June 27: The Lottery Day

The short story "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson takes place on June 27th.  The story was published in the New Yorker on June 26, 1948.

June 27th on the Roman calendar is Initium Aestasis, the beginning of summer.

Listen to the story and a brief discussion of the story on the New Yorker Podcast.

Or watch a brief film version:

William Brennan, a writer for Slate's culture blog provides some insights on Jackson's writing process.

Today's Challenge:  Today in Fiction
If you were to write a story set on a single day, what specific date would you choose?  Why?

Quote of the Day:  I frankly confess to being completely baffled by Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery.’ Will you please send us a brief explanation before my husband and I scratch right through our scalps trying to fathom it?  --Miriam Friend in a letter to the editor of The New Yorker.