July 25 marks the Feast of St. James — Santiago — the day pilgrims the world over lift their eyes toward Compostela. Here at Sacred Steps Books, we’re celebrating the whole week the way pilgrims always have: with good food, good company, and the road that draws us together.
For more than a thousand years, one date on the calendar has belonged to those who walk. July 25 is the Feast of St. James the Greater — apostle, patron of Spain, and namesake of the great pilgrimage that ends beneath the granite spires of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In Galicia it is Día de Santiago, a day of processions, of botafumeiro incense swinging beneath the vaults, of pilgrims who have carried their scallop shells across mountains and meseta finally laying down their packs.
The shell is the sign of it all. Look closely at a vieira and you’ll see grooves that fan out and converge on a single point — the many roads a pilgrim might take, all of them leading home to Santiago. It is the badge every pilgrim wears, and it is the reason a novel like The Pilgrim’s Table exists at all.
Because that’s what the Camino teaches you: the people you least expected become the ones you can’t imagine the journey without. In The Pilgrim’s Table, five strangers walk their separate roads to the edge of the world at Muxía, and discover that the table — like the Camino itself — has room for everyone who’s willing to sit down.
So this year, we’re not marking a single day. We’re keeping the whole feast. Here’s how you can join us.
The Feast Week at a Glance
| Dates (2026) | Who it’s for | The gift |
|---|---|---|
| July 15–25 | Print readers | Free Camino pilgrim shell with every paperback or hardcover |
| July 17–19 | Kindle readers | The Pilgrim’s Table Kindle Read-A-Thon |
| July 17–25 | Newcomers | Free Tarta de Santiago recipe + stencil when you join the Pilgrim Newsletter |
| July 20–25 | Everyone | The Pilgrim’s Hearth — FREE on Kindle |
| July 25 | All of us | ¡Feliz Día de Santiago! |
Carry the Shell — Free with Every Print Book
July 15–25 · SacredStepsBooks.shop
Every pilgrim needs a shell. From now through the Feast, every paperback or hardcover of The Pilgrim’s Table ordered directly from SacredStepsBooks.shop arrives with an authentic Camino pilgrim shell — the same symbol pilgrims have tied to their packs for centuries. Hold the book in one hand and the shell in the other, and you’re already on the road.
The Kindle Read-A-Thon
July 17–19 · Amazon Kindle
For three days, we’re gathering readers around the same story at the same time. Download The Pilgrim’s Table on Kindle and read along with pilgrims across all 116 countries in the Sacred Steps community — share your favorite passages, meet the five travelers, and walk to Muxía together, one chapter at a time.
The Tarta de Santiago — Recipe + Stencil
July 17–25 · Join the Pilgrim Newsletter
No feast is complete without the cake. Tarta de Santiago is Galicia’s beloved almond cake, crowned with the powdered-sugar imprint of the Cross of St. James. Join the Pilgrim Newsletter during Feast Week and we’ll send you the authentic recipe and a printable cross stencil, so you can bake a little piece of Santiago in your own kitchen on the 25th.
It’s our way of welcoming you to the table — and you’ll be first to hear about new releases, pilgrimage stories, and everything coming next in the Camino Chronicles.
Begin at the Beginning — The Pilgrim’s Hearth FREE
July 20–25 · Amazon Kindle
Before five pilgrims reached the table, there was the hearth. The Pilgrim’s Hearth — Book 0 of the Camino Chronicles — is FREE on Kindle from July 20 through Feast Day. It’s the perfect place to meet this world for the first time, and the perfect on-ramp to The Pilgrim’s Table. New to Sacred Steps? Start here. Longtime reader? Gift it to someone who’s ready to lace up their boots.
July 25 — ¡Feliz Día de Santiago!
On Feast Day, wherever you are, do something a pilgrim would recognize. Bake the tarta. Open the book. Trace the grooves of the shell and remember that every road, taken honestly, leads somewhere worth arriving. In Santiago the great censer will swing and the bells will ring out over the plaza — and here, wherever here is for you, the table is set.
Buen Camino, and happy Feast of St. James.