What is National Author's Day?

On National Author's Day, millions of people honor authors and the books they write on National Author's Day.

Books have a mind of their own. They take time to develop, study, draft, edit, revise, and rewrite. We love stories. When we drift off to sleep or travel, we indulge in them. And in some cases, we encourage them to gather dust on several flat surfaces in our homes. Those stories may take years to reach a publisher and just as long to reach a bookshelf. We may have just one favorite author or several collections of authors with which we are unable to participate. Authors have been publishing stories for thousands of years, whether we like fiction, non-fiction, or a combination of both.

Authors also keep a record of history by their books. They track time by their observations. Their stories bring vivid memories of a place, securing it between the pages of the binding. Our books encourage us to return to visit again and again to visit.

Sue Cole arranged National Authors Day in honor of her grandmother's death in 1968. On November 1, She encouraged people to "brighten up the often lonely profession of being a writer." She also suggested flying the American flag as another way of showing appreciation for the writers who have written American literature.