This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1985.

Events

February 25 Events Pre-1600 *138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor. * 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II. *13 ...

– Sue Limb's parodic pastiche of the Lake Poets, ''The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere'', begins broadcasting on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

in the U.K. *

March 1 Events Pre-1600 *509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia. * 293 – Emperor Diocletian and ...

– The GNU Manifesto by

Richard Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to u ...

is published for the first time, and becomes a fundamental philosophical source within the free software movement. * August 11 – A memorial to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid is unveiled near his home at

Langholm Langholm , also known colloquially as the "Muckle Toon", is a burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, southern Scotland. Langholm lies between four hills in the valley of the River Esk in the Southern Uplands. Location and geography Langholm sits no ...

, Scotland. *''unknown dates'' – Three notable novels in English by female authors are published during the year:

Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, ...

's '' The Handmaid's Tale'', Jilly Cooper's '' Riders'', the first of the Rutshire Chronicles, and Jeanette Winterson's '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit''.

New books

Fiction

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and ...

– '' Robots and Empire'' *

– '' The Handmaid's Tale'' * Jean M. Auel – ''

The Mammoth Hunters ''The Mammoth Hunters'' is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel released in 1985. It is the sequel to ''The Valley of Horses'' and third in the Earth's Children series. Plot summary This book picks up where ''The Valley of Horses'' ends ...

'' * Iain Banks – '' Walking on Glass'' * Clive Barker – '' The Damnation Game'' * Greg Bear **'' Blood Music'' **'' Eon'' *

M. C. Beaton Marion Gibbons (née Chesney; 10 June 1936 – 30/31 December 2019) was a Scottish writer of romance and mystery novels, whose career as a published author began in 1979. She wrote numerous successful historical romance novels under a form of he ...

– '' Death of a Gossip'' * Thomas Bernhard – '' Old Masters: a comedy'' (''Alte Meister: Komödie'') *

Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire '' A Clockwork ...

– ''

The Kingdom of the Wicked ''The Kingdom of the Wicked'' is a 1985 historical novel by Anthony Burgess. Like two of his earlier works, the long narrative poem ''Moses'' and the novel ''Man of Nazareth'' (together these books make up what has been referred to as his bibli ...

'' *

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for bo ...

– '' Ender's Game'' * Jilly Cooper – ''

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

'' * Bernard Cornwell – '' Sharpe's Honour'' *

Don DeLillo Donald Richard DeLillo (born November 20, 1936) is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, screenwriter and essayist. His works have covered subjects as diverse as television, nuclear war, sports, the complexities of language, perf ...

– '' White Noise'' * Friedrich Dürrenmatt – '' The Execution of Justice (Justiz)'' * Bret Easton Ellis – '' Less than Zero'' * Steve Erickson – ''

Days Between Stations Days Between Stations is a partnership between guitarist Sepand Samzadeh and keyboardist Oscar Fuentes Bills. They named the band after the 1985 novel by Steve Erickson. Samzadeh describes the band's sound as "art-rock", while Fuentes describes ...

'' * John Fowles – '' A Maggot'' * Carlos Fuentes – '' The Old Gringo (Gringo Viejo)'' * William Gaddis – '' Carpenter's Gothic'' * Gabriel García Márquez – '' Love in the Time of Cholera (El amor en los tiempos del cólera)'' * Jane Gardam – ''Crusoe's Daughter'' * Alasdair Gray – '' The Fall of Kelvin Walker: A Fable of the Sixties'' *

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

– '' The Tenth Man'' * Béla Hamvas (died 1968) – ''Karnevál'' (Carnival, written 1948–51) * Amy Hempel – ''Reasons to Live '' * Frank Herbert – '' Chapterhouse: Dune'' *

Dương Thu Hương Dương Thu Hương (born 1947) is a Vietnamese author and political dissident. Early life Born in 1947 in Thái Bình a province in northern Vietnam, Dương came of age just as the Vietnam War was turning violent. At the age of twenty, w ...

– ''Hành trình ngày thơ ấu'' (Journey in Childhood) * John Irving – '' The Cider House Rules'' * Tahar Ben Jelloun – '' The Sand Child (L'Enfant de sable)'' * Uwe Johnson (died 1984) – ''Ingrid Babendererde. Reifeprüfung 1953'' (Ingrid Babendererde: Final Exam 1953) * Ernst Jünger – '' A Dangerous Encounter (Eine gefährliche Begegnung)'' * Garrison Keillor – '' Lake Wobegon Days'' * Stephen King – '' Skeleton Crew'' * László Krasznahorkai – '' Satantango'' *

Derek Lambert Derek (William) Lambert (10 October 1929 – 10 April 2001) was educated at Epsom College and was both an author of thrillers in his own name, writing also as Richard Falkirk, and a journalist. As a foreign correspondent for the ''Daily Expres ...

– '' The Man Who Was Saturday'' * Ursula K. Le Guin – ''

Always Coming Home ''Always Coming Home'' is a 1985 science fiction novel by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. It is in parts narrative, pseudo-textbook and pseudo-anthropologist's record. It describes the life and society of the Kesh people, a cultural group ...

'' * Doris Lessing – ''

The Good Terrorist ''The Good Terrorist'' is a 1985 political novel written by the British novelist Doris Lessing. The book's protagonist is the naïve drifter Alice, who squats with a group of radicals in London and is drawn into their terrorist activities. ...

'' * H. P. Lovecraft **'' At the Mountains of Madness and Other Novels'' **'' The Dunwich Horror and Others'' (corrected edition) * Richard A. Lupoff – '' Lovecraft's Book'' * Cormac McCarthy – '' Blood Meridian'' * Larry McMurtry – '' Lonesome Dove'' *

John D. MacDonald John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916December 28, 1986) was an American writer of novels and short stories. He is known for his thrillers. MacDonald was a prolific author of crime and suspense novels, many set in his adopted home of Florida. On ...

– ''

The Lonely Silver Rain ''The Lonely Silver Rain'' (1985) is the 21st and final novel in the Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald. The work was published a year prior to the author's death, and was not intentionally the end of the series. It is also notable for the i ...

'' * Naguib Mahfouz – ''

Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth ''Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth'' is a novel written and published by Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz in 1985. It was translated from Arabic into English in 1998 by Tagreid Abu-Hassabo. The form and subject of the book is the ba ...

'' (العائش فى الحقيقة) *

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

– ''

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

'' * Brian Moore – '' Black Robe'' * Bharati Mukherjee – ''Darkness'' (short stories) * Iris Murdoch – ''

The Good Apprentice ''The Good Apprentice'' is the 22nd novel by Iris Murdoch, first published in 1985. Plot Edward Baltram, a college student living in London, gives his best friend Mark a sandwich laced with a hallucinogenic drug for a joke. After Mark, still hi ...

'' *

Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lang ...

– '' The White Castle (Beyaz Kale)'' * Ellis Peters – ''

An Excellent Mystery ''An Excellent Mystery'' is a mystery novel by Ellis Peters, the third of four set in the year 1141, when so much occurred in the period known as the Anarchy. It is the 11th in the Cadfael Chronicles, published in 1985. The siege of Winchest ...

'' * Caryl Phillips – '' The Final Passage'' * Peter Pohl – ''

Johnny, My Friend ''Johnny, My Friend'' (Swedish: ''Janne, min vän'') is the first novel by the Swedish author Peter Pohl. It was published in Sweden in 1985. The English translation by Laurie Thompson was published in 1991. Plot summary ''Johnny, My Friend'' is ...

'' (''Janne, min vän'') *

Guy Rewenig Guy Rewenig (born 31 August 1947) is a Luxembourg author and novelist. In 1984, he wrote the first novel in the Luxembourgish language although poems and theatrical works had appeared in the 19th century. Together with Roger Manderscheid, he is cr ...

– ''Hannert dem Atlantik'' (first novel in the

Luxembourgish language Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of t ...

) * Carl Sagan – '' Contact'' * Nava Semel – ''Kova Zekhukhit'' (Hat of Glass, short stories) *Sidney Sheldon – ''If Tomorrow Comes (novel), If Tomorrow Comes'' *Patrick Süskind – ''Perfume (novel), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer'' *Antonio Tabucchi – ''Little Misunderstandings of No Importance (Piccoli equivoci senza importanza)'' (translation of 1981 novel) *Sue Townsend – ''Rebuilding Coventry'' *Anne Tyler – ''The Accidental Tourist'' *Andrew Vachss – ''Burke (series), Flood'' *Kurt Vonnegut – ''Galápagos (novel), Galápagos'' * Jeanette Winterson – '' Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit'' *Roger Zelazny – ''Trumps of Doom''

Children and young people

*Chester Aaron – ''Out of Sight, Out of Mind'' *Pamela Allen – ''A Lion in the Night'' *Chris Van Allsburg – ''The Polar Express'' *Frank Asch – ''I Can Blink'' *Kirsten Boie – ''Paule ist ein Glücksgriff'' *Robert Cormier – ''Beyond the Chocolate War'' *Roald Dahl – ''The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me'' *Virginia Hamilton (with Leo and Diane Dillon) – ''The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales'' *Patricia MacLachlan – ''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' *Laura Numeroff – ''If You Give a Mouse a Cookie'' *Pat O'Shea (author), Pat O'Shea – ''The Hounds of the Morrigan'' *Bill Peet – ''The Kweeks of Kookatumdee'' *Cynthia Rylant – ''A Blue-Eyed Daisy'' *Jacqueline Wilson – ''How to Survive Summer Camp'' (novel) *Elizabeth Winthrop – ''The Castle in the Attic''

Drama

*Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière (adapted) – ''Mahabharata'' *Christopher Hampton (adapted) – ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Hampton play), Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' *David Hare (dramatist), David Hare and Howard Brenton – ''Pravda (play), Pravda'' *Larry Kramer – ''The Normal Heart'' *Wallace Shawn – ''Aunt Dan and Lemon'' *Sam Shepard – ''A Lie of the Mind'' *Neil Simon – ''Biloxi Blues'' *August Wilson – ''Fences (play), Fences''

Poetry

*Carol Ann Duffy – ''Standing Female Nude''

Non-fiction

*Svetlana Alexievich – ''U voyny — ne zhenskoye litso'' (War's Unwomanly Face) *Bill Bryson – ''The Palace under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries'' *Roger Caron – ''Bingo! The Horrifying Eyewitness Account of a Prison Riot'' *Allen Carr – ''The Easy Way to Stop Smoking'' *Timothy J. Cooney - ''Telling Right From Wrong'' *Michael Denton – ''Evolution: A Theory in Crisis'' *Elaine Dundy – ''Elvis and Gladys'' *Julien Gracq – ''The Shape of a City'' *G. L. Harriss (editor) – ''Henry V: The Practice of Kingship'' *Ernest Hemingway – ''The Dangerous Summer '' *Pauline Kael – ''State of the Art_(book), State of the Art'' *David Lowenthal – ''The Past Is a Foreign Country'' *Walter A. McDougall – ''...The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age'' *Tim O'Brien (author), Tim O'Brien – ''The Nuclear Age'' *Priscilla Presley, Priscilla Beaulieu Presley – ''Elvis and Me'' *David Robinson (film critic and author), David Robinson – ''Chaplin: His Life and Art'' *Oliver Sacks – ''The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat'' *Roger Scruton – ''Thinkers of the New Left'' *Gary Soto – ''Living Up the Street'' *M. Crawford Young, Crawford Young and Thomas Turner - ''The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State''

Births

*February 7 - Justina Ireland, American science-fiction and fantasy author of young-adult fiction *April 24 – Alexander Zeldin, British playwright and director *September 24 – Eleanor Catton, New Zealand novelist *September 30 – Téa Obreht, Yugoslav-born American novelist writing in English

Deaths

*January 1 – Sigerson Clifford, Irish poet, playwright, and civil servant (born 1913 in literature, 1913) *January 5 – Alexis Rannit, Estonian-born American poet and critic (born 1914 in literature, 1914) *February 6 – James Hadley Chase, English thriller novelist (born 1906 in literature, 1906) *February 19 – Carl Joachim Hambro (philologist), Carl Joachim Hambro, Norwegian novelist, essayist and philologist (born 1914 in literature, 1914) *March 15 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and philosopher (born 1921 in literature, 1921) *April 4 – Kate Roberts (author), Kate Roberts, Welsh writer (born 1891 in literature, 1891) *April 7 – Carl Schmitt, German political theorist (born 1888 in literature, 1888) *April 17 – Basil Bunting, English poet (born 1900 in literature, 1900) *April 25 – Uku Masing, Estonian religious philosopher, linguist and writer (born 1909 in literature, 1909) *May 12 – Josephine Miles, American poet and literary critic (born 1911 in literature, 1911) *May 18 – Hedley Bull, Australian economist (cancer, born 1932 in literature, 1932) *May 25 – Robert Nathan, American novelist and poet (born 1894 in literature, 1894) *June 8 – Hu Feng (胡风), Chinese novelist (born 1902 in literature, 1902) *June 16 – Ernst Orvil, Norwegian novelist, poet and playwright (born 1898 in literature, 1898) *July 16 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist, Nobel laureate (born 1917 in literature, 1917) *July 29 – Judah Waten, Australian novelist (born 1911 in literature, 1911) *August 14 – Alfred Hayes (writer), Alfred Hayes, English-born American novelist, poet and screenwriter (born 1911 in literature, 1911) *August 30 – (Janet) Taylor Caldwell, English-born American novelist (born 1900 in literature, 1900) *September 1 – Saunders Lewis, Welsh writer and broadcaster (Plaid Cymru) (born 1893 in literature, 1893) *September 17 – Fran Ross, African American satirist (born 1935 in literature, 1935) *September 22 – D. J. Opperman, South African Afrikaans poet (born 1914 in literature, 1914) *October 1 – E. B. White, American children's writer and writer on style (born 1899 in literature, 1899) *October 11 – Alex La Guma, South African novelist and political activist (born 1925 in literature, 1925) *October 24 – László Bíró, Hungarian journalist and inventor (born 1899 in literature, 1899) *October 31 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek poet (born 1903 in literature, 1903) *November 3 – J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, English historian (born 1916 in literature, 1916) *November 4 – Hilda Vaughan, Welsh novelist and short story writer (born 1892 in literature, 1892) *November 11 – James Hanley (novelist), James Hanley, English-born novelist and dramatist of Irish extraction (born 1897 in literature, 1897) *November 16 – Gulshan Nanda, Indian novelist and screenwriter (born 1929 in literature, 1929) *November 25 **Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (born 1905 in literature, 1905) **Elsa Morante, Italian novelist (born 1912 in literature, 1912) *November 27 – Fernand Braudel, French historian (born 1902 in literature, 1902) *December 2 – Philip Larkin, English poet (born 1922 in literature, 1922) *December 7 – Robert Graves, English novelist, poet and critic (born 1895 in literature, 1895)

Awards

*Nobel Prize for Literature: Claude Simon

Australia

*The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: no award given out this year *C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Kevin Hart (poet), Kevin Hart, ''Your Shadow''; Rosemary Dobson, ''The Three Fates'' *Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry, Kevin Hart (poet), Kevin Hart, ''Your Shadow'' *Mary Gilmore Prize: Doris Brett, ''The Truth about Unicorns'' *Miles Franklin Award: Christopher Koch, ''The Doubleman''

Canada

*See 1985 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

*Prix Goncourt: Yann Queffélec, ''Les Noces barbares'' *Prix Médicis French: Michel Braudeau, ''Naissance d'une passion'' *Prix Médicis International: Joseph Heller, ''God Knows (novel), God Knows''

Spain

*Miguel de Cervantes Prize: Gonzalo Torrente Ballester

United Kingdom

*Booker Prize: Keri Hulme, ''The Bone People'' *Carnegie Medal (literary award), Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Kevin Crossley-Holland, ''Storm (novella), Storm'' *Cholmondeley Award: Dannie Abse, Peter Redgrove, Brian Taylor (poet), Brian Taylor *Eric Gregory Award: Graham Mort, Adam Thorpe, Pippa Little, James Harpur, Simon North, Julian May (poet), Julian May *James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Robert Edric, ''Winter Garden'' *James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: David Nokes, ''Jonathan Swift: A Hypocrite Reversed'' *Newdigate Prize: Robert Twigger *1985 Whitbread Awards, Whitbread Best Book Award: Douglas Dunn, ''Elegies''

United States

*Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Liz Rosenberg, ''The Fire Music'' *American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medals#Poetry, American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal in Poetry, Robert Penn Warren *Frost Medal: Robert Penn Warren *Nebula Award:

, '' Ender's Game'' *Newbery Medal for children's literature: Robin McKinley, ''The Hero and the Crown'' *Pulitzer Prize for Drama: James Lapine for book; Stephen Sondheim for music and lyrics, ''Sunday in the Park With George'' *Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Alison Lurie – ''Foreign Affairs (novel), Foreign Affairs'' *Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Carolyn Kizer: ''Yin'' *Whiting Awards (inaugural year): :Fiction: Raymond Abbott, Stuart Dybek, Wright Morris (fiction/nonfiction), Howard Norman, James Robison (author), James Robison, Austin Wright (fiction/nonfiction) :Poetry: Douglas Crase, Jorie Graham, Linda Gregg, James Schuyler

Elsewhere

*Premio Nadal: Pau Faner Coll – ''Flor de sal''

References

{{Year in literature article categories 1985 books, Years of the 20th century in literature