This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1986.

Events

* April 29 – A major fire at

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the lar ...

caused by

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wate ...

destroys 400,000 volumes. * July 21 –

Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...

, Controller of

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

, axes plans to televise Ian Curteis's '' The Falklands Play''. * September 29 –

Bloomsbury Publishing Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...

is set up in London by Nigel Newton. * October 9 – '' The Phantom of the Opera'', having been the longest running Broadway show ever, opens at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. * December 19 – The Soviet dissident author

Andrei Sakharov Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ˈdmʲitrʲɪjevʲɪtɕ ˈsaxərəf; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident, nobel laureate and activist for n ...

is allowed to return to Moscow after six years' internal exile.

New books

Fiction

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social ...

– ''

The Old Devils ''The Old Devils'' is a novel by Kingsley Amis, first published in 1986. The novel won the Booker Prize. The plot centres on Alun Weaver, a writer of modest celebrity, who returns to his native Wales with his wife, Rhiannon, sometime girlfriend ...

'' *

V. C. Andrews Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 – December 19, 1986), better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist. Profile Andrews's novels combine Gothic horror and family saga, revolving around family secrets and forb ...

– ''

Garden of Shadows Garden of Shadows, a novel by V. C. Andrews, was first published in 1987. V. C. Andrews died in 1986, and her estate commissioned ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman to continue writing novels under her name developed from plot outlines originally wri ...

'' * Piers Anthony – ''

Ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...

'' * Jeffrey Archer – ''

A Matter of Honour ''A Matter of Honour'' is a novel by Jeffrey Archer, first published in 1986. Synopsis In 1966 disgraced British colonel Gerald Scott bequeaths a mysterious letter to his only son, Adam Scott. The "item in question" that Adam's father's let ...

'' *

James Axler James Axler is a house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd. The name was first used for the " Deathlands" series, which began in 1986 with ''Pilgrimage t ...

– '' Pilgrimage to Hell'' and '' Red Holocaust'' * Iain Banks – '' The Bridge'' *

Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civiliza ...

– ''

Extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the Endling, last individual of the species, although the Functional ext ...

'' (''Auslöschung'') *

Azouz Begag Azouz Begag ( ar, عزوز بقاق ) (born 5 February 1957) is a French writer, politician and researcher in economics and sociology at the CNRS. He was the delegate minister for equal opportunities of France in the government of French Prime Min ...

– '' Le Gone du Chaâba'' * Anita Brookner – ''A Misalliance'' *

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 both ...

– ''

Speaker for the Dead ''Speaker for the Dead'' is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, an indirect sequel to the 1985 novel '' Ender's Game''. The book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in ''Ender's Game ...

'' *

Ana Castillo Ana Castillo (born June 15, 1953) is a Chicana novelist, poet, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator and independent scholar. Considered one of the leading voices in Chicana experience, Castillo is known for her experiment ...

– ''Mixquiahuala Letters'' *

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

– ''

Red Storm Rising ''Red Storm Rising'' is a war novel, written by Tom Clancy and co-written with Larry Bond, and released on August 7, 1986. Set in the mid-1980s, it features a Third World War between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Pact for ...

'' * Arthur C. Clarke – ''

The Songs of Distant Earth ''The Songs of Distant Earth'' is a 1986 science fiction novel by British writer Arthur C. Clarke, based upon his 1958 short story of the same title. He stated that it was his favourite of all his novels. Clarke also wrote a short step ...

'' * James Clavell – ''

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and i ...

'' *

Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her career there. She wrote 32 novels, all of which appeared on ''The New York Time ...

– ''

Hollywood Husbands ''Hollywood Husbands'' is a 1986 novel by the British author Jackie Collins Jacqueline Jill Collins (4 October 1937 – 19 September 2015) was an English romance novelist and actress. She moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and spent most of her c ...

'' *

Pat Conroy Donald Patrick Conroy (October 26, 1945 – March 4, 2016) was an American author who wrote several acclaimed novels and memoirs; his books '' The Water is Wide'', ''The Lords of Discipline'', ''The Prince of Tides'' and '' The Great Santini'' w ...

– ''

The Prince of Tides ''The Prince of Tides'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Barbra Streisand, from a screenplay written by Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston, based on Conroy's 1986 novel ''The Prince of Tides''. It stars Streisand a ...

'' * Hugh Cook – ''The Wizards and the Warriors'' *

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English-American author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also written ''The Saxon ...

– ''

Sharpe's Regiment ''Sharpe's Regiment'' is the seventeenth historical novel in the Sharpe (novel series), Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1986. The story is set in England as Sharpe looks for the missing Second Battalion of the Sout ...

'' * Bernard & Judy Cornwell (as Susannah Kells) – ''Coat of Arms'' (also as ''The Aristocrats'') *

Fernando Del Paso Fernando del Paso Morante (April 1, 1935 – November 14, 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist and poet. Biography Del Paso was born in Mexico City and took two years in economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He ...

– ''Noticias del Imperio'' *

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film '' Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) e ...

– '' Blue Eyes, Black Hair'' *

James Ellroy Lee Earle "James" Ellroy (born March 4, 1948) is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a telegrammatic prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, ...

– '' Silent Terror'' * Shusaku Endo (遠藤周作) – ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'' (スキャンダル) *

Steve Erickson Stephen Michael Erickson is an American novelist. The author of influential works such as ''Days Between Stations'', '' Tours of the Black Clock'' and '' Zeroville'', he is the recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship, the American Academy of Arts a ...

– ''Rubicon Beach'' *

Nuruddin Farah Nuruddin Farah ( so, Nuuradiin Faarax, ar, نورالدين فارح) (born 24 November 1945) is a Somali novelist. His first novel, ''From a Crooked Rib'', was published in 1970 and has been described as "one of the cornerstones of modern East ...

– ''Maps'' (first part of ''Blood in the Sun'' trilogy) *

Richard Ford Richard Ford (born February 16, 1944) is an American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel ''The Sportswriter'' and its sequels, ''Independence Day'', ''The Lay of the Land'' and ''Let Me Be Frank With You'', and the ...

– '' The Sportswriter'' * Katherine V. Forrest – ''An Emergence of Green'' * John Gardner – ''

Nobody Lives For Ever ''Nobody Lives for Ever'' (published in American editions as ''Nobody Lives Forever''), first published in 1986, was the fifth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyrigh ...

'' *

Jacques Godbout Jacques Godbout, OC, CQ (born November 27, 1933) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, children's writer, journalist, filmmaker and poet. By his own admission a bit of a dabbler (''touche-à-tout''), Godbout has become one of the most important wri ...

– ''Une Histoire américaine'' *

Peter Handke Peter Handke (; born 6 December 1942) is an Austrian novelist, playwright, translator, poet, film director, and screenwriter. He was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Literature "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored t ...

– ''

Repetition Repetition may refer to: * Repetition (rhetorical device), repeating a word within a short space of words *Repetition (bodybuilding), a single cycle of lifting and lowering a weight in strength training *Working title for the 1985 slasher film '' ...

'' *

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

- ''

The Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2-3 and Ezekiel 28 an ...

'' *

Carl Hiaasen Carl Hiaasen (; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for young-adult readers. Two of his no ...

– '' Tourist Season'' *

Kazuo Ishiguro Sir Kazuo Ishiguro ( ; born 8 November 1954) is a British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and moved to Britain in 1960 with his parents when he was five. He is one of the most cr ...

– '' An Artist of the Floating World'' *

Brian Jacques James Brian Jacques (, as in "Jakes"; 15 June 1939 – 5 February 2011) was an English novelist known for his '' Redwall'' series of novels and '' Castaways of the Flying Dutchman'' series. He also completed two collections of short stories ent ...

– ''

Redwall ''Redwall'' is a series of children's fantasy novels by British writer Brian Jacques, published from 1986 to 2011. It is also the title of the first book of the series, published in 1986, as well as the name of the abbey featured in the book, ...

'' *

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

– '' It'' *

Ivan Klíma Ivan Klíma (born 14 September 1931 in Prague, as Ivan Kauders) is a Czech novelist and playwright. He has received the Magnesia Litera award and the Franz Kafka Prize, among other honors.Láska a smetí (''Love and Garbage'', banned until 1989) * Judith Krantz – ''

I'll Take Manhattan ''I'll Take Manhattan'' is a 1986 bonkbuster novel by American author Judith Krantz. It has been cited as her best novel because it is the one most closely rooted in her own experience as a writer and socialite. The book was adapted into a CBS ...

'' *

Brigitte Kronauer Brigitte Kronauer (29 December 1940 – 22 July 2019) was a German writer who lived in Hamburg. Her novels, written in the tradition of Jean Paul with artful writing and an ironic undertone, were awarded several prizes, including in 2005 the Geo ...

– ''Berittener Bogenschütze'' *

Louis L'Amour Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...

– '' Last of the Breed'' * Joe R. Lansdale – '' Dead in the West'' *

John le Carré David John Moore Cornwell (19 October 193112 December 2020), better known by his pen name John le Carré ( ), was a British and Irish author, best known for his espionage novels, many of which were successfully adapted for film or television. ...

– ''

A Perfect Spy ''A Perfect Spy'' (1986) is a novel by British author John le Carré about the mental and moral dissolution of a high-level intelligence-officer. Major aspects of the novel are lifted from the real life of the author, including the relationsh ...

'' *

David Leavitt David Leavitt (; born June 23, 1961) is an American novelist, short story writer, and biographer. Biography Leavitt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Harold and Gloria Leavitt. Harold was a professor who taught at Stanford University and G ...

– '' The Lost Language of Cranes'' *

Tanith Lee Tanith Lee (19 September 1947 – 24 May 2015) was a British science fiction and fantasy writer. She wrote more than 90 novels and 300 short stories, and was the winner of multiple World Fantasy Society Derleth Awards, the World Fantasy Lifetime ...

– '' Dreams of Dark and Light: The Great Short Fiction of Tanith Lee'' *

Gordon Lish Gordon Lish (born February 11, 1934 in Hewlett, New York) is an American writer. As a literary editor, he championed many American authors, particularly Raymond Carver, Barry Hannah, Amy Hempel, Rick Bass, and Richard Ford. He is the father of t ...

– '' Dear Mr. Capote'' * H. P. Lovecraft – '' Dagon and Other Macabre Tales'' (corrected edition) *

Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original '' The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated b ...

– ''

The Bourne Supremacy ''The Bourne Supremacy'' is the second Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum, first published in 1986. It is the sequel to Ludlum's bestseller '' The Bourne Identity'' (1980) and precedes Ludlum's final Bourne novel, '' The Bourne Ultima ...

'' * Amin Maalouf – ''

Leo Africanus Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...

'' *

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'' and '' Tomorrow in the Battle ...

– ''El hombre sentimental'' (''The Man of Feeling'', 2003) *

Allan Massie Allan Johnstone Massie (born 16 October 1938) is a Scottish journalist, columnist, sports writer and novelist. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He has lived in the Scottish Borders for the last 25 years, and now lives in Se ...

– ''

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

'' (first in the Roman series) *

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on ''Daredevil'' and subsequen ...

– '' Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'' (graphic novel) *

Robert Munsch Robert Norman Munsch (born June 11, 1945) is an American-Canadian children's author. Personal life and career Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 11, 1945. He grew up in a family of 9 children. He graduated from Fordha ...

– ''

Love You Forever ''Love You Forever'' is a 1986 children's picture book written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Sheila McGraw. The story centers on a mother who sings a lullaby to her son at each stage of his life. During his childhood, she becomes frustrate ...

'' *

Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian, CBE (12 December 1914 – 2 January 2000), born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of sea novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, and cent ...

– ''

The Reverse of the Medal ''The Reverse of the Medal'' is the eleventh historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian, first published in 1986. The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812. Returning from the far side of the worl ...

'' *

Ellis Peters Edith Mary Pargeter (28 September 1913 – 14 October 1995), also known by her ''nom de plume'' Ellis Peters, was an English author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her transla ...

**''

The Raven in the Foregate ''The Raven in the Foregate'' is a medieval mystery novel by Ellis Peters, fourth of the novels set in 1141, a year of great political tumult in the Anarchy. It is 12th of The Cadfael Chronicles, and first published in 1986. It was 1997 in Br ...

'' **''

The Rose Rent ''The Rose Rent'' is a medieval mystery novel set in the summer of 1142 by Ellis Peters. This is the thirteenth novel in The Cadfael Chronicles, first published in 1986. It was adapted for television in 1997 by Carlton and Central for ITV. ...

'' *

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first nov ...

– ''

The Light Fantastic ''The Light Fantastic'' is a comic fantasy novel by Terry Pratchett, the second of the ''Discworld'' series. It was published on 2 June 1986, the first printing being of 1,034 copies. The title, taken from a poem by John Milton, in which it r ...

'' *

Reynolds Price Edward Reynolds Price (February 1, 1933 – January 20, 2011) was an American poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist and James B. Duke Professor of English at Duke University. Apart from English literature, Price had a lifelong interest in Biblical ...

– '' Kate Vaiden'' *

James Purdy James Otis Purdy (July 17, 1914 March 13, 2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work ha ...

– ''In the Hollow of His Hand'' *

Jean Raspail Jean Raspail (, 5 July 1925 – 13 June 2020) was a French author, traveler, and explorer. Many of his books are about historical figures, exploration and indigenous peoples. He was a recipient of the prestigious French literary awards Grand Pri ...

– '' Who Will Remember the People...'' *

Mercè Rodoreda Mercè Rodoreda i Gurguí (; 10 October 1908 – 13 April 1983) was a Catalan novelist. She is considered the most influential contemporary Catalan language writer, as evidenced by the references of other authors in her work and the internation ...

(died 1983) – ''La mort i la primavera'' (Death in Spring) *

Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio (4 December 1927 – 1 April 2019) was a Spanish writer. In 2004 he was awarded the Premio Cervantes for his literary oeuvre. He was married to fellow writer Carmen Martín Gaite. Writing Sánchez Ferlosio was born in R ...

– ''El testimonio de Yarfoz'' *

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE ComSE GColCa (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which hec ...

– ''

The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis ''The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis'' (in Portuguese: ''O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis'') is a 1984 novel by the Portuguese novelist José Saramago, the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature. The book chronicles the final year in the ...

(O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis)'' *

Ken Saro-Wiwa Kenule Beeson "Ken" Saro-Wiwa (10 October 1941 – 10 November 1995) was a Nigerian writer, television producer, and environmental activist. Ken Saro-Wiwa was a member of the Ogoni people, an ethnic minority in Nigeria whose homeland, Ogonilan ...

– ''Sozaboy: A Novel in Rotten English'' *

Idries Shah Idries Shah (; hi, इदरीस शाह, ps, ادريس شاه, ur, ; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el- Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Ark ...

– '' Kara Kush'' * Danielle Steel – ''

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

'' *

Peter Taylor Peter Taylor may refer to: Arts * Peter Taylor (writer) (1917–1994), American author, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction * Peter Taylor (film editor) (1922–1997), English film editor, winner of an Academy Award for Film Editing Politi ...

– ''

A Summons to Memphis ''A Summons to Memphis'' is a 1986 novel by Peter Taylor that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1987. It is the recollection of Phillip Carver, a middle aged editor from New York City, who is summoned back to Memphis by his two conniving un ...

'' *

James Tiptree, Jr. Alice Bradley Sheldon (born Alice Hastings Bradley; August 24, 1915 – May 19, 1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy author better known as James Tiptree, Jr., a pen name she used from 1967 to her death. It was not publicly known ...

– '' Tales of the Quintana Roo'' *

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (born 28 March 1936), more commonly known as Mario Vargas Llosa (, ), is a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and former politician, who also holds Spanish citizenship. Vargas Ll ...

– '' Who Killed Palomino Molero? (¿Quién mató a Palomino Molero?)'' *

Vladimir Voinovich Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Войно́вич, 26 September 1932 – 27 July 2018), was a Russian writer and former Soviet dissident, and the "first genuine comic writer" produced by the S ...

– '' Moscow 2042'' *

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American poet and writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for ''The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nomin ...

– '' Blood of Amber''

Children and young people

Janet and Allan Ahlberg Janet Ahlberg (21 October 1944 – 15 November 1994; née Hall) and Allan Ahlberg (born 5 June 1938) were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lis ...

– ''

The Jolly Postman ''The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters'' is an interactive children's picture book by Janet and Allan Ahlberg. The innovative project required five years to complete, and much discussion with both the publisher Heinemann and the printer b ...

'' *

Chris Van Allsburg Chris Van Allsburg (born June 18, 1949) is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He has won two Caldecott Medals for U.S. picture book illustration, for ''Jumanji'' (1981) and ''The Polar Express'' (1985), both of which he a ...

– '' The Stranger'' *

Tony Bradman Tony Bradman (born 22 January 1954) is an English writer of children's books and short speculative fiction best known for the '' Dilly the Dinosaur'' book series. He is the author of more than 50 books for young people published by multiple hous ...

– ''Dilly the Dinosaur'' (first in the eponymous series of 22 books) * Steven Brust (with Alan Lee) – ''

Brokedown Palace ''Brokedown Palace'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Jonathan Kaplan, and starring Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman and Lim Kay Tong. It deals with two American friends imprisoned in Thailand for alleged drug smuggling. Its ...

'' * Robert J. Burch – ''Queenie Peavy'' *

Joy Cowley Cassia Joy Cowley (; born 7 August 1936) is a New Zealand author best known for her children's fiction, including the popular series of books Mrs. Wishy-Washy. Cowley started out writing novels for adults, and her first book, ''Nest in a Fal ...

**(with Jan van der Voo) – ''Turnips For Dinner'' **(with Martin Bailey) – ''The King's Pudding'' *

Crescent Dragonwagon Crescent Dragonwagon (née Ellen Zolotow, November 25, 1952, New York City) is a multigenre writer. She has written fifty books, including two novels, seven cookbooks and culinary memoirs, more than twenty children's books, a biography, and a coll ...

– ''

Half a Moon and One Whole Star ''Half a Moon and One Whole Star'' is a 1986 book by Crescent Dragonwagon and illustrator Jerry Pinkney about a girl, Susan, who falls asleep in her bed, while the world continues outside. Reception ''Publishers Weekly'' in a review of ''Half a M ...

'' *

Jill Eggleton Jill Ethel Eggleton is a New Zealand children's book author, teacher and education consultant. She received the Margaret Mahy Award in 2015 for ''Everyone Has A Story.'' Eggleton has authored over 800 children's books; in 2009 alone she wrote 60 ...

(with Kelvin Hawley) – ''Cat and Mouse'' * Berniece T. Hiser – '' The Adventure of Charlie and His Wheat-Straw Hat'' *

Diana Wynne Jones Diana Wynne Jones (16 August 1934 – 26 March 2011) was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She principally wrote fantasy and speculative fiction novels for children and young adults. Although usually d ...

– ''

Howl's Moving Castle ''Howl's Moving Castle'' is a fantasy novel by British author Diana Wynne Jones, first published in 1986 by Greenwillow Books of New York. It was a runner-up for the annual Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and won the Phoenix Award twenty years ...

'' *

Michael de Larrabeiti Michael de Larrabeiti (18 August 1934 – 18 April 2008) was an English novelist and travel writer. He is best known for writing ''The Borrible Trilogy'', which has been cited as an influence by writers in the '' New Weird'' movement. Early ...

**'' The Borribles: Across the Dark Metropolis'' **'' The Provençal Tales'' * Arnold Lobel – '' The Random House Book of Mother Goose'' (in verse) * Ann M. Martin **''Kristy's Great Idea'' **''Claudia and the Phantom Phone Calls'' **''The Truth about Stacey'' (first three in ''

The Baby-Sitters Club ''The Baby-Sitters Club'' (also known as BSC) is a series of novels written by Ann M. Martin and published by Scholastic between 1986 and 2000, that sold 176 million copies. Martin wrote the first 35 novels in the series, but the subsequent nove ...

'' series of over 200 books, 35 written by Martin) *

Patricia McKissack Patricia C. "Pat" McKissack (''née'' Carwell; August 9, 1944 – April 7, 2017) was a prolific African American children's writer. She was the author of over 100 books, including Dear America books '' A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, ...

– '' Flossie & the Fox'' *

– ''

'' *

Jill Murphy Jill Murphy (5 July 1949 – 18 August 2021) was a British author and illustrator of children's books. First published in 1974 at the age of 24, she was best known for the ''Worst Witch'' novels and ''Large Family'' picture books, with sales amo ...

– ''Five Minutes' Peace'' (first in ''The Large Family'' series) *

Jenny Nimmo Jenny Nimmo (born 15 January 1944) is a British author of children's books, including fantasy and adventure novels, chapter books, and picture books. Born in England, she has lived mostly in Wales for 40 years. She is probably best known for two ...

– '' The Snow Spider'' (first in ''

The Magician Trilogy ''The Magician Trilogy'' is a series of three children's fantasy novels by the British author Jenny Nimmo, first published by Methuen 1986 to 1989. It is sometimes called the Snow Spider trilogy or series after the first book and ''The Snow Spi ...

'') * Bill Peet – ''Zella, Zack, and Zodiac'' *

Claude Ponti Claude Ponticelli, known as Claude Ponti, was born on November 22, 1948, in Lunéville (Lorraine, France). He is a children's author and illustrator. His books are famous for the fanciful graphic design, but also for the imaginative and poetic sto ...

– ''Adele's Album'' *

Alison Prince Alison Prince (26 March 1931 – 12 October 2019) was a British children's writer, screenwriter and biographer, who settled on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Her novels for young people won several awards. She was the scriptwriter of the much re ...

– '' The Type One Super Robot'' * Gillian Rubinstein – ''

Space Demons Space Demons is a Young-Adult Novel, young adult novel written by Gillian Rubinstein, first published in 1986. It details the story of five children playing a video game which both affects and is affected by their real lives. It is the first of a ...

Drama

* Caryl Churchill and

David Lan David Lan is a South African-born British playwright, theatre producer and director and a social anthropologist. Career Born in Cape Town, he trained as an actor and gained a BA at the University of Cape Town. He has lived in London since 197 ...

– ''

A Mouthful of Birds ''A Mouthful of Birds'' is a 1986 play with dance, written by Caryl Churchill and David Lan, with choreography by Ian Spink. Drawing its themes from '' The Bacchae'' of Euripides, it is a meditation on possession, madness and female violence. ...

'' *

Nick Darke Nick Darke (1948–2005) was a British playwright. He was also known within Cornwall as a lobster fisherman, environmental campaigner, and chairman of St Eval Parish Council. Early life Nick's great-grandfather, William Leonard Darke, was a ...

– ''The Dead Monkey'' *

Tomson Highway Tomson Highway (born 6 December 1951) is an Indigenous Canadian playwright, novelist, and children's author. He is best known for his plays ''The Rez Sisters'' and ''Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing'', both of which won the Dora Mavor Moore ...

– ''

The Rez Sisters ''The Rez Sisters'' is a two-act play by Canadian writer Tomson Highway (Cree), first performed on November 26, 1986, by Act IV Theatre Company and Native Earth Performing Arts. ''The Rez Sisters'' is partially inspired by Michel Tremblay's play ...

'' *

Chinu Modi Chinu Modi ( gu, ચિનુ મોદી ), (30 September 1939 – 19 March 2017), also known by his pen name Irshad (Gujarati: ઈર્શાદ), was a Gujarati language poet, novelist, short story writer and critic from Gujarat, India. Educ ...

– '' Ashwamedh'' *

Willy Russell William Russell (born 23 August 1946) is an English dramatist, lyricist and composer. His best known works are ''Educating Rita'', ''Shirley Valentine'', '' Blood Brothers'' and ''Our Day Out''. Early life Russell was born in Whiston, Lancash ...

– ''

Shirley Valentine ''Shirley Valentine'' is a one-character play by Willy Russell. Taking the form of a monologue by a middle-aged, working class Liverpool housewife, it focuses on her life before and after a transforming holiday abroad. Plot Wondering what has ...

'' *

Arvo Salo Arvo Jaakko Henrikki Salo (2 May 1932 – 9 July 2011) was a Finnish writer, journalist and politician. He served as an MP from 1966 to 1970 and from 1979 to 1983 (Social Democratic Party) and was Minister of Education and Culture from 1982 to 19 ...

– ''Vallan miehet'' *

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

– ''

Dalliance ''Dalliance'' is a play by Tom Stoppard, based on Arthur Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei''. ''Dalliance'' was first performed at the Lyttelton Theatre, London, on 27 May 1986. It was directed by Peter Wood, with music by Andre Previn. It starred ...

'' (based on a work by

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

)

Poetry

* Kama Sywor Kamanda – ''Chants de brumes'' (Songs of twilight)

Non-fiction

Dave Stieb Dave Andrew Stieb (; born July 22, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. A seven-time All-Star, he also won ''The Sporting News'' Pitcher of the Year Award in 1982. Stieb won 140 games i ...

(with Kevin Boland) - ''Tomorrow I'll be Perfect'' * Martin Amis – '' The Moronic Inferno: And Other Visits to America'' *

Bernard Bailyn Bernard Bailyn (September 10, 1922 – August 7, 2020) was an American historian, author, and academic specializing in U.S. Colonial and Revolutionary-era History. He was a professor at Harvard University from 1953. Bailyn won the Pulitzer Pri ...

– '' Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution'' * Frank Barlow – ''Thomas Becket'' *

Marjorie Chibnall Marjorie McCallum Chibnall (27 September 1915 – 23 June 2012) was an English historian, medievalist and Latin translator. She edited the ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' by Orderic Vitalis, with whom she shared the same birthplace of Atcham in Shr ...

– ''Anglo-Norman England 1066–1166'' *

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

– ''

The Blind Watchmaker ''The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design'' is a 1986 book by Richard Dawkins, in which the author presents an explanation of, and argument for, the theory of evolution by means of natural selecti ...

'' * Karlheinz Deschner – '' Kriminalgeschichte des Christentums'' (Criminal History of Christianity) *

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. He was part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s and had roles in the television series ''The Young Ones (TV s ...

et al. – '' How to be a Complete Bastard'' *

Sita Ram Goel Sita Ram Goel (16 October 1921 – 3 December 2003) was an Indian historian, religious and political activist, writer, and publisher in the late twentieth century. He had Marxist leanings during the 1940s, but later became an outspoken anti-co ...

– '' History of Hindu–Christian Encounters, AD 304 to 1996'' *

Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Gra ...

(with Margaret Scariano) – ''Emergence: Labeled Autistic'' *

Patience Gray Patience Jean Gray (31 October 1917 – 10 March 2005) was an English cookery and travel writer of the mid-20th century. Her two most popular books were ''Plats Du Jour'' (1957) – written with Primrose Boyd, about French cooking – and ''Honey Fr ...

– ''Honey from a Weed'' (cookery) * Robert Irwin – ''The Middle East in the Middle Ages: The Early Mamlúk Sultanate 1250–1382'' *

Kumari Jayawardena Kumari Jayawardena ( si, කුමාරි ජයවර්ධන; born 1931) is a leading feminist activist and academic in Sri Lanka. Her work is part of the canon of Third-world feminism which conceptualizes feminist philosophies as indigen ...

– '' Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World'' * Mark Mathabane – ''

Kaffir Boy ''Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa'' is Mark Mathabane's 1986 autobiography about life under the South African apartheid regime. It focuses on the brutality of the apartheid system and how he ...

'' *

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Can ...

– '' My Discovery of America'' *

Harvey Pekar Harvey Lawrence Pekar (; October 8, 1939 – July 12, 2010) was an American underground comic book writer, music critic, and media personality, best known for his autobiographical ''American Splendor'' comic series. In 2003, the series inspired a ...

– '' American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar'' (graphic autobiography) *

Marc Reisner Marc Reisner (September 14, 1948 – July 21, 2000) was an American environmentalist and writer best known for his book ''Cadillac Desert'', a history of water management in the American West. Early life He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, th ...

– ''

Cadillac Desert ''Cadillac Desert'' (1986), is a history by American Marc Reisner about land development and water policy in the western United States. Subtitled ''The American West and Its Disappearing Water'', it explores the history of the federal agencies, ...

'' *

Richard Rhodes Richard Lee Rhodes (born July 4, 1937) is an American historian, journalist, and author of both fiction and non-fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' (1986), and most recently, ''Energy: A Human Histor ...

– ''

The Making of the Atomic Bomb ''The Making of the Atomic Bomb'' is a contemporary history book written by the American journalist and historian Richard Rhodes, first published by Simon & Schuster in 1987. It won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, the National Book ...

'' *

Jonathan Riley-Smith Jonathan Simon Christopher Riley-Smith (27 June 1938 – 13 September 2016) was a historian of the Crusades, and, between 1994 and 2005, Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at Cambridge. He was a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. ...

– ''The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading'' *

Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 ...

– '' Sexual Desire: A Philosophical Investigation'' *

Art Spiegelman Art Spiegelman (; born Itzhak Avraham ben Zeev Spiegelman on February 15, 1948) is an American cartoonist, editor, and comics advocate best known for his graphic novel ''Maus''. His work as co-editor on the comics magazines ''Arcade (comics maga ...

– '' Maus: A Survivor's Tale (I: My Father Bleeds History)'' (graphic biography/autobiography) *

Jean Vercoutter Jean Vercoutter (20 January 1911 – 16 July 2000) was a French Egyptologist. One of the pioneers of archaeological research into Sudan from 1953, he was Director of the Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale from 1977 to 1981. Biography ...

– '' The Search for Ancient Egypt'' * Mary Wilson – '' Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme''

Births

January 24 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. * 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. *1438 – The Cou ...

Aimee Carter Aimee Carter (born January 24, 1986) is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. Biography Aimee Carter was born on January 24, 1986, in Detroit, Michigan, where she currently resides. She wrote fan fiction before she wrote her ...

, American young-adult fiction writer *

June 6 Events Pre-1600 * 913 – Constantine VII, the eight-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed b ...

- Rachelle Dekker, American science-fiction writer *

July 3 Events Pre-1600 * 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. * 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revol ...

– Chris Bush, English playwright, artistic director and comedian *''unknown dates'' ** Caroline Bird, English poet and dramatist ** Chigozie Obioma, Nigerian novelist

Deaths

January 1 January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 364 days remaining until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the yea ...

–

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

, English critic and biographer (born 1902) *

January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...

– Christopher Isherwood, English-born novelist (born 1904) *

January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army. This prompts the tribunes who support him to flee to Ravenna, where Caesar is waiting. * 1325 – Alfonso IV ...

** P. D. Eastman, American author and illustrator (born 1909) **

Juan Rulfo Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, best known as Juan Rulfo ( ; 16 May 1917 – 7 January 1986), was a Mexican writer, screenwriter, and photographer. He is best known for two literary works, the 1955 novel ''Pedro Páramo'', and th ...

, Mexican writer, screenwriter and photographer (born 1917) *

–

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

, American science fiction writer, founder of

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data indi ...

(born 1911) *

February 4 Events Pre–1600 * 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrellin ...

–

Phyllis Shand Allfrey Phyllis Byam Shand Allfrey (24 October 1908 – 4 February 1986) was a West Indian writer, socialist activist, newspaper editor and politician of the island of Dominica in the Caribbean. She is best known for her first novel, '' The Orchid Hou ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

n writer (born 1908) *

February 9 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland. * 1539 – The first recorded race is hel ...

– Dora Oake Russell, Newfoundland writer, diarist and journalist (born 1912) *

February 11 Events Pre-1600 *660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. * 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming ...

–

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel '' Dune'' and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked a ...

, American science fiction novelist (born 1920) *

February 28 Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. *1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on ...

–

Edith Ditmas Edith Ditmas (1896 – 28 February 1986) was an English archivist, historian and writer. She is thought to have had a Master of Arts degree from the University of Oxford and was unmarried. Biography Edith Margaret Robertson Ditmas was born in We ...

, English archivist, historian and writer (born 1896) *

March 4 Events Pre-1600 *AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title '' princeps iuventutis'' (head of the youth). * 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. * 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a st ...

Ding Ling Ding Ling (; October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1986), formerly romanized as Ting Ling, was the pen name of Jiang Bingzhi (), also known as Bin Zhi (彬芷 ''Bīn Zhǐ''), one of the most celebrated 20th-century Chinese women authors. She is known ...

, Chinese fiction writer (born 1904) **

Elizabeth Smart Elizabeth Ann Gilmour (née Smart; born November 3, 1987) is an American child safety activist and commentator for ABC News. She gained national attention at age 14 when she was abducted from her home in Salt Lake City by Brian David Mitchell. ...

, Canadian poet and novelist (born 1913) *

March 15 Events Pre-1600 * 474 BC – Roman consul Aulus Manlius Vulso celebrates an ovation for concluding the war against Veii and securing a forty years' truce. *44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar takes place. * 493 – Odoa ...

–

Pandelis Prevelakis Pandelis Prevelakis ( el, Παντελής Πρεβελάκης, sometimes transliterated Panteles Prevelakes; 18 February 1909 – 15 March 1986) was a Greek novelist, poet, dramatist and essayist—one of the leading Greek prose writers of the " ...

, Greek novelist, poet, dramatist and essayist (born 1909) *

March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ara ...

–

Bernard Malamud Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseba ...

, American novelist (born

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

) *

April 12 Events Pre-1600 * 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I. * 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. * 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to ...

–

Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev; – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...

, Russian novelist and dramatist (born 1897) *

April 14 Events Pre-1600 * 43 BC – Legions loyal to the Roman Senate, commanded by Gaius Pansa, defeat the forces of Mark Antony in the Battle of Forum Gallorum. * 69 – Vitellius, commanding Rhine-based armies, defeats Roman emperor Otho ...

Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, and even th ...

, French philosopher and feminist writer (born 1908) **

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

, French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and political activist (born 1910) *

April 17 Events Pre-1600 *1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized. *1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan ...

–

Bessie Head Bessie Amelia Emery Head (6 July 1937 – 17 April 1986) was a South African writer who, though born in South Africa, is usually considered Botswana's most influential writer. She wrote novels, short fiction and autobiographical works that are ...

, Botswanan fiction writer (born 1937) *

April 22 Events Pre-1600 * 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil. * 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico. * 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern ...

–

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanians, Romanian History of religion, historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who establ ...

, Romanian historian, philosopher and novelist (born 1907) *

May 15 Events Pre-1600 * 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty. * 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbog ...

– Theodore H. White, American journalist, historian and novelist (born

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

) *

June 14 Events Pre-1600 * 1158 – The city of Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar. *1216 – First Barons' War: Prince Louis of France takes the city of Winchester, abandoned by John, King of England, and soo ...

–

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

, Argentine writer (born 1899) *

August 1 Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic. *AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under ...

– Lena Kennedy, English romantic novelist (born

) *

August 3 Events Pre-1600 * 8 – Roman Empire general Tiberius defeats the Dalmatae on the river Bosna. * 435 – Deposed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Nestorius, considered the originator of Nestorianism, is exiled by Roman Emper ...

–

Beryl Markham Beryl Markham (née Clutterbuck; 26 October 1902 – 3 August 1986) was a Kenyan aviator born in England (one of the first bush pilots), adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. She was the first person to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlant ...

, English-born Kenyan aviator and author (born 1902) *

August 20 Events Pre-1600 * AD 14 – Agrippa Postumus, maternal grandson of the late Roman emperor Augustus, is mysteriously executed by his guards while in exile. * 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take con ...

–

Milton Acorn Milton James Rhode Acorn (March 30, 1923 – August 20, 1986), nicknamed ''The People's Poet'' by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. Early life He was born in Prince Edward Island, and grew up in Charlottetown. He joined th ...

, Canadian poet, writer and playwright (born 1923) *

September 11 Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...

–

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to others). Random House, the ...

, English novelist and children's writer (born 1895) *

December 17 Events Pre-1600 * 497 BC – The first Saturnalia festival was celebrated in ancient Rome. * 546 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Byzantine garrison. * 920 – Romanos I Lekap ...

–

J. F. Hendry James Findlay Hendry (12 September 1912 – 17 December 1986) was a Scottish poet known also as an editor and writer. He was born in Glasgow, and read Modern Languages at the University of Glasgow. During World War II he served in the Royal Arti ...

, Scottish poet (born 1912) * December 19 –

, American novelist (born 1923) *

December 28 Events Pre-1600 * 418 – A papal conclave begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I. * 457 – Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor. * 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the ...

– John D. MacDonald, American novelist and short story writer (born 1916)

Awards

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

Australia

The Australian/Vogel Literary Award ''The Australian''/Vogel Literary Award is an Australian literary award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35. The prize money, currently A$20,000, is the richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript in ...

Robin Walton Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest ro ...

, ''Glace Fruits'' *

C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry The Victorian Premier's Prize for Poetry, formerly known as the C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry, is a prize category in the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award. As of 2011 it has an enumeration of 25,000. The winner of this category prize vies w ...

Rhyll McMaster Rhyll McMaster (born 1947 in Brisbane) is a contemporary Australian poet and novelist. She has worked as a secretary, a nurse and a sheep farmer. She now lives in Sydney and has written full-time since 2000. She is a recipient of the Barbara Je ...

, ''Washing the Money'' and John A. Scott, ''St. Clair'' * Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Robert Gray ''Selected Poems 1963–83'' *

Mary Gilmore Prize __NOTOC__ The Mary Gilmore Award is currently an annual Australian literary award for poetry, awarded by the Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Since being established in 1956 as the ACTU Dame Mary Gilmore Award, it has been awar ...

: Stephen Williams, ''A Crowd of Voices'' * Miles Franklin Award:

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was publishe ...

, ''

The Well The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, normally shortened to The WELL, was launched in 1985. It is one of the oldest continuously operating virtual communities. By 1993 it had 7,000 members, a staff of 12, and gross annual income of $2 million. ...

Canada

*See 1986 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

: Michel Host, ''Valet de nuit'' *

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 19 ...

French: Pierre Combescot, ''Les Funérailles de la Sardine'' *

International: John Hawkes, ''Aventures dans le commerce des peaux en Alaska''

United Kingdom

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

, ''

'' * Carnegie Medal for

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

Berlie Doherty Berlie Doherty (born 6 November 1943) is an English novelist, poet, playwright and screenwriter. She is best known for children's books, for which she has twice won the Carnegie Medal. She has also written novels for adults, plays for theatre an ...

, ''

Granny Was a Buffer Girl ''Granny Was a Buffer Girl'' is a realistic young-adult novel by Berlie Doherty, published by Methuen in 1986. It recounts stories of love, loyalty and change in several generations of a Sheffield family from the 1930s to the 1980s, linking the ...

'' *

Cholmondeley Award The Cholmondeley Awards () are annual awards for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966. Since 1991 the award has bee ...

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pare ...

James Fenton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Selima Hill Selima Hill (born 13 October 1945) is a British poet. She has published twenty poetry collections since 1984. Her 1997 collection, ''Violet'', was shortlisted for the most important British poetry awards: the Forward Poetry Prize (Best Poetry ...

Eric Gregory Award The Eric Gregory Award is a literary award given annually by the Society of Authors for a collection by British poets under the age of 30. The award was founded in 1960 by Dr. Eric Gregory to support and encourage young poets. In 2021, the seven ...

: Mick North, Lachlan Mackinnon, Oliver Reynolds, Stephen Romer *

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

for fiction: Jenny Joseph, ''Persephone'' *

for biography: D. Felicitas Corrigan, ''

Helen Waddell Helen Jane Waddell (31 May 1889 – 5 March 1965) was an Irish poet, translator and playwright. She was a recipient of the Benson Medal. Biography She was born in Tokyo, the tenth and youngest child of Hugh Waddell, a Presbyterian minister ...

'' *

Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded for a book of verse published by someone in any of the Commonwealth realms. Originally the award was open only to British subjects living in the United Kingdom, but in 1985 the scope was extended to in ...

Norman MacCaig Norman Alexander MacCaig DLitt (14 November 1910 – 23 January 1996) was a Scottish poet and teacher. His poetry, in modern English, is known for its humour, simplicity of language and great popularity. Life Norman Alexander MacCaig was born ...

* Whitbread Best Book Award:

, '' An Artist of the Floating World''

United States

Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize The Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major United States, American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language. This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Penn ...

Robley Wilson Robley Wilson (June 15, 1930 – August 7, 2018) was an American poet, writer, and editor. Educated at Bowdoin College, B.A., 1957; Indiana University, graduate study, 1960; University of Iowa, M.F.A., 1968. Married Charlotte Lehon, August 20, 1 ...

, ''Kingdoms of the Ordinary'' * American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Drama:

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

Frost Medal The Poetry Society of America is a literary organization founded in 1910 by poets, editors, and artists. It is the oldest poetry organization in the United States. Past members of the society have included such renowned poets as Witter Bynner, Ro ...

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

Richard Eberhart Richard Ghormley Eberhart (April 5, 1904 – June 9, 2005) was an American poet who published more than a dozen books of poetry and approximately twenty works in total. "Richard Eberhart emerged out of the 1930s as a modern stylist with romanti ...

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), a nonprofit association of profe ...

, ''

Speaker For the Dead ''Speaker for the Dead'' is a 1986 science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, an indirect sequel to the 1985 novel '' Ender's Game''. The book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in ''Ender's Game ...

'' *

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

for

Patricia MacLachlan Patricia Marie MacLachlan ( Pritzkau; March 3, 1938 – March 31, 2022) was an American children's writer. She was noted for her novel '' Sarah, Plain and Tall'', which won the 1986 Newbery Medal. Early life MacLachlan was born in Cheyenne, Wyo ...

, ''

Sarah, Plain and Tall ''Sarah, Plain and Tall'' is a children's book written by Patricia MacLachlan and the winner of the 1986 Newbery Medal, the 1986 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 Golden Kite Award. It explores themes of loneliness, abando ...

'' *

Prometheus Award The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newl ...

Robert Shea Robert Joseph Shea (February 14, 1933 – March 10, 1994) was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy '' Illuminatus!'' It became a cult success and was later turne ...

and

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...

, ''

The Illuminatus! Trilogy ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' is a series of three novels by American writers Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, first published in 1975.''Illuminatus!'' was written between 1969 and 1971, but not published until 1975 according to Robert Anto ...

'' *

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

: ''no award given'' * Pulitzer Prize for Fiction:

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

, ''

Lonesome Dove ''Lonesome Dove'' is a 1985 Western novel by American writer Larry McMurtry. It is the first published book of the ''Lonesome Dove'' series, but the third installment in the series chronologically. The story revolves around the relationships b ...

'' *

Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...

: Henry Taylor, ''The Flying Change'' *

Whiting Awards The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard ...

: Fiction:

Kent Haruf Alan Kent Haruf (February 24, 1943 – November 30, 2014) was an American novelist. Life Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister. In 1965 he graduated with a BA from Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he would late ...

Denis Johnson Denis Hale Johnson (July 1, 1949 – May 24, 2017) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and poet. He is perhaps best known for his debut short story collection, '' Jesus' Son'' (1992). His most successful novel, ''Tree of Smoke'' (2007) ...

Padgett Powell Padgett Powell (born April 25, 1952 in Gainesville, Florida) is an American novelist in the Southern literary tradition. His debut novel, ''Edisto'' (1984), was nominated for the American Book Award and was excerpted in ''The New Yorker''. Po ...

Mona Simpson Mona Simpson (née Jandali; June 14, 1957) is an American novelist. She has written six novels and studied English at the University of California, Berkeley and Languages and Literature at Columbia University. She won a Whiting Award for her fir ...

; Poetry: John Ash,

Hayden Carruth Hayden Carruth (August 3, 1921 – September 29, 2008) was an American poet, literary critic and anthologist. He taught at Syracuse University. Life Hayden Carruth was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and grew up in Woodbury, Connecticut. He gra ...

Frank Stewart Francis Eugene "Frank" Stewart (20 February 192316 April 1979), Australian politician and rugby league footballer, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives representing Lang between 1953 and 1977 and subsequently Grayndler betw ...

Ruth Stone Ruth Stone (June 8, 1915 – November 19, 2011) was an award-winning American poet. Life and poetry Stone was born in Roanoke, Virginia and lived there until age 6, when her family moved back to her parents' hometown of Indianapolis, Indian ...

; Nonfiction:

Darryl Pinckney Darryl Pinckney (born 1953 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American novelist, playwright, and essayist. Early life Pinckney grew up in a middle-class African-American family in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he attended local public schools. He wa ...

(nonfiction/fiction); Plays:

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

Elsewhere

Premio Nadal Premio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on 6 January since 1944. The Josep Pla Award for Catalan literature is given at the same ceremony. ...

: Manuel Vicent, ''Balada de Caín''

References

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