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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2015.


Events

*
January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Co ...
– The
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
(BBC) launches a six-part
television miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
of
Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
's Booker Prize-winning novels ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a symp ...
'' and ''
Bring Up the Bodies ''Bring Up the Bodies'' is an historical novel by Hilary Mantel; sequel to the award-winning ''Wolf Hall;'' and part of a trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry VIII. It won the 2 ...
''. *
March 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem ''Shahnameh''. *1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bour ...
– The BBC launches a new television series of
Winston Graham Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE, born Winston Grime (30 June 1908 – 10 July 2003), was an English novelist best known for the Poldark series of historical novels set in Cornwall, though he also wrote numerous other works, including contemporary ...
's ''
Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, published from 1945 to 1953 and continued from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was adapted twice fo ...
'' novels. *
March 10 Events Pre-1600 * 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. * 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a t ...
Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. He has received numerous literary prizes including the European Union Prize for Literature and Janusz A. Zajdel Award. Career He was born on 30 July 1974 in ...
's
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
novel ''
The Old Axolotl ''The Old Axolotl'' ( pl, Starość aksolotla) is a 2015 Electronic literature, digital-only novel by Polish science-fiction author Jacek Dukaj. The novel was released in Polish on March 10, 2015, and shortly afterward, on March 24 that year, in ...
'' is published in its original Polish version as ' as purely
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature encompassing works created exclusively on and for digital devices, such as computers, tablets, and mobile phones. A work of electronic literature can be defined as "a constr ...
including
hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typi ...
and 3D printable character models. *
March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. *1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends ...
Kim Thúy Kim Thúy Ly Thanh, CQ (born 1968 in Saigon, South Vietnam)
's novel '' Ru'' wins the 2015 edition of ''
Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...
''. *
July 7 Events Pre-1600 * 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks. * 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her execution. * 1520 – Spanish ''conquistado ...
Jeff Lindsay releases his final novel in the "Dexter" series, writing off
Dexter Morgan {{More citations needed, date=August 2016 {{Infobox character , color = red , name = Dexter Morgan , series = Dexter , image = Dexter Morgan.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan , first = Novels:''Darkly Dr ...
two years after the final episode in the
television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
. *c.
October 14 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings. * 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's i ...
– Start of
Causeway Bay Books disappearances The Causeway Bay Books disappearances are a series of international disappearances concerning five staff members of Causeway Bay Books, a former bookstore located in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Between October and December 2015, five staff of ...
: Five staff of the political bookseller Causeway Bay Books in
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, go missing, apparently detained by mainland Chinese authorities. *
November 10 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * 937 – Ten Kingdoms: Li Bian usurps the throne and deposes Emperor Yang ...
– The
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
of the
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
acquires its twelve millionth book, a unique copy of Shelley's subversive ''
Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things "Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things" is an essay by Percy Bysshe Shelley published in 1811. The work was lost since its first appearance until a copy was found in 2006 and made available by the Bodleian Library in 2015. The anti-war an ...
'' by a "Gentleman of the University of Oxford", published in
1811 Events January–March * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón Brid ...
. *
November 25 Events Pre-1600 *571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates the first of his three triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans. *1034 – Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. His grandson, Donnchad, son of Bethó ...
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
's Media Development Authority lifts prohibitions on 240 publications under the Undesirable Publications Act. *''unknown date'' – English author
Iain Pears Iain George Pears (born 8 August 1955) is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. Personal life Pears was born on 8 August 1955 in Coventry, England. He was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick. He studied ...
' novel ''Arcadia'' is accompanied as an electronic book by an interactive app allowing readers to switch between multiple narratives.


Anniversaries

*
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 ...
– 50th anniversary of the death of Anglo-American poet T. S. Eliot *
April 23 Events Pre-1600 * 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. * 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southe ...
– Centenary of the death of English poet
Rupert Brooke Rupert Chawner Brooke (3 August 1887 – 23 April 1915)The date of Brooke's death and burial under the Julian calendar that applied in Greece at the time was 10 April. The Julian calendar was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. was an En ...
, on active service *
June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...
– Centenary of the publication of T. S. Eliot's "
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", commonly known as "Prufrock", is the first professionally published poem by American-born British poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). Eliot began writing "Prufrock" in February 1910, and it was first publishe ...
" *
June 10 Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. *1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I ...
– Centenary of
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; 10 July 1915 – 5 April 2005) was a Canadian-born American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize for Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only wr ...
's birth *
June 13 Events Pre-1600 * 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Licinius, Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. *1325 – Ib ...
– 150th anniversary of
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, who was born on this date in 1865 *
September 26 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus. * 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne. * 1087 – William II is cro ...
– 75th anniversary of his death of
Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin (; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. An eclectic thinker, combining elements of German idealism, Romanticism, Western Marxism, and Jewish mys ...
*October – Centenary of the publication of
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...
's ''
The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...
'' (''Die Verwandlung''). *
November 26 Events Pre-1600 * 783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her king from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. *1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dynasty ...
– 150th anniversary of the publication of
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland), Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a ...
'' *
October 21 Events Pre-1600 *1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade. *1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of A ...
– 75th anniversary of the publication of
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 ...
's ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' *
December 21 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. * 1124 – Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning of Pope Cele ...
– 75th anniversary of the death of American novelist
F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
*
December 23 Events Pre-1600 * 484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity. * 558 – Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks. * 583 – Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque. * 962 &ndas ...
– Bicentenary of the publication of
Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...
's ''
Emma Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * Emma (1932 film), ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * Emma (1996 theatrical film), ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * Emma (1996 TV film), '' ...
''


New books

''The date in brackets after a title refers to U.S. publication unless otherwise stated.''


Fiction

* Rabai al-Madhoun – ''Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Naqba'' *
André Alexis André Alexis (born 15 January 1957 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Canadian writer who grew up in Ottawa and lives in Toronto, Ontario.
– ''
Fifteen Dogs ''Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue'' is a novel by Canadian writer André Alexis. Published by Coach House Books in 2015, the novel was the winner of the 2015 Scotiabank Giller PrizeIan McGillis, "Andre Alexis wins Giller Prize for Fifteen Dogs". ''Sask ...
'' *
Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born in Lima, 2 August 1942) is a Chilean writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the genre magical realism, is known for novels such as ''The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...
– ''El amante japonés'' (The Japanese Lover) *
Claudia Amengual Claudia Amengual Puceiro (born 7 January 1969, in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan writer and translator. She is a recipient of the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize. Biography She obtained her degrees in translation and literature at the University ...
– '' Cartagena'' (April 28) *
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, nin ...
– '' The Heart Goes Last'' *
Leigh Bardugo Leigh Bardugo ( he, לי ברדוגו) is an Israeli-American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the ''Shadow and Bone'' trilogy, the ''Six of Crows'' duology, and the '' King of Scars'' duolo ...
– ''
Six of Crows ''Six of Crows'' is a fantasy novel written by the Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo and published by Henry Holt and Co. in 2015. The story follows a thieving crew and is primarily set in the city of Ketterdam, which is loosely inspired by ...
'' *
Paul Beatty Paul Beatty (born June 9, 1962) is an American author and an associate professor of writing at Columbia University. In 2016, he won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Booker Prize for his novel '' The Sellout''. It was the first time ...
– '' The Sellout'' (March 3) *
Pierce Brown Pierce Brown (January 28, 1988) is an American science fiction author who writes the ''Red Rising'' series, consisting of '' Red Rising'' (2014), '' Golden Son'' (2015), ''Morning Star'' (2016), ''Iron Gold'' (2018) and '' Dark Age'' (2019). Pe ...
– ''
Golden Son ''Golden Son'' is a 2015 science fiction novel by American author Pierce Brown, the second in his ''Red Rising'' trilogy. The sequel to 2014's ''Red Rising'', ''Golden Son'' continues to follow lowborn Darrow's plan to destroy the Society from ...
'' (January 6) *
Graeme Macrae Burnet Graeme Macrae Burnet (born October 1967) is a Scottish writer, whose novels have won and been nominated for several awards. He has also written occasionally for ''The Guardian'', ''The Observer'' and ''Le Monde''. His first novel, ''The Disappea ...
– ''
His Bloody Project ''His Bloody Project: Documents relating to the case of Roderick Macrae'' is a 2015 novel by Graeme Macrae Burnet. Using fictional historical documents, it tells the story of a 17-year-old boy named Roderick "Roddy" Macrae, who commits a triple h ...
'' (UK, November 6) * Mark Z. Danielewski **'' The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May'' (May 12) **'' The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest'' (Oct 27) *
Mathias Énard Mathias Énard (born 1972) is a French novelist. He studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several awa ...
– ''Boussole'' (Compass) *
Lissa Evans Felicity Kenvyn (known as Lissa Evans) is a British television director, producer, novelist and children's author. After qualifying as a doctor in 1983, Evans worked in medicine in Newcastle for four years before a brief period in stand-up, be ...
– ''Crooked Heart'' (UK, December) *
Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...
– ''
Beginners ''Beginners'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Mills. It tells the story of a man reflecting on the life and death of his father, while trying to forge a new romantic relationship with a woman dealing w ...
'' (September 15) *
Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. She has published seven novels, many short stories and a non-fiction work called ''Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood'', about the birth of her two children. Her writing explo ...
– '' The Green Road'' *
Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'', a sprawling, satirical family drama, drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Pr ...
– ''Purity'' (September 1) * Sarah Hall – ''The Wolf Border'' (UK) * Paula Hawkins – '' The Girl on the Train'' (January 13) *
Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes,'' inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the ...
– '' The Illegal'' *
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American-Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of ''The World According to G ...
– '' Avenue of Mysteries'' (November 3) *
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 ...
– ''
The Buried Giant ''The Buried Giant'' is a fantasy fiction, fantasy novel by the Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published in March 2015. The novel follows an elderly Celtic Britons, Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice ...
'' (March 3) *
Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, singer, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She w ...
– ''The First Bad Man'' (January 13) *
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 ...
**''
Finders Keepers Finders, keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders, keepers; losers, weepers, is an English language, English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first can claim it for themself pe ...
'' (June 2) **''
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams ''The Bazaar of Bad Dreams'' is a short fiction collection by Stephen King, published on November 3, 2015. This is King's sixth collection of short stories and his tenth collection overall. One of the stories, "Obits", won the 2016 Edgar Award fo ...
'' (November 3) *
Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926February 19, 2016) was an American novelist best known for her 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. It won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and has become a classic of modern American literature. Lee has received numero ...
– ''
Go Set a Watchman ''Go Set a Watchman'' is a novel written by Harper Lee before her Pulitzer Prize-winning ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1960), her only other published novel. Although ''Go Set a Watchman'' was initially promoted as a sequel by its publisher, it i ...
'' (July 14; written c.1955) *
Sarah J. Maas Sarah Janet Maas (born March 5, 1986) is an American fantasy author known for her fantasy series '' Throne of Glass'' and '' A Court of Thorns and Roses''. As of 2022, she has sold over twelve million copies of her books and her work has been ...
– ''
A Court of Thorns and Roses ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' is a new adult fantasy novel series by American author Sarah J. Maas, beginning with the novel of the same name, released in May 2015. The story follows the journey of mortal Feyre Archeron after she is brought int ...
'' *
Michael Livingston Michael Livingston is a historian, a professor of medieval literature, and a historical fantasy novelist. His 2015 debut novel, '' The Shards of Heaven'', was followed by two sequels. Early life, education and career Originally from Colorado, ...
– ''
The Shards of Heaven ''The Shards of Heaven'' is a 2015 historical fantasy debut novel by Michael Livingston. It chronicles Octavian's war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra, seen from the perspective of the minor historical figures who surround them. Plot Years af ...
'' (November 24) *
Tom McCarthy Thomas McCarthy (also Tom and Tommy) may refer to: Academia *Thomas A. McCarthy (born 1940), American professor of philosophy *Thomas J. McCarthy (born 1956), American professor of polymer chemistry at the University of Massachusetts *J. Thomas Mc ...
– '' Satin Island'' (UK) * Ian McDonald – '' Luna: New Moon'' (September 17) *
Lisa McInerney Lisa McInerney is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor and screenwriter. She is best known for her novel, '' The Glorious Heresies'', which was the 2016 winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Biography McInerney was born ...
– ''The Glorious Heresies'' (April) *
Henning Mankell Henning Georg Mankell (; 3February 19485October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of ...
(d. October 15) – ' (Sweden; translated as ''After the Fire'', 2017) *
Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...
– ''
God Help the Child ''God Help the Child'' is the 11th novel by American writer Toni Morrison. News of the book, as well as the title and opening line, were released in December 2014. The novel's original title, preferred by Morrison herself, is ''The Wrath of Child ...
'' (April 21) *
Ottessa Moshfegh Ottessa Charlotte Moshfegh (; born May 20, 1981) is an American author and novelist. Her debut novel, ''Eileen'' (2015), won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and was a fiction finalist for the National Boo ...
– ''
Eileen Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín and may refer to: People Artists *Eileen Agar (1899–1991), British Surrealist painter and photographer *Eileen Fisher (born 1950), clothing retailer and designer *Eileen ...
'' (August) *
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...
(村上 春樹) – ''Wind/Pinball: Two Novels'' (August 4) *
Viet Thanh Nguyen The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lang ...
– ''
The Sympathizer ''The Sympathizer'' is the 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese-American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen. It is a best-selling novel and recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel received generally positive acclaim from critics, and it w ...
'' *
Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Fishermen'' (2015) and ''An Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of public ...
– '' The Fishermen'' * Max Porter – ''Grief is the Thing with Feathers'' (UK, September 17) *
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 lan ...
– ''
A Strangeness in My Mind ''A Strangeness in My Mind'' ( tr, Kafamda Bir Tuhaflık) is a 2014 novel by Orhan Pamuk. It is the author's ninth novel. Knopf Doubleday published the English translation by Ekin Oklap in the U.S.,Sunjeev Sahota Sunjeev Sahota (born 1981) is a British novelist whose first novel, ''Ours are the Streets'', was published in January 2011 and whose second novel, ''The Year of the Runaways'', was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and was awarded a Eu ...
– ''
The Year of the Runaways ''The Year of the Runaways'' is the second novel by British author Sunjeev Sahota. Published in June 2015, it was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and was awarded with a European Union Prize for Literature in 2017 (for the UK). The n ...
'' (UK, June) *
John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been nom ...
– ''
The End of All Things "The End of All Things" is the fourteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science-fiction drama television series ''Fringe'', and the series' 79th episode overall. In the episode, the fringe team investigates Olivia's (Anna Torv) di ...
'' (August 11) *
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 t ...
– '' The Disappeared'' (March 5) *
Joss Sheldon Joss Sheldon (born 7 April 1982, Barnet, UK) is an author who has released five novels; ''Individutopia'' (2018), ''Money Power Love'' (2017), ''The Little Voice'' (2016), ''Occupied'' (2015) and ''Involution & Evolution'' (2014). He released his fi ...
– ''Occupied'' (UK, October 20) *
Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, postcyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work exp ...
– ''
Seveneves ''Seveneves'' is a hard science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson published in 2015. The story tells of the desperate efforts to preserve ''Homo sapiens'' in the wake of apocalyptic events on Earth after the unexplained disintegration of the Moo ...
'' (May 19) *
Anne Tyler Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-four novels, including ''Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'' (1982), ''The Accidental Tourist'' (1985), and '' Breathin ...
– ''
A Spool of Blue Thread ''A Spool of Blue Thread'', published in 2015, is Anne Tyler’s 20th novel. Summary Tyler's story encompasses three generations of the Whitshank family, wandering back and forth over 7 decades of the 20th century. As in many of her previous nov ...
'' *
Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, ''The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Can ...
– ''Daddy Lenin and Other Stories'' *Sarai Walker – ''
Dietland ''Dietland'' is the debut novel by Sarai Walker that was first published on May 26, 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The novel explores the beauty industry and society's obsession with weight loss. A television adaptation of the novel by M ...
'' (May 26) *
Hanya Yanagihara Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974) is an American novelist, editor, and travel writer. She grew up in Hawaii. She is best known for her bestselling novel ''A Little Life'', which was shortlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize, and for being the editor-in-ch ...
– ''
A Little Life ''A Little Life'' is a 2015 novel by American writer Hanya Yanagihara. Despite its length and difficult subject matters, it became a critically acclaimed best seller. Structure ''A Little Life'' follows a chronological narrative with flashbacks ...
''


Children and young people

*Kevan Atteberry – '' Bunnies!!!'' *Bob Barner - '' Sea Bones'' *
Janeen Brian Janeen Brian (born 1948), is a South Australian writer of children's books. A primary school teacher prior to 1990, when she started writing full time, she published her 100th book in September, 2016. Brian's work for middle school children ''Y ...
- ''
I’m A Hungry Dinosaur ''I'm a Hungry Dinosaur'' is a 2015 children's picture book written by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Ann James. It is about a small dinosaur that makes a mess baking and eating a cake. Publication history *2015, Australia, Penguin Books *2016 ...
'' *
Sarah Crossan Sarah Crossan is an Irish author. She is best known for her books for young adults, including ''Apple and Rain'' and ''One'', for which she has won several awards. Biography Crossan graduated from Warwick University in 1999 with a degree in Phi ...
– ''
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
'' (verse, UK, August 27) * Nadia Fink (illustrated by Pitu Saá) – ''Frida Kahlo for Girls and Boys (Frida Kahlo para chicas y chicos)'' (Argentina, June, first in '' Anti-Princess Series (Colección antiprincesas)'') *
Peter Goes Peter Goes (born 1968) is a Belgian author and illustrator of children's stories. His best known book is ''Timeline'', described by ''Financial Times'' as "hugely informative, hugely entertaining." Goes was born in Ghent. He has worked as a sta ...
– ''Timeline'' *
Jane Godwin Jane Godwin (born 1964 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian author, and is a publisher at Penguin Books Australia for children and young adult books. Godwin has sole-authored fifteen books which have been published internationally, and she ...
– ''
The True Story of Mary ''The True Story of Mary: Who Wanted To Stand On Her Head'' is a 2005 Children's chapter book by Jane Godwin. It is a rhyming story about a girl called Mary who, upon standing on her head, has a number of adventures. Godwin described it as "pro ...
'' *
Frances Hardinge Frances Hardinge (born 1973) is a British children's writer. Her debut novel, '' Fly By Night'', won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the ''School Library Journal'' Best Books. Her 2015 novel '' The Lie Tree'' won the 201 ...
– '' The Lie Tree'' (UK, May 7) *Moriah McStay – '' Everything That Makes You'' *
Carol Morley Carol Anne Morley (born 14 January 1966) is an English film director, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her semi-documentary ''Dreams of a Life'', released in 2011, about Joyce Carol Vincent, who died in her North London bedsit i ...
– ''7 Miles Out'' *
Barry Moser Barry Moser (born 1940) is an American artist and educator, known as a printmaker specializing in wood engravings, and an illustrator of numerous works of literature. He is also the owner and operator of the Pennyroyal Press, an engraving and smal ...
– ''We Were Brothers'' *
Lesléa Newman Lesléa Newman (born November 5, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York City) is an American author, editor, and feminist. Four of her young adult novels have been finalists for the Lambda Literary Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, making her ...
– ''
Ketzel, the Cat who Composed ''Ketzel, the Cat who Composed'' is a children's picture book by Lesléa Newman. Based on a true story, it is about the friendship between Moshe Cotel and a kitten, Ketzel, who composes a musical piece that Cotel enters into a music competition a ...
'' *
Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...
– '' The Grasshopper & the Ants'' *
Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Junior (; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million co ...
**''
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an es ...
'' (August 18) **''
The Sword of Summer ''The Sword of Summer'' is a young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on October 6, 2015, by Disney Hyperion, and is the first novel in the ''Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard ...
'' (October 6) *R. A. Spratt - ''
Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion ''Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion'' is a 2015 Children's novel by R. A. Spratt. It is the second book in the '' Friday Barnes'' book series and continues the adventures of Friday, a boarding school girl, who solves mysteries. Publication history ...
'' *Yasmine Surovec – '' My Pet Human''


Poetry


Drama

*
Annie Baker Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and teacher who won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her play ''The Flick.'' Among her works are the Shirley, Vermont plays, which take place in the fictional town of Shirley: ''Circle Mirror Tr ...
– ''John'' *
David Hare David Hare may refer to: *David Hare (philanthropist) (1775–1842), Scottish philanthropist *David Hare (artist) (1917–1992), American sculptor and photographer *David Hare (playwright) (born 1947), English playwright and theatre and film direc ...
– ''
The Moderate Soprano ''The Moderate Soprano'' is a 2015 play by the British playwright David Hare. It is a historical play dealing with John Christie, his founding of Glyndebourne Opera and his romance and marriage with Audrey Mildmay, the eponymous soprano. The pre ...
'' *
Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...
– ''
Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweating, is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribut ...
'' *
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 ...
– ''
The Hard Problem ''The Hard Problem'' is a play by British playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, first produced in 2015. The title refers to the hard problem of consciousness, which Stoppard defines as having "subjective First Person experiences"; he notes the strangen ...
'' (UK, February 5)


Non-fiction

* Elizabeth Alexander – ''The Light of the World: A Memoir'' *
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...
– ''Archives'' *
Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatus ...
– ''Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl'' *
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
– ''Because We Say So'' *
Kate Christensen Kate Christensen (born August 22, 1962) is an American novelist. She won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her fourth novel, '' The Great Man'', about a painter and the three women in his life. Her previous novels are ''In the Drink'' ...
– '' How To Cook A Moose: A Culinary Memoir'' *
Alexa Clay Alexa Clay (born March 21, 1984 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is a writer, public speaker and researcher with a focus on subculture, informal economy, and new economic thinking. Clay is the co-author of '' The Misfit Economy'', a book published by ...
and Kyra Maya Phillips – '' The Misfit Economy'' *
Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...
- ''
Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It is written as a letter to the author's teenage son about the feelings, symbolism, and realities associated wit ...
'' (July) *
Isaac Deutscher Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
– ''The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky'' *
Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...
– ''Girl in a Band'' *
Greg Grandin Greg Grandin (born 1962) is a professor of history at Yale University. He previously taught at New York University. He is author of a number of books, including ''Fordlândia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City'', which was ...
– ''Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman'' *
Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, Presbyterian minister, author, and commentator. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Mon ...
– ''Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt'' * Tameka Hobbs - '' Democracy Abroad, Lynching At Home'' * Robert Hughes – ''The Spectacle of Skill: Selected Writings'' (November 17) *
W. Chan Kim W. Chan Kim (; born 1951) is a South Korean business theorist. He is a Professor of Strategy and Management at INSEAD, and co-director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute in Fontainebleau, France. He is known as co-author of the 2005 book ...
and Renée Mauborgne – ''
Blue Ocean Strategy ''Blue Ocean Strategy'' is a book published in 2004 written by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, and the name of the marketing theory detailed on the book. They assert that these strategic moves create a leap in value for ...
'' (expanded edition) *
B. B. Lal Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advanced ...
– '' The Rigvedic People: Invaders? Immigrants? or Indigenous?'' *
Zachary Leader Zachary Leader (born 1946) is an Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton. He was an undergraduate at Northwestern University, and did graduate work at Trinity College, Cambridge and Harvard University, where he was a ...
– ''The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915–1964'' *
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...
– ''Plunder and Deceit'' * Bethany McLean – ''Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants'' *
Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...
– ''Curiosity'' (literary criticism) *
Minae Mizumura is a Japanese novelist. Among other literary awards, she has won the Noma Literary New Face Prize and the Yomiuri Prize. Early life Born into a middle-class family in Tokyo, she moved to Long Island, New York at the age of twelve. Her years ...
(translated by
Mari Yoshihara is an American academic. She is a professor of American studies, American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and specializes in American cultural history and Foreign relations of the United States, US-Asian relations. She is also an am ...
and
Juliet Winters Carpenter Juliet Winters Carpenter (born 1948) is an American translator of modern Japanese literature. Born in the American Midwest, she studied Japanese literature at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studie ...
) – '' The Fall of Language in the Age of English'' *
Maggie Nelson Maggie Nelson (born 1973) is an American writer. She has been described as a genre-busting writer defying classification, working in autobiography, art criticism, theory, feminism, queerness, sexual violence, the history of the avant-garde, ae ...
– ''The Argonauts'' *
Jay Parini Jay Parini (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels, poetry, biography, screenplays and criticism. He has published novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, Paul the Apostle, and Herman Melville. Early l ...
– ''Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal'' *
Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and ...
– ''The Givenness of Things: Essays'' (October 27) *
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...
– ''Gratitude'' *
Ruth Scurr Ruth Scurr, Lady Stothard FRSL is a British writer, historian and literary critic. She is a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. She was educated at St Bernard's Convent, Slough; Oxford University, Cambridge University and the Eco ...
– ''John Aubrey: My Own Life'' *
Steve Silberman Steve Silberman is an American writer for ''Wired (magazine), Wired'' magazine and has been an editor and contributor there for 14 years. In 2010, Silberman was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS "Kavli Science ...
– ''The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity'' *
Aaron Swartz Aaron Hillel Swartz (November 8, 1986 – January 11, 2013) was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist. A prolific programmer, Swartz helped develop the web feed format RSS, the tech ...
– ''The Boy Who Could Change the World: The Writings of Aaron Swartz'' (November 26, UK) *
Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is a contemporary English artist, master potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or th ...
– ''The White Road. A Pilgrimage of Sorts'' (porcelain) *
Jim Wallis James E. Wallis Jr. (born June 4, 1948) is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and editor of ''Sojourners'' magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian commun ...
– '' America's Original Sin'' *
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom ''The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive Emm ...
- '' The Bassoon King''


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 ...
Miller Williams Stanley Miller Williams (April 8, 1930January 1, 2015) was an American contemporary poet, as well as a translator and editor. He produced over 25 books and won several awards for his poetry. His accomplishments were chronicled in ''Arkansas Biog ...
, American poet, 84 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) *
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 ...
Michele Serros Michele Marie Serros (February 10, 1966 – January 4, 2015) was an American author, poet and comedic social commentator. Hailed as "a Woman to Watch in the New Century" by ''Newsweek'',1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
) *
January 10 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the be ...
Robert Stone, American novelist, 77 (born
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
) *
January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. *1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned s ...
John Bayley, novelist and critic, 89 (born
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
) *
January 25 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate. * 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dynasty ...
John Leggett John Ward Leggett (November 11, 1917 – January 25, 2015) was an American writer who served as the third director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop from 1970 to 1987. Biography Leggett was born in Manhattan to Bleecker Noel Leggett, a real estate ma ...
, American author and academic, 97 (born
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
) *
January 27 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to becom ...
Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...
, American linguist and science fiction author, 78 (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession o ...
Lionel Gilbert Lionel Arthur Gilbert CF (8 December 1924 – 28 January 2015) was an Australian historian, author, curator, lecturer, and biographer, specializing in applied, natural, and local history. Born in Burwood, New South Wales, he studied at Syd ...
, Australian historian, author, and academic, 90 (born
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...
) *
January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler o ...
Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being ''The Thorn Birds'' and ''The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Life ...
, Australian author, 77 (born
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...
) *
February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop. 1601–1900 * 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of ...
**
André Brink André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town. In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...
, South African novelist and professor of literature, (born
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...
) **
Assia Djebar Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (30 June 1936 – 6 February 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar ( ar, آسيا جبار), was an Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker. Most of her works deal with obstacles faced by women, and she is noted fo ...
, Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker, (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) *
February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. *1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th. *1462 – The ...
Faith Bandler Faith Bandler (27 September 1918 13 February 2015; née Ida Lessing Faith Mussing) was an Australian civil rights activist of South Sea Islander and Scottish-Indian heritage. A campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians and South Sea ...
, Australian author and civil rights activist, 96 (born
1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...
) *
February 14 Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. * 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis ...
Philip Levine, American poet laureate, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
) *
February 23 Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone of a ...
James Aldridge Harold Edward James Aldridge (10 July 1918 – 23 February 2015) was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, ...
, Australian-born British novelist and journalist, 96 (born
1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...
) *
February 26 Events Pre-1600 *747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events. * 364 – Valentinian I is p ...
**
Fritz J. Raddatz Fritz Joachim Raddatz (3 September 1931 – 26 February 2015) was a German feuilletonist, essayist, biographer, journalist and romancier. Life Fritz Raddatz was born in Berlin. His mother, according to Raddatz a "Parisienne from a rich family ...
, German
feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...
writer, essayist and biographer (suicide, born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) **
Avijit Roy Avijit Roy ( bn, অভিজিৎ রায়; 12 September 1972 – 26 February 2015) was a Bangladeshi-American engineer, online activist, writer and blogger known for creating and administrating the '' Mukto-Mona'', an Internet community ...
, Bangladeshi-American writer, 42 (stabbed, born
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
) *
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 ...
Yaşar Kemal Yaşar Kemal (born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a Turkish writer and human rights activist and one of Turkey's leading writers. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the Nobel ...
, Turkish writer and intellectual (born
1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
) *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of the Cat ...
– Sir
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 ...
, English author of fantasy novels, 66 (
posterior cortical atrophy Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also called Benson's syndrome, is a rare form of dementia which is considered a visual variant or an atypical variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The disease causes atrophy of the posterior part of the cerebral ...
, born
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
) *
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 ...
Grace Ogot Grace Emily Ogot (née Akinyi; 15 May 1930 – 18 March 2015) was a Kenyan author, nurse, journalist, politician and diplomat. Together with Charity Waciuma she was the first Anglophone female Kenyan writer to be published.Mike Kuria, ed. ''Tal ...
, Kenyan writer, 84 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) *
March 24 Events Pre-1600 * 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6. *1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off ...
Alan Seymour Alan Seymour (6 June 192723 March 2015) was an Australian playwright and author. He is best known for the play ''The One Day of the Year'' (1958). His international reputation rests not only on this early play, but also on his many screenplays, ...
, Australian playwright, 87 (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...
)Marc McEvoy, obituary: "The one day of the year became a defining moment in writer's life". ''The Age'', 30 March 2015, p. 34 *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 1021 – On the feast of Eid al-Adha, the death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret for six weeks, is ...
Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long Swedish winters, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer's ...
, Swedish poet, translator, and Nobel prizewinner, 83 (born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) *
April 9 Events Pre-1600 * 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum. * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, s ...
Ivan Doig Ivan Doig (; June 27, 1939 – April 9, 2015) was an American author and novelist, widely known for his sixteen fiction and non-fiction books set mostly in his native Montana, celebrating the landscape and people of the post-war American West. W ...
, American novelist, 75 (born
1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...
). *
April 13 Events Pre-1600 *1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. * 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. 1601–1900 *1612 – In one of the epic samurai ...
**
Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "global soccer's pre-eminent man of letters" and "a literary giant of the Latin American left". Galean ...
, Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist, 74 (lung cancer, born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) **
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...
, German novelist, poet, playwright, and Nobel prizewinner, 87 (lung infection, born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...
) *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscar ...
Rosemary Tonks Rosemary Tonks (17 October 1928 – 15 April 2014) was an English poet and author. After publishing two poetry collections, six novels, and pieces in numerous media outlets, she disappeared from the public eye after her conversion to Fundamentali ...
, English poet and novelist, 85 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
) *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
, English crime and thriller writer, 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
William Zinsser William Knowlton Zinsser (October 7, 1922 – May 12, 2015) was an American writer, editor, literary critic, and teacher. He began his career as a journalist for the ''New York Herald Tribune'', where he worked as a feature writer, drama editor, ...
American journalist and critic (born
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
) *
May 20 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. * 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose her ...
J. S. Harry J. S. Harry or Jan Harry (4 January 1939 – 20 May 2015) was an Australian poet described as "one of Australian poetry’s keenest satirists, political and social commentators, and perhaps its most ethical agent and antagonist." J. S. Harry was ...
, Australian poet, 76 (born
1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...
) *
May 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry VI ...
Moyra Caldecott Moyra Caldecott (1 June 1927 – 23 May 2015)Kevan Manwaring"Moyra Caldecott obituary" ''The Guardian'', 8 June 2005. was a British author of historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and non-fiction. Her works include ''Guardians of the Tall ...
, English writer, 87 (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...
) *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. *1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle chang ...
James Salter James Arnold Horowitz (June 10, 1925 – June 19, 2015), better known as James Salter, his pen name and later-adopted legal name, was an American novelist and short-story writer. Originally a career officer and pilot in the United States Air For ...
, American novelist and short-story writer, 90 (born
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...
) *
July 21 Events Pre-1600 * 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. * 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became the ...
E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...
, American novelist, 84 (born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) *
July 31 Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. * 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...
Alan Cheuse Alan Stuart Cheuse (January 23, 1940 – July 31, 2015) was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and n ...
, American writer and radio reviewer, 75 (born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) *
August 30 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. * 1282 – Peter III of Aragon lands at Trapani to intervene in the War of the Sicilian Vespers. * 1363 – The five-week Battle of Lake ...
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Uni ...
, British neurologist and author (''
Awakenings ''Awakenings'' is a 1990 American drama film directed by Penny Marshall. It is written by Steven Zaillian, who based his screenplay on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir ''Awakenings''. It tells the story of neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams ...
''), 82 (born
1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...
) *
October 2 Events Pre-1600 * 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. * 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia and ot ...
Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription req ...
, Irish playwright and short-story writer, 86 (born
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
) *
October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...
Henning Mankell Henning Georg Mankell (; 3February 19485October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a number of ...
, Swedish novelist, children’s author and playwright, 67 (born
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...
) *
October 7 Events Pre-1600 * 3761 BC – The epoch reference date (start) of the modern Hebrew calendar. * 1403 – Venetian–Genoese wars: The Genoese fleet under a French admiral is defeated by a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon. * 1477 ...
W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
) *
October 18 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation. * 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek philos ...
**
Gamal El-Ghitani Gamal al-Ghitani, ( ar, جمال الغيطانى, ; 9 May 1945 – 18 October 2015) was an Egyptian author of historical and political novels and cultural and political commentaries and was the editor-in-chief of the literary periodical ''Akhba ...
, Egyptian novelist and cultural critic, 70 (born
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...
) ** Paul West, English-born American novelist, poet and essayist, 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) *
November 30 Events Pre-1600 * 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900 * 1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the Br ...
: **
Dan Fante Daniel Smart Fante (February 19, 1944 – November 23, 2015) was an American author and playwright. He was born in Los Angeles. Biography Fante was the son of novelist John Fante whose writing came back into vogue after Charles Bukowski decla ...
, American author and playwright, 71 (born
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
) **
Hazel Holt Hazel Holt (nee Young, 3 September 1928 – 23 November 2015) was a British novelist. She studied at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, and then Newnham College, Cambridge. She went on to work at the International Afric ...
, English novelist, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...
) *
November 30 Events Pre-1600 * 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900 * 1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the Br ...
Fatema Mernissi Fatema Mernissi ( ar, فاطمة مرنيسي, Fāṭima Marnīsī; 27 September 1940 – 30 November 2015) was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist. Biography Fatema Mernissi was born on 27 September 1940 in Fez, Morocco. She grew up in t ...
, Moroccan scholar and writer, 75 (born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...
) *
December 5 Events Pre-1600 *63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations. * 633 – Fourth Council of Toledo opens, presided over by Isidore of Seville. * 1033 – The Jordan Rift Valley earthquake destroys multiple ...
William McIlvanney William McIlvanney (25 November 1936 – 5 December 2015) was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works ''Laidlaw'', ' ...
, Scottish novelist, short-story writer and poet, 79 (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) *
December 9 Events Pre-1600 * 536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. * 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al- ...
Akiyuki Nosaka was a Japanese novelist, singer, lyricist, and member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he used the name and his alias as a chanson singer was . Early life Nosaka was born in Kamakura, Kanagawa, the son of Sukeyuki Nosak ...
, Japanese writer (''
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese animated war tragedy film based on a 1967 short story by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and animated by Studio Ghibli for Shinchosha Publishing. The film stars , , and . Set in the city o ...
''), 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...
) *
December 16 Events Pre-1600 * 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. * 755 ...
-
Peter Dickinson Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL (16 December 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories. Dickinson won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...
, English author and poet (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...
)


Awards

*
Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History The ...
, Japan:
Masatsugu Ono is a Japanese writer. He resides in Ōita Prefecture and is associate professor at the Rikkyo University. He was awarded the 152nd Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the con ...
for ' (''A Prayer Nine Years Ago'') *
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
, U.S.: ''
A Brief History of Seven Killings ''A Brief History of Seven Killings'' is the third novel by Jamaican author Marlon James (novelist), Marlon James. It was published in 2014 by Riverhead Books. The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley ...
'' by Marlon James *
Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...
: ''
How to Be Both ''How to Be Both'' is a 2014 novel in Scotland, novel by Scottish author Ali Smith, first published by Hamish Hamilton. It was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize. It won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize, the Novel Award ...
'' by
Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 Au ...
*
Caine Prize for African Writing The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...
:
Namwali Serpell Carla Namwali Serpell (born 1980) is an American and Zambian writer who teaches in the United States. In April 2014, she was named on Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with the potential and talent to de ...
, ''The Sack'' *
Camões Prize The Camões Prize (Portuguese, ''Prémio Camões'', ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese ''Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bib ...
, Portugal:
Hélia Correia Hélia Correia (born 1949) is a Portuguese novelist, playwright, poet and translator. Early life Correia was born in Lisbon in February 1949, and raised in Mafra, her mother's home town. Her father was an anti-fascist who was arrested before her bi ...
*
David Cohen Prize The David Cohen Prize for Literature (est. 1993) is a British literary award given to a writer, novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist or dramatist in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language. The prize is fund ...
:
Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse w ...
*
Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...
, Canada: Alex Leslie *
Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...
, U.K.: '' Our Endless Numbered Days'' by
Claire Fuller Claire Fuller (born 9 February 1967 in Oxfordshire) is an English author. She won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for her first novel, '' Our Endless Numbered Days'', the BBC Opening Lines Short Story Competition in 2014, and the Royal Academy & ...
*
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South AsiaNote: South Asia for the purposes of the prize is defined as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka ...
: ''The Lowland'' by Jhumpa Lahiri, India *
Folio Prize The Rathbones Folio Prize, previously known as the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting in 2017 the sponsor is ...
, U.K.: ''Family Life'' by
Akhil Sharma Akhil Sharma (born July 22, 1971) is an Indian-American author and professor of creative writing. His first published novel '' An Obedient Father'' won the 2001 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. His second, ''Family Life'', won the 2015 Folio Priz ...
*
European Book Prize The European Book Prize (french: Le Prix du Livre Européen) is a European Union literary award established in 2007. It is organized by the association Esprit d'Europe in Paris. It seeks to promote European values, and to contribute to European ci ...
: Jean-Pierre Orban, ''Vera'' and, Robert Menasse, ''Der Europäische Landbote'' *
German Book Prize The German Book Prize (''Deutscher Buchpreis'') is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (''Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels'') to the best new German language novel of the year. The books, publ ...
: ''Die Erfindung der Roten Armee Fraktion durch einen manisch-depressiven Teenager im Sommer 1969'' by Frank Witzel * Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings, Macedonia:
Bei Dao Bei Dao (, born August 2, 1949) is the pen name of the Chinese-American writer Zhao Zhenkai (S: 赵振开, T: 趙振開, P: ''Zhào Zhènkāi''). Among the most acclaimed Chinese-language poets of his generation, he is often regarded as a candida ...
(China) *
Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of ...
, U.K.: ''Beatlebone'' by
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Bri ...
*
Gordon Burn Prize Gordon Burn (16 January 1948 – 17 July 2009) was an English writer born in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of four novels and several works of non-fiction. Background Burn's novels deal with issues of modern fame and faded celebrity as l ...
, U.K.: ''In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile'' by Dan Davies *
Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, ''The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Can ...
, ''Daddy Lenin and Other Stories'' *
Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...
, Canada: Nicolas Dickner, ''Six degrés de liberté'' *
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française Le Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French litera ...
: ''Les Prépondérants'' by
Hédi Kaddour Hédi Kaddour (born July 1st, 1945 in Tunis) is a French poet and novelist. Biography Hédi Kaddour was born of a Tunisian father and a French mother. Received 1st at the aggregation of modern letters, he is a translator of English, German an ...
; '' 2084: la fin du monde'' by
Boualem Sansal Boualem Sansal ( ar, بوعلام صنصال; born 15 October 1949) is an Algerian author. In 2012, he was named winner of the Prix du roman arabe, but the prize money was withdrawn due to Sansal's visit to Israel to speak at the Jerusalem Writ ...
*
International Prize for Arabic Fiction The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) ( ar, الجائزة العالمية للرواية العربية) is the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic ...
: ''The Italian'' by
Shukri Mabkhout Shukri Mabkhout, also transcribed Choukri Mabkhout, ( ar, شكري المبخوت, translit=Shukrī al-Mabkhūt; born 1962) is a Tunisian academic, critic and novelist. His 2014 debut novel, ''al-Talyānī'' ( The Italian), won the International ...
, Tunisia *
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...
: ''
Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
'' by
Jim Crace James Crace (born 1 March 1946) is an English novelist, playwright and short story writer. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999, Crace was born in Hertfordshire and has lectured at the University of Texas at Austin. His n ...
*
Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is an annual award for Irish authors of fiction, established in 1995. It was previously known as the Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year Award (1995–2000), the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Award ...
: ''Blue Is the Night'' by
Eoin McNamee Eoin McNamee (b.1961) is an Irish writer from Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland who has written numerous novels and screenplays. He was awarded the Macauley Fellowship for Irish Literature in 1990. He lives in County Sligo. Career Novell ...
*
Man 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 prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
: ''
A Brief History of Seven Killings ''A Brief History of Seven Killings'' is the third novel by Jamaican author Marlon James (novelist), Marlon James. It was published in 2014 by Riverhead Books. The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley ...
'' by Marlon James *
Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. History The prize was established in 1975 ...
:
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 ...
*
Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...
: ''
The Eye of the Sheep ''The Eye of the Sheep'' is a 2014 novel by Australian novelist Sofie Laguna Sofie Laguna (born 1968) is an Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied law before deciding that being a lawyer was not for her. She has worked as an a ...
'' by
Sofie Laguna Sofie Laguna (born 1968) is an Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied law before deciding that being a lawyer was not for her. She has worked as an actor and is now a writer and playwright. She now lives in Melbourne. Awards * ...
*
National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...
, U.S.: ''Fortune Smiles'' By Adam Johnson *
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
: Svetlana Alexievich, Belarus *PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: ''Preparation for the Next Life'' by Atticus Lish *PEN Center USA 2015 Fiction Award: Robert Thomas, ''Bridge'' *Premio Planeta de Novela, Spain: ''Hombres desnudos'' by Alicia Giménez-Bartlett; ''La isla de Alice'' by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo *Premio Strega, Italy: Nicola Lagioia *Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing, U. S.: David Hackett Fischer *Prix Goncourt: ''Boussole'' by
Mathias Énard Mathias Énard (born 1972) is a French novelist. He studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several awa ...
*Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, U.S.: ''All the Light We Cannot See'' by Anthony Doerr *Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: U.S.: ''Digest'' by Gregory Pardlo *RBC Taylor Prize, Canada: ''They Left Us Everything'' by Plum Johnson *Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, Canada:
André Alexis André Alexis (born 15 January 1957 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Canadian writer who grew up in Ottawa and lives in Toronto, Ontario.
, ''
Fifteen Dogs ''Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue'' is a novel by Canadian writer André Alexis. Published by Coach House Books in 2015, the novel was the winner of the 2015 Scotiabank Giller PrizeIan McGillis, "Andre Alexis wins Giller Prize for Fifteen Dogs". ''Sask ...
'' *Russian Booker Prize: ''Vera'' by Alexander Snegirev *SAARC Literary Award: Sitakant Mahapatra, Selina Hossain, Suman Pokhrel, Nisar Ahmad Chaudhary, Aryan Aroon *Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction, U.K.: ''Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently'' by
Steve Silberman Steve Silberman is an American writer for ''Wired (magazine), Wired'' magazine and has been an editor and contributor there for 14 years. In 2010, Silberman was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science, AAAS "Kavli Science ...
*Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada:
André Alexis André Alexis (born 15 January 1957 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Canadian writer who grew up in Ottawa and lives in Toronto, Ontario.
, ''
Fifteen Dogs ''Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue'' is a novel by Canadian writer André Alexis. Published by Coach House Books in 2015, the novel was the winner of the 2015 Scotiabank Giller PrizeIan McGillis, "Andre Alexis wins Giller Prize for Fifteen Dogs". ''Sask ...
'' *Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, U.K.: ''The Ten Thousand Things'' by John Spurling *Whiting Awards, U.S.: Fiction: Leopoldine Core, Dan Josefson, Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi; Nonfiction: Elena Passarello; Plays: Lucas Hnath, Anne Washburn; Poetry: Anthony Carelli (poet), Anthony Carelli, Aracelis Girmay, Jenny Johnson (poet), Jenny Johnson, Roger Reeves (poet), Roger Reeves *W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, U.S.: ''Redeployment (book), Redeployment'' by Phil Klay *Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award: Ryszard Krynicki


See also

*2015 in Australian literature *2015 in Japanese literature


References

{{reflist, 30em


External links


Books in 2015: the essential literary calendar
from Books , The Guardian , January 2, 2015
The most eagerly awaited fiction of 2015
from Books, The Guardian, December 29, 2014 2015 in literature, Years of the 21st century in literature