International Apostrophe Day

International Apostrophe Day
TypeInternational
Date15 August
Next time15 August 2027 (2027-08-15)
FrequencyAnnual

International Apostrophe Day is an annual event, held on 15 August to celebrate the apostrophe punctuation mark.[1] It was created by journalist David Marsh in August 2011, and held on different dates in its early years. The day saw a resurgence of interest in 2023 due to the Apostrophe Protection Society, and it became fixed on 15 August.[2]

History

International Apostrophe Day was created on 18 August 2011,[3][4] by journalist David Marsh,[5] who was editor of The Guardian's style guide at the time.[6] He later described launching International Apostrophe Day "to encourage better use of this humble piece of punctuation",[7] but also that "The aim is to be positive and celebrate the apostrophe, not just poke fun at people who get it wrong."[8] It was held on the third Friday of August in 2012 (17 August)[note 1] and 2013 (16 August), and was initially planned for that day in 2014 (15 August),[10] but was postponed until 25 September "Owing to illness, and the current world shortage of correctly used apostrophes".[11][12] In 2015 it was held on 24 September,[13] with Marsh saying "it's always towards the end of September" at a talk given at the 2015 Plain Language Association International conference in Dublin.[14]

I've run out of food.
I'm going to eat the dogs.
What apostrophe?

— Apostrophe Vigilante (@ApostropheLaw), winner of the 2013 International Apostrophe Day haiku competition[10]

International Apostrophe Day competitions were run by Marsh on Twitter, using the #apostropheday hashtag. These included a haiku competition (2013),[10] and "the cleverest, wittiest tweet demonstrating how to use the apostrophe well" (2014).[15]

Marsh retired on 1 August 2016,[16] but International Apostrophe Day continued to be celebrated, being described in 2018 by graphic designer Nigel French as a day "when funny examples of misused apostrophes light up social media feeds. Make sure your work isn't among them."[17] The date it was held on was not fixed around this time, with some sources saying the third Friday of August,[6][17] while others said 15 August.[18][19][20]

The Apostrophe Protection Society was relaunched by Bob McCalden in 2022, who revived interest in International Apostrophe Day the following year.[21][22][23][24] The date was fixed on 15 August, with McCalden saying "Note that some sources state that it's on 16 August, but I'm going with the 15th, as that's what most sources reference".[2] He described the event, saying "What began as a light-hearted celebration of punctuation has continued each August, inspiring articles, quizzes, competitions and plenty of discussion about whether the apostrophe is thriving, struggling or even necessary at all."[25] It has continued to be celebrated in subsequent years.[26][27][28][29]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ International Apostrophe Day was originally planned for 18 August 2012,[9] but this was changed to 17 August.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Brenner, Erin (2024). The Chicago Guide for Freelance Editors. University of Chicago Press. p. 145. doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226833057.001.0001. ISBN 9780226833057.
  2. 1 2 McCalden, Bob (14 August 2023). "August Newsletter". Apostrophe Protection Society. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Marsh, David (12 January 2012). "So, Waterstones – No Apostrophe? Hey, No Catastrophe". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Bruce, Emily (18 August 2011). "International Apostrophe Day". Half Price Books. Archived from the original on 12 July 2013.
  5. ↑ Trott, Jan; Golding, Emma; Yamin, Mariam; Farminer, Lianne (5 November 2012). "Style Guide: Teaching Resource of the Month from the GNM Archive, November 2012". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 Crystal, David (2018). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 296. doi:10.1017/9781108528931. ISBN 9781108528931.
  7. ↑ Marsh, David (2013). For Who the Bell Tolls. London: Guardian Books and Faber & Faber. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-783-35012-4.
  8. ↑ Marsh, David [@davidrmarsh] (14 August 2013). "@bookworm_29 @imposterophe The aim is to be positive and celebrate the apostrophe, not just poke fun at people who get it wrong" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Marsh, David [@guardianstyle] (19 August 2011). "Thanks to all who helped make the inaugural International Apostrophe Day such a success. Already looking forward to 18.8.12. #apostropheday" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. 1 2 3 Marsh, David (21 August 2013). "It's In Its Right Place: How to Use Apostrophes – The Winning Haiku". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Marsh, David [@guardianstyle] (15 August 2014). "Owing to illness, and the current world shortage of correctly used apostrophes, International Apostrophe Day has been postponed ..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Marsh, David [@guardianstyle] (15 August 2014). "The fourth International Apostrophe Day will now take place on Thursday 25 September. Apologies to apostrophe lovers for any disappointment" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Marsh, David [@guardianstyle] (4 March 2015). "Date for your diary: this year's International Apostrophe Day will take place on Thursday 24 September" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ David Marsh, Production Editor of the Guardian. Nala Ireland. 1 November 2015. Event occurs at 11:18. Retrieved 18 August 2026 – via YouTube.
  15. ↑ Marsh, David [@guardianstyle] (25 September 2014). "This year's #apostropheday competition is for the cleverest, wittiest tweet demonstrating how to use the apostrophe well" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ Marsh, David (1 August 2016). "Capital Letters Out, Swearwords In: One Journalist's Legacy". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  17. 1 2 French, Nigel (2018). "Apostrophes". InDesign Type (Fourth ed.). Pearson Education. ISBN 9780134846897.
  18. ↑ Gunnell, Charlotte (15 August 2014). "International Apostrophe Day: 20 Things You Should Never Say To a Grammar Pedant". Metro. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "10 Epic Apostrophe Fails to Celebrate International Apostrophe Day". The Huffington Post UK. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  20. ↑ Bhattacharya, Mallika (3 November 2018). "3 Apostrophe Rules to Add Sense to Your Writing". ECT. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
  21. ↑ Wild, Rose (11 August 2023). "New Apostrophe Chief May Find It's a Mugs' Game". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025.
  22. ↑ Kelly, John (14 August 2023). "Gettin' Possessive: Let's Hear It For International Apostrophe Day!". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  23. ↑ Barton, Alex (2 September 2023). "Reborn Apostrophe Society 'Will Never Give Up Defending Correct Usage Against Barbarians'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  24. ↑ McCalden, Bob (11 September 2023). "September Newsletter". Apostrophe Protection Society. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  25. ↑ McCalden, Bob (15 August 2026). "The Story of International Apostrophe Day". Apostrophe Protection Society. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  26. ↑ Smith, Jordan-Marie; Ermyas, Tinbete (15 August 2024). "Walz's or Walzs'? The Apostrophe Debate Takes the Stage Today". NPR. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  27. ↑ Tumin, Remy (10 August 2024), "Is It Harris' or Harris's? Add a Walz, and It's Even Trickier", New York Times, retrieved 15 August 2026
  28. ↑ Smoluchowski, Susan (23 July 2026). "Rebel with a Clause". NEMAA. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  29. ↑ Gauger, Jeff (15 August 2026). "Help End Apostrophe Abuse". 30-Second Read. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
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