Jumpstart your July book promotion with these extra fun holidays

Many of us read more in the summer, making July the perfect month for book promotion.

It’s easy to add a little warm-weather pizzazz to your book promotion calendar, too. Just link your book to any of the fun, unexpected, and wacky holidays and occasions offered by this mid-year month.

After all, July is Cell Phone Courtesy Month, National Anti-Boredom Month (you’re never bored when you’re reading a book!), and National Grilling Month.

How to use these unusual occasions

Let’s look at a couple of special days in July and how they might help you bring more attention to your books.

• July 10 is Teddy Bear Picnic Day, an occasion tailor-made for children’s book authors. Collaborate with your library to plan and host a stuffed animal picnic in the children’s book section. Write a guest post for a mom blog about how to plan a neighborhood teddy bear picnic.

• Is one of your book’s characters lonely? Use Cheer Up the Lonely Day on July 11 to blog about what people can do to make someone like your character smile. Maybe your nonfiction book encourages self-care. Create a series of social media images that explain how supporting someone who is lonely will cheer us up, too.
• Some of us (raising my hand here) are happy to finally be recognized with Be a Dork Day on July 15. If your characters are dorks (or if you are one), distribute a tongue-in-cheek tip sheet about 10 ways to be a dork. Turn those tips into a series of social media posts. Ask people on Facebook to share the dorkiest thing they’ve ever done.

You might want to brainstorm with a friend about how to use these holidays or events to your advantage. Open your mind to the possibilities and have fun with them.

Use these July book promotion possibilities

Expand your book promotion with this short list of unexpected and fun July holidays. Look for more on the Holiday Insights site, too.

• July 1 International Joke Day
• July 2 I Forgot Day
• July 2 World UFO Day
• July 3 Disobedience Day
• July 5 National Workaholics Day
• July 6 International Kissing Day
• July 7 Chocolate Day
• July 10 Teddy Bear Picnic Day
• July 11Cheer Up the Lonely Day
• July 13 Barbershop Music Appreciation Day
• July 13 Embrace Your Geekness Day
• July 14 National Macaroni and Cheese Day
• July 14 National Nude Day
• July 15 Be a Dork Day
• July 15 Cow Appreciation Day
• July 15 National Give Something Away Day
• July 17 National Ice Cream Day
• July 20 Moon Day
• July 22 Hammock Day
• July 23 National Day of the Cowboy
• July 24 Cousins Day
• July 26 All or Nothing Day
• July 27 Walk on Stilts Day
• July 30 International Day of Friendship

Be sure to check out the list of book-related occasions during May in our 2022 literary calendar, too.

How can you link any of these to your book or its theme, message, characters, or mission? Please tell us in a comment.