Important Literary Anniversaries Are Upon Us

 

On May 5^th, 99 years ago, American writer Sinclair Lewis refused the Pulitzer Prize for his novel Arrowsmith. ,He shocked people when he said: “All prizes, like all titles, are dangerous. The seekers for prizes tend to labor not for inherent excellence but for alien rewards: they tend to write this, or timorously to avoid writing that, in order to tickle the prejudices of a haphazard committee. And the Pulitzer Prize for novels is peculiarly objectionable because the terms of it have been constantly and grievously misrepresented?” 

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by  L. Frank Baum, was released 125 years ago this May 17th. It would lead to the release of the classic 1939 film that has dazzled many generations of hundreds of millions of viewers. 

June 9 marks the death of Charles Dickens, who died 155 years ago. A Tale of Two Cities was his most critical work but his most celebrated may be A Christmas Carol.  

To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was published on July 11, 1960 -- 65 years ago. 

The Catcher in the Rye, by JD Salinger, was published July 16, 1951 -- 74 years ago. 

Six decades ago, on August 1, 1965, the classic,  Dune by Frank Herbert, was published. 

The lovable children's classic, Green Eggs and Ham, by Dr Seuss, was released 65 years ago on August 12th. 

The controversial Lolita, a novel of pedophilia, by Vladimir Nabokov, was released August 18 1958 -- 67 years ago. 

On August 27, we honor the first publishing of The Guinness Book of Records (1953) 72 years ago. 

142 years ago, this  August 29th, marks the opening of the world's first Carnegie Library, the Dunfermline Carnegie Library. It is the first of the many libraries that are to be funded by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 

Thomas the Tank Engine, by the Rev W. Awdry, was published 79 years ago on September 14th. 

This September 17th,  Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, turns 71.  

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Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over 4.25 million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over four million pageviews. With 5,000+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/ or https://www.facebook.com/brian.feinblum