January‘
| National & International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| Australia Day, Australia. 26th January | Happy Valley by Patrick White Australian classic; Australian Nobel prize-winning author; set in Australia. ✔️ |
| Republic Day, India. 26th January. | The far field : a novel, by Madhuri Vijay Set in India; Indian author.✔️ |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Victorian Premier’s Literary Award 2020 Prize for Fiction: Damascus by Christos Tsiolkas | To Name Those Lost, Rohan Wilson 2014 Winner Victoria Premier’s Literary✔️ |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
| Badge 1, Book 1: Two of the words in the title start with the letter M. | Meet Me at Lennon’s by Melanie Myers ✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 2: The theme of the book is survival that does not involve war situations. | After the Flood by Kassandra Montag ✔️ |
| Badge 1 Book 3: The book is set in a small town. | Taking Tom Murray Home by Tim Slee✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 4: The book is set in Italy, India or Indonesia. | The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 5: The theme is North American aboriginal people. | The Round House by Louise Erdrich✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 6: There is a wild animal on the cover. | The Good Liar by Nicholas Searle✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 7 Card 4: Set in the 19th century (1801 – 1900) | To Name Those Lost by Rohan Wilson✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 8 Card 5 A book written by a Nobel Prize in Literature winner. | Happy Valley by Patrick White ✔️ |
February
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| Waitingi Day, New Zealand 6 Feb | Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh |
| Estonia Independence Day 24 Feb | The willow king : the birds of the muses, by Meelis Friedenthal |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
| Badge 1, Book 9 Card 29: The cover has a key | The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 10 Card 30: The book is set between 1760 and 1820. | The Warlow Experiment by Alix Nathan✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 11 Card 16: The book’s genre is time travel. | The Lost Girls by Jennifer Spence✔️ |
| Badge 1, Book 12 Card 1: A significant character is a king / word “king” is in the title | The willow king : the birds of the muses, by Meelis Friedenthal |
| Badge 3, Book 1 Card 1: There is one or more sheep on the cover. OUT OF ORDER | Died in the Wool by Ngaio Marsh |
| Badge 2, Book 1 Card 21: Originally published 2018 | The Death of Noah Glass by Gail Jones |
| Badge 2, Book 2 Card 28: The cover has flowers other than orchids on it. | The Bad Seed by Jessica Eames |
| Badge 2, Book 3 Card 8: First or second in a series | The End of the Ocean by Maja Lunde |
| Badge 2 Book 4 Card 18: The book was translated from another language to English | A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende |
March
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| World Wildlife Day 3 March. Celebrate and raise awareness of the world’s wild animals and plants. 2020 theme: “Sustaining all life on Earth” – all wild animal and plant species are key components of the world’s biodiversity. | Tiger by Polly Clark |
| International Women’s Day 3 March. Celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. 2020 theme: Each for Equal | |
| International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 21 March | |
| Bangladesh Independence Day | A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam. L |
| Greece Independence Day | The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. L |
| Wales National Day – St David’s Day | Martha Jack and Shanco by Caryl Lewis, translated from the Welsh by Gwen Davies. |
| Ghana Independence Day | The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry L |
| Bulgaria National Liberation Day | Valley of Thracians by Ellis Shuman. |
| Pakistan Republic Day | The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad. |
| Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Tunisia | The Tremor of Forgery by Patricia Highsmith. |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Indie Book Awards (Aus) 23 Mar 2020: Winners announced | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
| Badge 2 Book 5 Card 17: Nay leopard, tiger, gorilla, sea turtle, and rhino. The book has one of those animals in the title. | Tiger by Polly Clark |
| Badge 2 Book ? Card 20: The genre is Scandinavian mystery | Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen. |
| Card 1: The word “Orphan” is in the title or a significant character is an orphan | A Thousands Moons by Sebastian Barry |
| Card 18: The book was translated from another language to English. | The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante |
| Badge 3 Book ? Card 1 Genre is thriller | The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel |
| Other | Title |
|---|---|
| The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian | |
| | A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende |
| | Here We Are by Graham Swift |
| Riptides by Kirsten Alexander | |
| The Dickens Boy by Thomas Keneally | |
| All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton | |
| The Lost Ones by Anita Frank | |
| The Good Turn by Dervla McTiernan |
April
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| Syrian Arab Republic (Syria) | The Map of Salt and Stars Zeyn Joukhadar Sabriya: Damascus Bitter Sweet Ulfat Idilbi, Peter Clark (Translator) |
| Zimbabwe Independence Day | The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing Harvest of Thorns by Shimmer Chinodya We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulaway |
| Senegal Independence Day | God’s Bits of Wood by Ousmane Sembene So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba |
| Queen’s Birthday, Denmark | Smilla’s Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, Tiina Nunnally (Translator) |
| Yom Ha’Atzmaut Israel Independence Day, Israel | Dinner at the Centre of the Earth by Nathan Englander. A Tale of Love and Darkness, Amos Oz The Hilltop, Assaf Gavron One Night, Markovitch Ayelet Gundar-Goshen |
| St George’s Day, England. | To the Lighthouse (Virginia Woolf, 1927) |
| Union Day, Tanzania | Paradise, by Abdulrazak Gurnah Silent Empowerment of the Compatriots, by Gabriel Ruhumbika Parched Earth, by Elieshi Lema |
| Official Birthday of His Majesty, King Wilem-Alexander, Netherlands | Max Havelaar, or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company by Multatuli, Eduard Douwes Dekker, Roy Edwards (Translator) |
| Freedom Day, South Africa | Cry, The Beloved Country (1948) by Alan Paton |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards | |
| The Stella Prize | |
| PEN/Faulkner Award | |
| The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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May
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| International Day of Families 15 May | |
| Paraguay Independence Day 15 May | The News from Paraguay by Lily Tuck |
| Constitution Day, Norway 17 May | The Ice Palace by Tarjei Vesaas (translated by Elizabeth Rokkan) |
| Restoration of Independence, Timor-Leste 20 May | The Crossing: A Story of East Timor by Luís Cardoso, Margaret Jull Costa (Translation) The Redundancy of Courage is a novel by Timothy Mo |
| Cameroon National Day 20 May | Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue |
| Unification Day, Yemen 22 May | The Monk of Mokha Dave Eggers |
| Jordan Independence Day 25 May | |
| Argentina Revolution Day 25 May | |
| Georgia Independence Day 26 May | |
| Ethiopia National Day 28 May | |
| Azerbaijan Republic Day 28 May | |
| Nepal Republic Day 29 May | |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Australian Book Industry Awards | |
| Man Booker International Prize | |
| The British Book Awards (Nibbies) | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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June
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| World Environment Day June 5 | Strange As This Weather Has Been, Ann Pancake Only the Animals, Ceridwen Dovey Potiki by Patricia Grace: |
| World Oceans Day June 8 | TheOld Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Moby Dick by Herman Melville 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne |
| World Refugee Day June 20 | Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher-Staples Green Island, Shawna Yang Ryan Dogs at the Perimeter, by Madeleine Thien |
| Samoa June 1 | Samoan author: Albert Wendt Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel |
| Republic Day, Italy June 2 | Italian authors: Elena Ferrante, Niccolò Ammaniti First Execution by Domenico Starnone Commissario De Luca Series by Carlo Lucarelli Eva Sleeps, Francesca Melandri For Isabel: A Mandala, Antonio Tabucchi (translation) The Worst Intentions, Alessandro Piperno (translation) The Young Bride, Alessandro Baricco (translation) Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, The Two Gentlemen of Verona – William Shakespeare |
| Sweden June 6 | Swedish authors:Henning Mankell, Stieg Larsson, Jan Guillou, Per Anders Fogelström Sleet by Stig Dagerman (translation) The True Deceiver, Tove Jansson, t. from Swedish (translation) The Woman Who Borrowed Memories, Tove Jansson (translation) The Faculty of Dreams Sara Stridsberg (Swedish) Vilhelm Moberg, Emigrants series |
| Portugal Day, Camões Day and Day of Portuguese Communities, Portugal June 10 | Portuguese author: José Saramago Joseph Walser’s Machine, Gonçalo M. Tavares (translation) Night Train to Lisbon, Pascal Mercier Tango in Madeira by Jim Williams The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, Richard Zimler A Small Death in Lisbon, Robert Wilson |
| Russian Day June 12 Refer to Russian language theme | |
| Philippines June 12 | Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me Not),Jose Rizal Dusk by F Sionil José |
| Iceland June 17 | Last Rituals, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir Independent People by Halldor Laxness Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indriðason The Tricking of Freya by Christina Sunley |
| Slovenia June 25 | In the Light of Morning, Tim Pears |
| Mozambique June 25 | Confession of the Lioness, Mia Coutu |
| Madagascar June 26 | Beyond the Rice Fields, Naivo |
| Seychelles June 29 | |
| Democratic Republic of Congo June 30 | Brazzaville Beach, William Boyd Black Moses, Mabanckou, Alain |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Women’s Prize for Fiction Winners announced June 5 2019 | An American Marriage Circe Lost Children Archive The Silence of the Girls |
| California Book awards Winners announced Jun 10 2019 | Fruit of the Drunken Tree |
| International Dublin Literary Award Winners announced June 12 2019 | The Heart’s Invisible Furies (Longlisted) Elmet (Longlisted) Idaho (Shortlisted) |
| Wales Book of the Year Winners announced June 20 2019 | |
| Walter Scott Prize Winners announced June 17 2019 | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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July
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
Nelson Mandela International Day | Long Walk to Freedom Conversations With Myself Dare Not Linger |
| World Population Day 11 Jul | |
| Burundi 1 JulySmall Country Gael Faye L | |
| Canada Day, Canada 1 July | |
| Somalia 1 July | Crossbones by Nuruddin Farah The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed The World’s Most Dangerous Place by James Fergusson After the monsoon Karjel, Robert Somali Dawn by Charles Joseph |
| Belarus 3 July Gingerbread by Robert Dinsdale | |
| Liberation Day, Rwanda 4 July | |
| United States of America 4 July | |
| Cape Verde 5 July | The Last Will & Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida |
| Venezuela 5 July | Chronicles of a Nomad: Memoirs of an Immigrant by A. A. Alvarez |
| Comoros 6 July | Kaffir of Karthala (Le Kafir du Karthala) by Mohamed Toihiri |
| Lithuania Satehood Day 6th July | |
| Malawi 6 July | |
| Solomon Islands 7 July | |
| South Sudan 9 July | |
| Bahamas 10 July | |
| Anniversary of Mongolian People’s Revolution, Mongolia 11 July | |
| Kiribati 12 July | A Pattern of Islands Arthur Grimble In the South Seas Robert Louis Stevenson |
| São Tomé & Príncipe 12 July | The Shepherd’s House (A casa do pastor) by Olinda Beja |
| Montenegro 13 July | Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, by Rebecca West |
| Bastille Day, France 14 July | |
| Colombia 20 July | Author: Juan Gabriel Vásquez; Gabriel García Márquez Isle of Passion by Laura Restrepo Latin American Trilogy by Louis de Bernières |
| Accession of King Leopold I Belgium 21 July | |
| Anniversary of Revolution, Egypt 23 July | |
| Liberia 26 July | The Land of My Fathers – Vamba Sheriff Boy Interrupted, by Saah Millimono Murder in the Cassava Patch – Bai T. Moore |
| Maldives 26-27 July | |
| Peru 28 July | Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa, translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman |
| Throne Day, Morocco 30 July | |
| Vanuatu 30 July | |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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August
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| Switzerland 1 August | Mary Shelley Frankenstein Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes The Pledge, by Friedrich Dürrenmatt Beauty on Earth by Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, translated from the French by Michelle Bailat-Jones |
| Benin 1 August | The Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin |
| Constitution Day, Cook Islands 4 August | |
| Constitution Day, Cook Islands 4 August | |
| Burkina Faso 5 August | |
| Bolivia 6 Aug | American Visa by Juan De Recacoechea The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel García Márquez |
| Jamaica 6 August | Pao by Kerry Young A The Hills of Hebron by Sylvia Wynter A The True History of Paradise by Margaret Cezair-Thompson A Augustown by Kei Miller A A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes S |
| Côte d’Ivoire 7 August | |
| Singapore 9 August | Sharlene Teo’s Ponti S |
| Ecuador 10 August, | |
| Chad 11August | The Roots of Heaven by Romain Gary S |
| Liechtenstein 15 August, | |
| Liechtenstein 15 August, | |
| Gabon 17 August, | |
| Proclamation of Independence, Indonesia 17 August | Twilight in Jakarta Mochtar Eka Kurniawan The Year of Living Dangerously, by CJ Koch Map of the Invisible World Tash Aw Black Water by Louise Doughty |
| Afghanistan 19 August | Born Under A Million Shadows, Andrea Busfield Nadeem Aslam – The Wasted Vigil Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie The Taliban Cricket Club by Timeri N. Murari |
| Day of the Foundation of the State of Hungary & St Stephen’s Day, Hungary 20 August | Embers by Sándor Márai War & War by László Krasznahorkai The Book of Fathers by Miklós Vámos The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro ? |
| Ukraine 24 August, | The Boy from Reactor 4 by Orest Stelmach Penguin Lost by Andrey Kurkov |
| Uruguay 25 August | The Purple Land by W.H. Hudson |
| Moldova 27 August, | |
| Kyrgyzstan 31 August | Enemy of the good Palmer, Matthew |
| Malaysia 31 August, | Layers of Deception The Gift of Rain Tan Twan Eng The Harmony Silk Factory, Tash Aw Lord Jim Joseph Conrad The Consul’s File Paul Theroux My Life as a Fake Peter Carey Evening in the Whole Day Preeta Samaeasan The Separation Dinah Jefferies |
| Trinidad and Tobago 31 August | Mycroft Holmes : a novel Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem A House for Mister Biswas Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Miles Franklin Award | |
| James Tait Black Prize | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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September
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| International Day of Peace | Peace by Richard Bausch Slaughtherhouse-five Kurt Vonnegut Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys The War Prayer by Mark Twain, John Groth Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo War No More: Three Centuries of American Antiwar & Peace Writing by Lawrence Rosenwald (Editor), James Carroll (Foreword) Lay Down Your Arms by Bertha von Suttner, T. Holmes (Translation) War Is a Lie by David Swanson |
| Constitution Day, The Slovak Republic 1 September | |
| Uzbekistan 1 September | The Devils’ Dance by Hamid Ismailov |
| Vietnam 2 September | Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong |
| National Foundation Day, San Marino 3 September | |
| Swaziland 6 September | |
| Brazil 7 September | Paulo Coelho Anonymous Celebrity, Ignácio de Loyola Brandão A Breath of Life: Pulsations, Clarice Lispector, t. from Portuguese (Brazil) Raduan Nassar (Brazil), A Cup of Rage Chronicle of the Murdered House, Lúcio Cardoso, t. from Portuguese (Brazil) |
| Andorra 8 September | |
| Macedonia 8 September | |
| Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 9 September | How I Became a North Korean, by Krys Lee |
| Tajikistan 9 September | |
| Costa Rica 15 September | |
| Chile 18 September | Ways of Going Home by Alejandro ZambraIsabel Allende |
| Armenia 21 September | The Sandcastle Girls Chris Bohjelain |
| El Salvador 15 September | |
| Guatemala 15 September | Mr. President by Miguel Ángel Asturias Silence on the Mountain by Daniel Wilkinson Love in a Fearful Land by Henri Nouwen |
| Honduras 15 September | |
| Nicaragua 15 September | The naturalist in Nicaragua by Thomas Belt |
| Papua New Guinea 16 September | https://crocodile-prize.com/The Crocodile, by Vincent Eri Brokenville, Leonard Fong Roka |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis 19 September | Caryl Phillips |
| Belize 21 September | Joey Garcia Beka Lamb Zee Edgell, |
| Malta 21 September | The Kappillan of Malta – Nicholas Monsarrat Sirius the Star of the Maltese Temples – Lenie Reedijk Death in Malta by Rosanne Dingli |
| Proclamation of Independence, Mali 22 September | The Fortunes of Wangrin (L’Etrange destin de Wangrin) by Amadou Hampâté Bâ, translated from the French by Aina Pavolini Taylor |
| Saudi Arabia 23 September | Queen of the Desert: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell Princess by Jean Sasson Jeddah City of Art; The Sculptures and Monuments |
| Guinea-Bissau 24 September | The Ultimate Tragedy (A última tragédia) by Abdulai Silá, translated from the Portuguese by Jethro Soutar |
| Proclamation of Independence, Mexico 27 September | Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros, 2002 Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, 1989 The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes, 1962 The Years with Laura Diaz by Carlos Fuentes, 1999 |
| Botswana 30 September | Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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October
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| International Day of Older Persons 1 October – to highlight the contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world. | |
| World Animal Day 4 October – to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. | |
| World Teachers’ Day 5 October – to honor teachers and recognize their contributions to education and development. | |
| World Mental Health Day 10 October – a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy. | |
| World Food Day 16 October | |
| World Cities Day 31 October – to promote interest in global urbanization, and to address challenges of urbanization. | |
| The People’s Republic of China 1 October | |
| Cyprus Independence Day 1 October | |
| Nigeria Independence Day 1 October | |
| Tuvalu Independence Day 1 October | |
| Palau Independence Day 1 October | |
| Guinea Independence Day 2 October | |
| National Foundation Day, Republic of Korea National Foundation Day3 October | |
| Day of German Unity, Germany 3 October | |
| Lesotho Independence Day 4 October | |
| Croatia Independence Day 8 October | |
| Uganda Independence Day 9 October | |
| Fiji National Day 10 October | |
| Equatorial Guinea Independence Day 12 October | |
| Spain 12 October | |
| Niue Independence Day 19 October | |
| Zambia Independence Day 24 October | |
| Austria National Day 26 October | |
| St Vincent and the Grenadines Independence Day 27 October | |
| Czech Republic Independent Czechoslovak State Day 28 October | |
| Turkey Republic Day 29 October | |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Queensland Literary Awards | |
| Western Australia Premiers Book Awards (even years) | |
| Man Booker | |
| Governor-General Canada Awards | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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November
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| World Tsunami Awareness Day 5 November | |
| Universal Children’s Day 20 November | |
| International Day for Tolerance 16 November | |
| Antigua and Barbuda Independence Day 1 November | |
| Anniversary of the Revolution, Algeria 1 November | |
| Panama Independence Day 3 November | |
| Dominica Independence Day 3 November | |
| Tonga National Day 4 November | |
| Cambodia Independence Day 9 November | |
| Poland Independence Day 11 November | |
| Angola Independence Day 11 November | |
| Oman National Day 18 November | |
| Proclamation of Independence, Latvia 18 November | |
| Monaco National Day 19 November | |
| Lebanon Independence Day 22 November | |
| Suriname Republic Day 25 November | |
| Mauritania Independence Day 28 November | |
| Albania Independence Day 28 November | |
| Barbados Independence Day 30 November | |
| St Andrew’s Day, Scotland 30 November | |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Irish Book awards | |
| National Book Award | |
| Scottish Book Awards | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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December
| National and International Days | Title |
|---|---|
| International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December | |
| International Mountain Day 11 December | |
| Human Rights Month | |
| Myanmar (date varies) | |
| Central African Republic Republic Day 1 December | |
| Romania Great Union Day 1 December | |
| Lao People’s Democratic Republic National Day 2 December) | |
| United Arab Emirates 2 December | |
| King Bhumbibol Adulyadej’s Birthday, Thailand 5 December | |
| Finland 6 December | |
| Bahrain 16 December | |
| Kazakhstan 16 December | |
| Jamhuri Day, Kenya 12 December | |
| Bhutan 17 December | The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden |
| Niger 18 December | |
| Qatar 18 December | |
| Emperor’s Birthday, Japan 23 December | |
| Libya 24 December | |
| Literary Awards | Title |
|---|---|
| Prime Minister’s Literary Awards (Australia) | |
| Year-long Challenge: Twisted Trivia | Title |
|---|---|
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