TODAY: In 1805, Hans Christian Andersen is born.   

Also on Lit Hub:

How writing a novel helped Jules Ohman say gay • Naomi Klein on the resilience of Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah • On the joys of digging through archives from home • What happens to a world populated by centenarians? • How to live, eat, and drink like your favorite writers • On Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, which takes seriously "the tragedy of childhood and adolescence" • How the Clinton years transformed the Democratic PartyClytemnestra: archetypically bad wife or heroically avenging mother? • Kate Folk describes how journaling betters her writing practice • Bored by your own memoir? Take Maude Newton's advice • On the tumultuous marriage of Miriam Leslie and Willie Wilde • Some unlikely and hopeful infographics (humpback whales are recovering!) • How Marshall McLuhan introduced God into media theory • Sasha LaPointe on the power of a naming ceremony • On the violent and coercive legacies of British Imperialism • Martha Wainwright on growing up among artists • Why Margaret Thatcher waged war on the BBC • A flop, a war, and a "secret" wedding • Megan Mayhew Bergman shares her great-grandmother's cake recipe • What's the real story behind America's national parks? • How we prepare for the worst case scenario (or fail to) • On the early days of feminist architecture • The pleasures of writing a serialized novel • The case for letting kids come up with their own bedtime stories • "Every book is the wreck of a perfect idea" • How Langston Hughes has influenced generations of South African writers