervyn Peake
#botd #literarybirthday #poetry #writingsky
Under the hand
And the pencil is poised
Like a warlock’s wand.'
~Mervyn Peake
#botd #literarybirthday #poetry #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 9 July – Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake was an English novelist, poet, painter, playwright, and illustrator.
www.writerswrite.co.za
July 9, 2026 at 11:54 AM
'The paper is breathless
Under the hand
And the pencil is poised
Like a warlock’s wand.'
~Mervyn Peake
#botd #literarybirthday #poetry #writingsky
Under the hand
And the pencil is poised
Like a warlock’s wand.'
~Mervyn Peake
#botd #literarybirthday #poetry #writingsky
#literarybirthday
#MarkStrand
"A DREAM OF TRAVEL"
by Mark Strand
(Almost Invisible)
🎨 Maya Vericad Gavilá,
"A Dream of Travel"
(2025)
#MarkStrand
"A DREAM OF TRAVEL"
by Mark Strand
(Almost Invisible)
🎨 Maya Vericad Gavilá,
"A Dream of Travel"
(2025)
April 11, 2025 at 9:51 AM
#literarybirthday
#MarkStrand
"A DREAM OF TRAVEL"
by Mark Strand
(Almost Invisible)
🎨 Maya Vericad Gavilá,
"A Dream of Travel"
(2025)
#MarkStrand
"A DREAM OF TRAVEL"
by Mark Strand
(Almost Invisible)
🎨 Maya Vericad Gavilá,
"A Dream of Travel"
(2025)
February 20, 2025 at 3:26 PM
"Memory insists with its sea voice,
muttering from its bone cave.
Memory wraps us
like the shell wraps the sea.
Nothing to carry,
some stones to fill our pockets,
to give weight to what we have."
Anne Michaels,
from "Memory"
#literarybirthday
#AnneMichaels
📷 by Lisbeth Salas
muttering from its bone cave.
Memory wraps us
like the shell wraps the sea.
Nothing to carry,
some stones to fill our pockets,
to give weight to what we have."
Anne Michaels,
from "Memory"
#literarybirthday
#AnneMichaels
📷 by Lisbeth Salas
April 15, 2025 at 8:51 AM
"Memory insists with its sea voice,
muttering from its bone cave.
Memory wraps us
like the shell wraps the sea.
Nothing to carry,
some stones to fill our pockets,
to give weight to what we have."
Anne Michaels,
from "Memory"
#literarybirthday
#AnneMichaels
📷 by Lisbeth Salas
muttering from its bone cave.
Memory wraps us
like the shell wraps the sea.
Nothing to carry,
some stones to fill our pockets,
to give weight to what we have."
Anne Michaels,
from "Memory"
#literarybirthday
#AnneMichaels
📷 by Lisbeth Salas
'I think a whole lot of writing advice is not great because it’s so subjective. But the one thing I do try to tell people is that it’s okay to be patient.' ~ @paultremblay.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky #booksky
Literary Birthday – 30 June – Paul Tremblay
Paul Tremblay is an American author and editor of horror, dark fantasy, crime, and science fiction.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 30, 2026 at 12:14 PM
'I think a whole lot of writing advice is not great because it’s so subjective. But the one thing I do try to tell people is that it’s okay to be patient.' ~ @paultremblay.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky #booksky
Quotable - Jerome K Jerome, born on 2 May 1859 and died on 14 June 1927. Read more: tinyurl.com/yan2dva7 #literature #literarybirthday #literaryquote
May 2, 2026 at 10:56 AM
Quotable - Jerome K Jerome, born on 2 May 1859 and died on 14 June 1927. Read more: tinyurl.com/yan2dva7 #literature #literarybirthday #literaryquote
"If you love your story, somebody else will, too. Believe in it." ~Becky Chambers #beckychambers #writingtips #writingsky #literarybirthday #booksky
Literary Birthday – 3 May – Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers is an award-winning American author of science fiction novels. She is the bestselling author of the Wayfarers series.
www.writerswrite.co.za
May 3, 2026 at 1:35 PM
"If you love your story, somebody else will, too. Believe in it." ~Becky Chambers #beckychambers #writingtips #writingsky #literarybirthday #booksky
"A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth."
Robert Frost,
"A Question"
#RobertFrost
#LiteraryBirthday
📷 Yousuf Karsh, 1958
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth."
Robert Frost,
"A Question"
#RobertFrost
#LiteraryBirthday
📷 Yousuf Karsh, 1958
March 26, 2025 at 9:18 AM
"A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth."
Robert Frost,
"A Question"
#RobertFrost
#LiteraryBirthday
📷 Yousuf Karsh, 1958
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth."
Robert Frost,
"A Question"
#RobertFrost
#LiteraryBirthday
📷 Yousuf Karsh, 1958
'I construct scenes almost like poems. Poets have a good sense of cinema, because you’re creating scenes and atmosphere and texture.' ~A. K. Blakemore #literarybirthday #botd #writingsky #poetry
Literary Birthday – 11 May – A. K. Blakemore
A. K. Blakemore is an English author of poetry and novels.
www.writerswrite.co.za
May 11, 2026 at 12:03 PM
'I construct scenes almost like poems. Poets have a good sense of cinema, because you’re creating scenes and atmosphere and texture.' ~A. K. Blakemore #literarybirthday #botd #writingsky #poetry
'Trust your imagination. Don’t be afraid to fail. Write. Revise. Revise. Revise.' ~ @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 7 July – Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer is an American author, editor, and literary critic.
www.writerswrite.co.za
July 7, 2026 at 12:34 PM
'Trust your imagination. Don’t be afraid to fail. Write. Revise. Revise. Revise.' ~ @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
"I have a deep affection for my own characters, which I try to share with the reader; I think a writer can’t hope to engage her audience if she isn’t herself deeply engaged with the work." ~ @naominovik.bsky.social #naominovik #botd #writingsky #literarybirthday #writerswrite
Literary Birthday – 30 April – Naomi Novik
Naomi Novik is an award-winning American writer of speculative fiction.
www.writerswrite.co.za
April 30, 2026 at 2:23 PM
"I have a deep affection for my own characters, which I try to share with the reader; I think a writer can’t hope to engage her audience if she isn’t herself deeply engaged with the work." ~ @naominovik.bsky.social #naominovik #botd #writingsky #literarybirthday #writerswrite
TODAY: In 1882, Virginia Woolf is born. Celebrate this author. Read her flash fiction at Reading Fiction Blog, FREE (5-minute read). Audio too. "A Haunted House" paulacappa.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/v... #literarybirthday #virginiawoolf #ReadingFictionBlog #Booksky #bookchallenge #weekendreads
January 25, 2025 at 9:07 PM
TODAY: In 1882, Virginia Woolf is born. Celebrate this author. Read her flash fiction at Reading Fiction Blog, FREE (5-minute read). Audio too. "A Haunted House" paulacappa.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/v... #literarybirthday #virginiawoolf #ReadingFictionBlog #Booksky #bookchallenge #weekendreads
'Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.' ~Nathaniel Hawthorne #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 4 July – Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer
www.writerswrite.co.za
July 4, 2026 at 2:17 PM
'Words – so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.' ~Nathaniel Hawthorne #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'I play around a lot with form, chronology, and points of view. It’s endlessly fascinating to me the way the framework of fiction affects the plot and the reading experience.' ~ @jspencerfleming.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 26 June – Julia Spencer-Fleming
Julia Spencer-Fleming is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling American author of mystery fiction.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 26, 2026 at 11:37 AM
'I play around a lot with form, chronology, and points of view. It’s endlessly fascinating to me the way the framework of fiction affects the plot and the reading experience.' ~ @jspencerfleming.bsky.social #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'When writing is going well, it’s like being plugged into a cosmic socket. There’s no other experience that compares with it.' ~Deborah Crombie #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 6 June – Deborah Crombie
Deborah Crombie is an American author of a mystery series set in the United Kingdom.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 6, 2026 at 11:26 AM
'When writing is going well, it’s like being plugged into a cosmic socket. There’s no other experience that compares with it.' ~Deborah Crombie #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'Carve out a regular ‘writing time’ and don’t make excuses. If you can’t commit to your own writing, why should anyone else commit to it?' ~Val McDermid #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 4 June – Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a Scottish crime writer.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 4, 2026 at 11:17 AM
'Carve out a regular ‘writing time’ and don’t make excuses. If you can’t commit to your own writing, why should anyone else commit to it?' ~Val McDermid #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'In the first person, the readers feel smart, like it’s them solving the case.' ~Patricia Cornwell #writingsky #botd #patriciacornwell #literarybirthday
Literary Birthday – 9 June – Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell is an American crime writer. She is best known as the creator of a series of novels featuring Kay Scarpetta.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 9, 2026 at 2:14 PM
'In the first person, the readers feel smart, like it’s them solving the case.' ~Patricia Cornwell #writingsky #botd #patriciacornwell #literarybirthday
'But the ultimate lesson is just sit down and write. That’s all.' ~Wole Soyinka #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 13 July – Wole Soyinka
Wole Soyinka is a Nigerian author, playwright, and poet. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature.
www.writerswrite.co.za
July 13, 2026 at 12:01 PM
'But the ultimate lesson is just sit down and write. That’s all.' ~Wole Soyinka #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'I learned to take my time writing my first novel, to wait until I felt it was well and truly finished, the very best I could make it, before submitting it to an agent.' ~Lisa Halliday #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 12 July – Lisa Halliday
Lisa Halliday is an American writer and novelist.
www.writerswrite.co.za
July 12, 2026 at 2:39 PM
'I learned to take my time writing my first novel, to wait until I felt it was well and truly finished, the very best I could make it, before submitting it to an agent.' ~Lisa Halliday #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
'I’m a writer. I don’t begin with some conceit in mind. I’m just trying to tell a good story.' ~Liu Cixin #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky #sciencefiction
Literary Birthday – 23 June – Liu Cixin
Liu Cixin is a Chinese science fiction author. He is celebrated for his Remembrance of Earth’s Past series.
www.writerswrite.co.za
June 23, 2026 at 12:23 PM
'I’m a writer. I don’t begin with some conceit in mind. I’m just trying to tell a good story.' ~Liu Cixin #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky #sciencefiction
'That’s the best thing about writing, when you’re in that zone, you’re porous, ready to absorb the solution.' ~Michael Chabon #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
Literary Birthday – 24 May – Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon is an American author. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001.
www.writerswrite.co.za
May 24, 2026 at 2:31 PM
'That’s the best thing about writing, when you’re in that zone, you’re porous, ready to absorb the solution.' ~Michael Chabon #botd #literarybirthday #writingsky
#LiteraryBirthday. What would the world and the future have been like without #OctaviaButler. #Nebula and #Hugo awards winner. #ScienceFictionWriter #KenBoyd
www.writerswrite.co.za/literary-bir...
www.writerswrite.co.za/literary-bir...
June 22, 2025 at 2:50 PM
#LiteraryBirthday. What would the world and the future have been like without #OctaviaButler. #Nebula and #Hugo awards winner. #ScienceFictionWriter #KenBoyd
www.writerswrite.co.za/literary-bir...
www.writerswrite.co.za/literary-bir...