But the fifth month of the year also features an interesting selection of holidays and occasions that are perfect for other types of special interests, too. Whether you or your readers enjoy salads – it’s National Salad Month! – or have a thing about lumpy rugs, you’ll be able to find a special holiday in May that resonates.

With an open mind and a little creativity, you’ll be able to take advantage of these fun special days and occasions in May for book promotion.

How to use these fun occasions

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

• May 2 is “Brothers and Sisters Day.” Does your book involve siblings or sibling relationships? Use this as a conversation-starter on social media. For example, sometimes the people we think of as our brothers or sisters aren’t related to us by blood, are they? Ask readers about both their birth and non-birth-related siblings.
• “Love a Tree Day” on May 16 presents an opportunity to talk about the importance of nature in our lives. It’s a no-brainer for the author of the best-selling The Hidden Life of Trees, but you don’t have to write about trees to leverage this one. Blog or post on social media about your relationship with trees and nature at large. Create and share a social media image for the holiday, asking followers about their favorite trees (I’m a fan of Gingkos).
• Who among us doesn’t pick up a lucky penny when they spot one? “Lucky Penny Day” on May 23 is for all of us who just can’t resist. You can take this in so many directions. Blog about “luck” – does it just happen, or do we create it for ourselves? Post a photo of your lucky penny collection on Facebook and ask friends to do the same in a comment. Ask social media followers to tell you why they collect them or about the luckiest thing that has happened to them.

If you need 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.

Magical May book promotion possibilities

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

• May 1 Loyalty Day
• May 1 Save the Rhino Day
• May 2 Brothers and Sisters Day
• May 3 Garden Meditation Day
• May 3 Lumpy Rug Day
• May 4 National Candied Orange Peel Day
• May 6 Space Day
• May 7 National Babysitters Day
• May 7 National Train Day
• May 9 Lost Sock Memorial Day
• May 11 Twilight Zone Day
• May 13 Blame Someone Else Day
• May 13 Frog Jumping Day
• May 13 Leprechaun Day
• May 14 National Windmill Day
• May 15 National Chocolate Chip Day
• May 16 Love a Tree Day
• May 16 National Sea Monkey Day
• May 23 Lucky Penny Day
• May 24 International Tiara Day
• May 25 National Towel Day (UK)
• May 27 Don’t Fry Friday

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. 

There’s lots to celebrate in the merry, merry month of May besides the fact that my little corner of the world will (usually) be able to say goodbye to snow for a few months.

The lusty month of May is National Barbecue Month, National Bike Month, and National Hamburger Month, but it also offers us Wildflower Week (the result of April showers that bring May flowers, right?). They’re all hints of warmer weather to come.

May brings those of us in the Northern Hemisphere more than warmer weather, though. It also offers authors a selection of whimsical, wacky, and quirky book promotion opportunities you can use to bring attention to your book.

How to use the merry month of May opportunities

The list below offers plenty of light-hearted occasions you can link to your book for marketing purposes.

Here are a few examples of how to use them to help you imagine what you might do.

• Do you write about cooking or gardening? May 1, Herb Day, might be just what you need to share advice or recipes on Instagram and Pinterest. It’s perfect for Lynn Alley, the author of the 2013 book, Cooking with Herbs: 50 Simple Recipes for Fresh Flavor.
• Is your book about fashion, or is your fictional protagonist a fashionista? May 8, No Socks Day, is a natural for you. A fashion writer for The Wall Street Journal recently reported that no-show socks are passé. Share your opinion about that on social media or in an essay on your blog.
• Dance Like a Chicken Day on May 14 gives children’s book authors an opportunity to record a fun dancing-like-a-chicken video or to host an online storytelling hour (using books starring chickens, of course). The author and illustrator of Chicken Talk could do so much with this one. 

Your May book promotion opportunities

Here’s a partial list of the fun May holidays you can add to next month’s book promotion calendar. Get the full list on the Holiday Insights site.

• May 1 Free Comic Book Day
• May 1 Herb Day
• May 3 Lumpy Rug Day
• May 4 Bird Day
• May 4 Star Wars Day (May the Fourth Be With You)
• May 5 Bike to School Day
• May 6 No Diet Day
• May 8 No Socks Day
• May 9 Birth Mother’s Day
• May 9 Lost Sock Memorial Day
• May 9 National Babysitters Day
• May 10 Clean up Your Room Day
• May 11 Eat What You Want Day
• May 11 Twilight Zone Day
• May 13 Frog Jumping Day
• May 14 Dance Like a Chicken Day
• May 17 Pack Rat Day
• May 20 Be a Millionaire Day
• May 20 Pick Strawberries Day
• May 21 National Bike to Work Day
• May 21 National Waiters and Waitresses Day
• May 23 Lucky Penny Day
• May 24 International Tiara Day
• May 25 Tap Dance Day

Which of these holidays can you work with in your book promotion plans? How will you use next month to help generate conversation and call attention to your book in a lighthearted way?