Sunday, November 29, 2015

2016 Holds Anniversaries Of Value To Writers



2016 represents a year with many anniversaries, as all years do.  Something significant always happened 25, 50 or 100 years ago.  With these anniversaries come books to honor or investigate them.  The news media naturally makes note of historical events or socially moving moments.  It’s always easier to look back and reflect on what was than to have a complete understanding of current events or an accurate prognostication of the future.  

So what does the new year bring us as we look back in time?

75 years ago represents the onset of World War II for the United States.  In 1941 the world shook when Pearl Harbor was destroyed, forcing America into what would be the deadliest global conflict ever.  In that same year the Jeep was invented and it was the last time someone hit .400 (Ted Williams) in baseball, a significant milestone.  Joe DiMaggio hit safely in a record 56 straight games, a feat that still stands today.

A century ago, back in 1916, the first self-serve grocery store opened in our country.  During that year, Rasputin was murdered.

60 years ago was the Suez Canal Crisis, the Hungarian Revolution, and the first appearance of Elvis on television.

A half-century ago, in 1966, Star Trek debuted on TV.  That year also witnessed the launch of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.

2016 is an Olympic year and four decades ago were the Montreal Olympics.  America elected a peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter, that same year -- 1976.

Thirty years ago we had two huge disasters, the Russian nuclear power plant meltdown (Chernobyl) and the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.

In 1996, just 20 years ago, Mad Cow disease struck in Britain and the Unabomber was arrested.

Only a decade ago, in 2006, Pluto was downgraded to being classified as a dwarf planet, and Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was convicted and hung.

Five years ago was the Arab Spring, the killing of Osama bin Laden, and the 9.0 earthquake in Japan that lead to a tsunami and nuclear power plant accident.

If you go back three score and 10 years ago, in 1946, the bikini was launched.  The Nuremberg Trials began that year as well.

In 1936, 80 years ago, the Spanish Civil War began and the Summer Olympics were played in Berlin with Jesse Owens, a black man, winning races in a nation where race was a deadly issue.

1926 saw Robert Goddard fire his first liquid-fueled rocket, a significant event 90 years ago.

Authors should explore what else happened 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150 – or more – years ago and see if there’s a historical, cultural, political, financial, scientific, or athletic tie-in to something they write about.  The media loves to write about anniversaries and gladly uses books as sources.

The year 2016 marks some milestones in book publishing as well.  It is the anniversary of the birth or death of successful writers, the publication of a significant book, or the year an author reached a milestone in sales or awards.  Look it up.  Who won a Pulitzer in 1966 for books?  Which book topped the bestseller charts in 1991?  Who was born a famous writer a hundred years ago?  Who died a great writer two centuries ago?

Celebrate 2016 and especially honor history.  It may just be your ticket to generation some publicity for you and your book.

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Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015

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