Now I’ve taken the first step in preparing my book on the history of literature as depicted on postage stamps from around the world – deciding what’s actually going to be in it.
A book like this takes a lot of planning. It involves researching the topic, and finding and purchasing the stamps that will illustrate the story. Here, I’d like to share with you the plan I’ve put together for mine. As you can see, it’s going to keep me occupied for quite a long time! I’d love to hear what you think of the book’s outline.

Chapter | Timescale |
1. Introduction | Jun 20 |
2. Celebrating books | |
International Year of the Book 1972 | Jun 20 |
World Book Day | Jul 20 |
International Book Fairs | Aug 20 |
3. The history of storytelling | |
Visual | Aug 20 |
Written | Sep 20 |
Digital | Oct 20 |
4. The history of writing | |
Inventions | Nov 20 |
Writing systems | Dec 20 |
5. The writers | |
Ancient writers | Jan 21 |
Pre 20th century writers | Feb/Mar 20 |
20th century writers | Apr/May 20 |
21st century writers | Jun 21 |
African writers | Jul/Aug 21 |
Latin American writers | Sep/Oct 21 |
European writers | Nov/Dec 21 |
Asian writers | Jan/Feb 22 |
North American writers | Mar 22 |
Writers of the Arab world | Apr 22 |
6. The books | |
Myths & legends | May 22 |
Religious books | Jun 22 |
Fairy tales | Jul 22 |
Adult books | Aug/Sep 22 |
Children’s books | Oct 22 |
7. Writing collectives | Nov 22 |
I’m not an author so this project sounds terrific and a bit scary but I wish you every success. Look forward to the finished book.
Thank you – it’ll keep me out of trouble for a while 😂