1960 in literature
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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1960. – Mervyn Griffith-Jones prosecuting in the '' Lady Chatterley's Lover'' case


Events

*February–October – ''
Astounding ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'' magazine is renamed ''
Analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analog ...
''. *Spring –
August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first book publisher of the writings of H. P. Lovecraft, and for his own contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos and th ...
launches the poetry magazine, ''Hawk and Whippoorwill'' in the United States. *
March 22 Events Pre-1600 * 106 – Start of the Bostran era, the calendar of the province of Arabia Petraea. * 235 – Roman emperor Severus Alexander is murdered, marking the start of the Crisis of the Third Century. * 871 – Æthelr ...
Joan Henry's play '' Look on Tempests'' is premièred at the
Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,
in London's West End, as the first play dealing openly with
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
to be passed for performance by the
Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main c ...
in Britain. * April 27Harold Pinter's play '' The Caretaker'' is premièred at the Arts Theatre Club in London's West End, transferring to the
Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 sea ...
the following month, where it runs for 444 performances before departing from London for
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, Pinter's first significant commercial success. Alan Bates and
Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...
star in the original production. *
July 11 Events Pre-1600 * 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter's Basilica and put to death. * 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, ...
Harper Lee's
Southern Gothic Southern Gothic is an artistic subgenre of fiction, country music, film and television that are heavily influenced by Gothic elements and the American South. Common themes of Southern Gothic include storytelling of deeply flawed, disturbing or ...
''
Bildungsroman In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is import ...
'' ''
To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
'' is published in the United States. She completes no later novel before her death in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
. *
August 12 Events Pre-1600 *1099 – First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid forces led by Al-Afdal Shahanshah. This is considered the last engagement of the First Crusade. * 1121 – B ...
– ''
Green Eggs and Ham ''Green Eggs and Ham'' is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's '' Dr. Seuss on the Loos ...
'', by
Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' September 5 Events Pre-1600 * 917 – Liu Yan declares himself emperor, establishing the Southern Han state in southern China, at his capital of Panyu. *1367 – Swa Saw Ke becomes king of Ava *1590 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Henry ...
Welsh poet
Waldo Williams Waldo Goronwy Williams (30 September 1904 – 20 May 1971) was one of the leading Welsh-language poets of the 20th century. He was also a notable Christian pacifist, anti-war campaigner, and Welsh nationalist. He is often referred to by his f ...
is imprisoned for six weeks for non-payment of income tax (a protest against defence spending). *
October 3 Events Pre-1600 * 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Juliu ...
– The Lilly Library is opened on the campus of
Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...
, based on the collections of Josiah K. Lilly, Jr. *
October 6 Events Pre-1600 * 105 BC – Cimbrian War: Defeat at the Battle of Arausio accelerates the Marian reforms of the Roman army of the mid-Republic. * 69 BC – Third Mithridatic War: The military of the Roman Republic subdue Armenia. *A ...
and December 16Dalton Trumbo, one of the
Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...
, receives full screenwriting credit for his work on the films ''
Spartacus Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...
'' and '' Exodus'', released in the United States on these dates. *c. October –
Vasily Grossman Vasily Semyonovich Grossman (russian: Васи́лий Семёнович Гро́ссман; 12 December (29 November, Julian calendar) 1905 – 14 September 1964) was a Soviet writer and journalist. Born to a Jewish family in Ukraine, then pa ...
submits his novel ''
Life and Fate ''Life and Fate'' (russian: Жизнь и судьба) is a novel by Vasily Grossman, written in the Soviet Union in 1959 and published in 1980. Technically, it is the second half of the author's conceived two-part book under the same title. Alt ...
'' (''Жизнь и судьба'') for publication, resulting in confiscation of the manuscript and all related material by the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
in the Soviet Union. *November – Rita Rait-Kovaleva's Russian translation of ''
The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angs ...
'' is published in the Soviet literary magazine ''Inostrannaya Literatura'' as ''Над пропастью во ржи'' ("Over the Abyss in Rye"). *
November 2 Events Pre-1600 * 619 – A qaghan of the Western Turkic Khaganate is assassinated in a Chinese palace by Eastern Turkic rivals after the approval of Tang emperor Gaozu. * 1410 – The Peace of Bicêtre suspends hostilities in the ...
– ''
R v Penguin Books Ltd ''R v Penguin Books Ltd'' was the public prosecution in the United Kingdom of Penguin Books under the ''Obscene Publications Act 1959'' for the publication of D. H. Lawrence's 1928 novel ''Lady Chatterley's Lover''. The trial took place over ...
'':
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.obscenity for publishing '' Lady Chatterley's Lover'' in the United Kingdom. *
November 8 Events Pre-1600 * 960 – Battle of Andrassos: Byzantines under Leo Phokas the Younger score a crushing victory over the Hamdanid Emir of Aleppo, Sayf al-Dawla. *1278 – Trần Thánh Tông, the second emperor of the Trần dynasty, ...
Richard Wright delivers a polemical lecture, "The Situation of the Black Artist and Intellectual in the United States", to students and members of the American Church in Paris, a few weeks before his death there from heart attack aged 52. *
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 ...
– ''Lady Chatterley's Lover'' sells 200,000 copies in one day following its publication in the U.K. since being banned in 1928. *
November 17 Events Pre-1600 * 887 – Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt, leading his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia, to declare himself king of the East Frankish Kingdom in late November. * 1183 & ...
Michael Foot Michael Mackintosh Foot (23 July 19133 March 2010) was a British Labour Party politician who served as Labour Leader from 1980 to 1983. Foot began his career as a journalist on ''Tribune'' and the ''Evening Standard''. He co-wrote the 1940 p ...
is re-elected to the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
and relinquishes the editorship of '' Tribune''. * November 19 – American novelist Norman Mailer stabs his wife, the artist Adele Morales. *
November 24 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Theodosius I makes his '' adventus'', or formal entry, into Constantinople. *1190 – Conrad of Montferrat becomes King of Jerusalem upon his marriage to Isabella I of Jerusalem. * 1221 – Genghis Khan d ...
Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...
founds
Oulipo Oulipo (, short for french: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: ''"workshop of potential literature"'', stylized ''OuLiPo'') is a loose gathering of (mainly) French-speaking writers and mathematicians who seek to create works ...
in France. *''unknown dates'' **Dutch mathematician
Hans Freudenthal Hans Freudenthal (17 September 1905 – 13 October 1990) was a Jewish-German-born Dutch mathematician. He made substantial contributions to algebraic topology and also took an interest in literature, philosophy, history and mathematics education ...
invents the
artificial language Artificial languages are languages of a typically very limited size which emerge either in computer simulations between artificial agents, robot interactions or controlled psychological experiments with humans. They are different from both constr ...
Lincos, intended for communication with extraterrestrial intelligence. **Francophone African scholar
Djibril Tamsir Niane Djibril Tamsir Niane (9 January 1932 – 8 March 2021) was a Guinean historian, playwright, and short story writer. Biography Born in Conakry, Guinea, his secondary education was in Senegal and his degree from the University of Bordeaux. He wa ...
publishes the novelization ''Soundjata, ou l'Epopée du Manding'' in Paris, the first extended transcription of the 13th-century
Epic of Sundiata ''Sunjata'' [] (also referred to as ''Sundiata'' or ''Son-Jara'') is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of the hero Sundiata Keita (died 1255), the founder of the Mali Empire. The epic is an instance of oral tradition, goin ...
from Mandinka oral tradition and its first translation into a Western language.


New books


Fiction

*
Chinua Achebe Chinua Achebe (; 16 November 1930 – 21 March 2013) was a Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic who is regarded as the dominant figure of modern African literature. His first novel and '' magnum opus'', ''Things Fall Apart'' (1958), occupies ...
– '' No Longer at Ease'' * J. R. Ackerley – ''We Think the World of You'' *
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...
– ''
Take a Girl Like You ''Take a Girl Like You'' is a comic novel by Kingsley Amis. The narrative follows the progress of twenty-year-old Jenny Bunn, who has moved from her family home in the North of England to a small town not far from London to teach primary school ...
'' *
Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson (November 25, 1926 – July 31, 2001) was an American fantasy and science fiction author who was active from the 1940s until the 21st century. Anderson wrote also historical novels. His awards include seven Hugo Awards and ...
– '' The High Crusade'' * Rev. W. Awdry – '' The Twin Engines'' (fifteenth in ''
The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Tw ...
'' of 42 books by him and his son Christopher Awdry) * Lynne Reid Banks – ''
The L-Shaped Room ''The L-Shaped Room'' is a 1962 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Lynne Reid Banks. It tells the story of Jane Fosset ( Leslie Caron), a young French woman, unmarried and pregnant, who moves in ...
'' *
Stan Barstow Stanley Barstow FRSL (28 June 1928 – 1 August 2011) was an English novelist. Biography Barstow was born in Horbury, near Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire. His father was a coal miner and he attended Ossett Grammar School. He work ...
– '' A Kind of Loving'' *
John Barth John Simmons Barth (; born May 27, 1930) is an American writer who is best known for his postmodern and metafictional fiction. His most highly regarded and influential works were published in the 1960s, and include ''The Sot-Weed Factor'', a sa ...
– '' The Sot-Weed Factor'' *
Hamilton Basso Joseph Hamilton Basso (September 5, 1904 – May 13, 1964) was an American novelist and journalist. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Basso worked as reporter for several newspapers in New Orleans, wrote 11 novels, primarily about the South, and was ...
– ''The Light Infantry Ball'' * H. E. Bates – ''
When the Green Woods Laugh ''When the Green Woods Laugh'' is a 1960 comedy novel by the British writer H. E. Bates. It is the third in the series began by the 1958 novel '' The Darling Buds of May'' focusing on the Larkins, a family living in rural Kent.Jacob & Apple p.15 ...
'' *
Charles Beaumont Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was an American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres.Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, "Beaumont, Charles" in David Pringle, ed., '' ...
– '' Night Ride and Other Journeys'' * Robert Bloch – '' Pleasant Dreams: Nightmares'' *
Algis Budrys Algirdas Jonas "Algis" Budrys (January 9, 1931 – June 9, 2008) was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome (in collaboration with Jerome Bixby), Jo ...
– '' Rogue Moon'' *
Anthony Burgess John Anthony Burgess Wilson, (; 25 February 1917 – 22 November 1993), who published under the name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer and composer. Although Burgess was primarily a comic writer, his dystopian satire ''A Clockwork ...
**'' The Doctor is Sick'' **'' The Right to an Answer'' *
Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 192 ...
– ''The Many Colored Coat'' *
John Dickson Carr John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1906 – February 27, 1977) was an American author of detective stories, who also published using the pseudonyms Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. He lived in England for a number of years, and is ...
– '' In Spite of Thunder'' *
Carlo Cassola Carlo Cassola (17 March 1917 – 29 January 1987) was an influential Italian novelist and essayist. His novel ''La Ragazza di Bube'' (1960), which received the Strega Prize, was adapted into a film of the same name by Luigi Comencini in 1963. ...
– '' Bébo's Girl (La ragazza di Bube)'' *
Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners ...
– ''
Alibi for a Judge ''Alibi for a Judge'' is a 1960 comedy crime novel by the British writer Henry Cecil. After sentencing a man to serve ten years in prison, a worrisome judge becomes concerned that the alibi provided by his wife may in fact be true. In 1965 it wa ...
'' *
Louis-Ferdinand Céline Louis Ferdinand Auguste Destouches (27 May 1894 – 1 July 1961), better known by the pen name Louis-Ferdinand Céline ( , ) was a French novelist, polemicist and physician. His first novel ''Journey to the End of the Night'' (1932) won the '' Pr ...
– ''
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...
(Nord)'' * Agatha Christie – ''
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding ''The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées'' is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 24 October 1960.Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturg ...
'' * Barry Crump – ''A Good Keen Man'' * Roald Dahl – '' Kiss Kiss'' (short stories) * L. Sprague de Camp **''
The Bronze God of Rhodes ''The Bronze God of Rhodes'' is a historical novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1960, and in paperback by Bantam Books in 1963. A trade paperback edition was projected by The Donning ...
'' **'' The Glory That Was'' * L. Sprague de Camp and
Fletcher Pratt Murray Fletcher Pratt (25 April 1897 – 10 June 1956) was an American writer of history, science fiction, and fantasy. He is best known for his works on naval history and the American Civil War and for fiction written with L. Sprague de Camp. ...
– '' Wall of Serpents'' * Carmen de Icaza – '' The House Across the Street (La casa de enfrente)'' * Philip K. Dick **'' Dr. Futurity'' **''
Vulcan's Hammer ''Vulcan's Hammer'' is a 1960 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was released originally as an Ace Double. This has been considered to be the final outing of Dick's 1950s style pulp science fiction writing, before his b ...
'' *
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 ...
– '' Welcome to Hard Times'' *
Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial p ...
– ''
Clea Clea Strange () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by co-plotters Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Clea first appeared in the Doctor Strange feature in ''Strange Tales'' #126 (November 1964). S ...
'' (final volume of ''
The Alexandria Quartet ''The Alexandria Quartet'' is a tetralogy of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1957 and 1960. A critical and commercial success, the first three books present three perspectives on a single set of events and characters ...
'', begun
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
) * Henry Farrell – '' What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' * Gabriel Fielding – ''Through Streets Broad and Narrow'' * Ian Fleming – '' For Your Eyes Only'' (
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
short stories) *
Sarah Gainham Rachel Ames, née Stainer (London, 1 October 1915 – Petronell, Austria, 24 November 1999) was a British novelist and journalist who wrote under the pseudonym Sarah Gainham. She is perhaps best known for her 1967 novel ''Night Falls on the Cit ...
– '' The Silent Hostage'' * Richard Gordon – ''
Doctor in Clover ''Doctor in Clover'' is a British comedy film released in 1966, starring Leslie Phillips. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Richard Gordon. It is the sixth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series. The film was released i ...
'' *
Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
– '' A Burnt-Out Case'' * Arthur Hailey – '' In High Places'' * Donald Hamilton – ''
Death of a Citizen ''Death of a Citizen'' is a 1960 spy novel by Donald Hamilton, and was the first in a long-running series of books featuring the adventures of assassin Matt Helm. The title refers to the metaphorical death of peaceful citizen and family man Matt ...
'' *
Wilson Harris Sir Theodore Wilson Harris (24 March 1921 – 8 March 2018) was a Guyanese writer. He initially wrote poetry, but subsequently became a novelist and essayist. His writing style is often said to be abstract and densely metaphorical, and his sub ...
– '' Palace of the Peacock'' * James Leo Herlihy – '' All Fall Down'' *
Hammond Innes Ralph Hammond Innes (15 July 1913 – 10 June 1998) was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as works for children and travel books. Biography Innes was born in Horsham, Sussex, and educated at Feltonfleet School, Cobham, Surrey ...
– '' The Doomed Oasis'' * Michael Innes – '' The New Sonia Wayward'' * Greye La Spina – '' Invaders from the Dark'' * Jean Lartéguy – '' Les Centurions'' * Harper Lee – ''
To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
'' * Clarice Lispector – '' Family Ties (Laços de família)'' (short story collection) * David Lodge – ''
The Picturegoers ''The Picturegoers'' (1960) is the first novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", ...
'' * Ngaio Marsh – ''
False Scent A false scent or false trail is an incorrect scent which may mislead an animal which hunts by smell, especially a hound. This may be the result of deliberate interference by a hunt saboteur or it may be a form of control by the master. Aniseed, a ...
'' *
John Masters Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO, OBE (26 October 1914 – 7 May 1983) was a British novelist and regular officer of the Indian Army. In World War II, he served with the Chindits behind enemy lines in Burma, and became the GSO1 (chief st ...
– '' The Venus of Konpara'' *
Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...
– '' The Beardless Warriors'' * Judith Merrill – ''
The Tomorrow People ''The Tomorrow People'' is a British children's science fiction television series created by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran from 30 April 1973 to 19 February 1979. The theme music was ...
'' *
Gladys Mitchell Gladys Maude Winifred Mitchell (21 April 1901 – 27 July 1983) was an English writer best known for her creation of Mrs Bradley, the heroine of 66 detective novels. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Stephen Hockaby and Malcolm Torrie. Fê ...
– '' Say It with Flowers'' * Walter M. Miller – '' A Canticle for Leibowitz'' *
Nancy Mitford Nancy Freeman-Mitford (28 November 1904 – 30 June 1973), known as Nancy Mitford, was an English novelist, biographer, and journalist. The eldest of the Mitford sisters, she was regarded as one of the "bright young things" on the London ...
– ''
Don't Tell Alfred ''Don't Tell Alfred'' is a novel by Nancy Mitford, first published in 1960 by Hamish Hamilton. It is the third in a trilogy centred on an upper-class English family, and takes place twenty years after the events of '' The Pursuit of Love'' and '' ...
'' *
Alberto Moravia Alberto Moravia ( , ; born Alberto Pincherle ; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990) was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia is best known for his de ...
– ''La noia (The Empty Canvas)'' *
Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (born 15 December 1930) is an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. Elected to Aosdána by her fellow artists, she was honoured with the title Saoi in 2015 and the "UK and Ireland Nobel" ...
– '' The Country Girls'' *
Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. She was a Southern literature, Southe ...
– '' The Violent Bear It Away'' * Scott O'Dell – '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' *
Wilder Penfield Wilder Graves Penfield (January 26, 1891April 5, 1976) was an American-Canadian neurosurgeon. He expanded brain surgery's methods and techniques, including mapping the functions of various regions of the brain such as the cortical homunculus. ...
– ''The Torch'' * Frederik Pohl – '' Drunkard's Walk'' *
Anthony Powell Anthony Dymoke Powell ( ; 21 December 1905 – 28 March 2000) was an English novelist best known for his 12-volume work ''A Dance to the Music of Time'', published between 1951 and 1975. It is on the list of longest novels in English. Powell' ...
– '' Casanova's Chinese Restaurant'' * James H. Schmitz – ''
Agent of Vega ''Agent of Vega'' is a science fiction novel by American writer James H. Schmitz, published in 1960. It is a collection of stories that originally appeared separately in magazines. It was republished in 2001 as ''Agent of Vega & Other Stories''. ...
'' *
Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...
(died January 2) – '' Trustee from the Toolroom'' * Clark Ashton Smith – '' The Abominations of Yondo'' *
Muriel Spark Dame Muriel Sarah Spark (née Camberg; 1 February 1918 – 13 April 2006). was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, poet and essayist. Life Muriel Camberg was born in the Bruntsfield area of Edinburgh, the daughter of Bernard Camberg, an ...
– '' The Ballad of Peckham Rye'' * Alan Sillitoe – '' The General'' *
David Storey David Malcolm Storey (13 July 1933 – 27 March 2017) was an English playwright, screenwriter, award-winning novelist and a professional rugby league player. He won the Booker Prize in 1976 for his novel ''Saville''. He also won the MacMillan ...
– ''
This Sporting Life ''This Sporting Life'' is a 1963 British kitchen sink drama film directed by Lindsay Anderson. Based on the 1960 novel of the same name by David Storey, which won the 1960 Macmillan Fiction Award, it recounts the story of a rugby league footb ...
'' *
Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...
**'' Three at Wolfe's Door'' **'' Too Many Clients'' *
William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...
– '' Set This House on Fire'' *
Julian Symons Julian Gustave Symons (originally Gustave Julian Symons) (pronounced ''SIMM-ons''; 30 May 1912 – 19 November 1994) was a British crime writer and poet. He also wrote social and military history, biography and studies of literature. He was bor ...
– '' The Progress of a Crime'' * John Updike – '' Rabbit, Run'' *
Irving Wallace Irving Wallace (March 19, 1916 – June 29, 1990) was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. He was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme. Early life Wallace was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bessie Liss a ...
– '' The Chapman Report'' * John Edward Williams – ''Butcher's Crossing'' * Raymond Williams – '' Border Country'' *
John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...
– '' Trouble with Lichen''


Children and young people

*
Joan Aiken Joan Delano Aiken (4 September 1924 – 4 January 2004) was an English writer specialising in supernatural fiction and children's alternative history novels. In 1999 she was awarded an MBE for her services to children's literature. For ''The ...
– ''The Kingdom and The Cave'' * Hans Baumann – ''Ich zog mit Hannibal'' (''I Marched with Hannibal'', 1961) *
Sheila Burnford Sheila Philip Cochrane Burnford née Every (11 May 1918 – 20 April 1984) was a Scottish writer. She is best known for her novel The Incredible Journey about two dogs and a cat traveling through the Canadian wilderness. Life and work Born in ...
– '' The Incredible Journey'' * P. D. Eastman – '' Are You My Mother?'' * Alan Garner – '' The Weirdstone of Brisingamen'' * Jean Craighead George – '' My Side of the Mountain'' * Rumer Godden – ''
Candy Floss Cotton candy, also known as fairy floss and candy floss, is a spun sugar confection that resembles cotton. It usually contains small amounts of flavoring or food coloring. It is made by heating and liquefying sugar, and spinning it centrifu ...
'' * Elinor Lyon – ''Cathie Runs Wild'' * Scott O'Dell – '' Island of the Blue Dolphins'' * Georges Prosper Remi (as
Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...
) – '' Tintin au Tibet'' (book publication) *
Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Green Eggs and Ham ''Green Eggs and Ham'' is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published on August 12, 1960. As of 2019, the book has sold 8 million copies worldwide. The story has appeared in several adaptations, starting with 1973's '' Dr. Seuss on the Loos ...
'' **'' One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish'' * Barbara Sleigh – '' The Kingdom of Carbonel''


Drama

* Edward Albee – ''
The Death of Bessie Smith ''The Death of Bessie Smith'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee, written in 1959 and premiered in West Berlin the following year. The play consists of a series of conversations between Bernie and his friend Jack, Jack and an of ...
'' and '' The Sandbox'' (first performances) * Samuel Beckett – '' The Old Tune'' (first broadcast) *
Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar-winning screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for ''Lawrence of Arabia'', ''Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', ...
– '' A Man for All Seasons'' (stage version) and '' The Tiger and the Horse'' * Marc Camoletti – '' Boeing-Boeing'' *
Henry Cecil Sir Henry Richard Amherst Cecil (11 January 1943 – 11 June 2013) was a British flat racing horse trainer. Cecil was very successful, becoming Champion Trainer ten times and training 25 domestic Classic winners. These comprised four winners ...
and
William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''T ...
– ''
Settled Out of Court In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
'' * Noël Coward – '' Waiting in the Wings'' * Beverley Cross – ''Strip the Willow'' *
Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937 he published his ...
– '' The Marriage'' (''Ślub'', first performance) * Eugène Ionesco – '' Rhinocéros'' * Ira Levin – '' Critic's Choice'' * Stephen Lewis and
Theatre Workshop Theatre Workshop is a theatre group whose long-serving director was Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company, many of its productions were transferred to theatres in the West E ...
– ''Sparrers Can't Sing'' *
Bruce Mason Bruce Edward George Mason (28 September 1921 – 31 December 1982) was a significant playwright in New Zealand who wrote 34 plays and influenced the cultural landscape of the country through his contribution to theatre. In 1980, he was appoi ...
– '' The End of the Golden Weather'' *
Tad Mosel Tad Mosel (May 1, 1922 – August 24, 2008) was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' All the Way H ...
– '' All the Way Home'' * Harold Pinter **'' The Caretaker'' (first performed and published) **'' The Room'' (first professional performance) **'' A Night Out'' (first broadcast) *
Terence Rattigan Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
– '' Ross'' *
Barry Reckord Barrington John Reckord (19 November 1926 – 20 December 2011), known as Barry Reckord, was a Jamaican playwright, one of the earliest Caribbean writers to make a contribution to theatre in Britain. His brother was the actor and director Lloyd ...
– ''You in Your Small Corner'' *
Nelson Rodrigues Nelson Falcão Rodrigues (August 23, 1912 – December 21, 1980) was a Brazilian playwright, journalist and novelist. In 1943, he helped usher in a new era in Brazilian theater with his play ''Vestido de Noiva (The Wedding Dress)'', considered ...
– ''Beijo no Asfalto'' (The Asphalt Kiss) *
Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...
– '' A Dance of the Forests'' *
Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and e ...
– '' The Best Man'' * Maruxa Vilalta – (The Disoriented Ones) *
Keith Waterhouse Keith Spencer Waterhouse (6 February 1929 – 4 September 2009) was a British novelist and newspaper columnist and the writer of many television series. Biography Keith Waterhouse was born in Hunslet, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. H ...
and
Willis Hall Willis Edward Hall (6 April 1929 – 7 March 2005) was an English playwright and radio, television and film writer who drew on his working-class roots in Leeds for much of his writing. Willis formed an extremely prolific partnership with h ...
– ''Billy Liar'' *
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
(adaptation) – ''
Chimes at Midnight ''Falstaff (Chimes at Midnight)'' ( Spanish: ''Campanadas a medianoche'') is a 1966 period comedy-drama film directed by and starring Orson Welles. The Spanish-Swiss co-production was released in the United States as ''Chimes at Midnight'' an ...
'' *
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...
– ''
Period of Adjustment ''Period of Adjustment'' is a 1960 play by Tennessee Williams that was adapted in the film version of 1962. Both the stage and film versions are set on Christmas Eve and tell the gentle, light-hearted story of two couples, one newlywed and the ...
''


Poetry

* Douglas Livingstone – ''The Skull in the Mud'' *
Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, '' Th ...
– ''The Colossus and Other Poems'' * Alan Sillitoe – ''The Rats and other poems''


Non-fiction

* Joy Adamson – ''
Born Free ''Born Free'' is a 1966 British drama film starring the real-life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, another real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her in ...
'' *
Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social a ...
– '' New Maps of Hell'' *
Philippe Ariès Philippe Ariès (; 21 July 1914 – 8 February 1984) was a French medievalist and historian of the family and childhood, in the style of Georges Duby. He wrote many books on the common daily life. His most prominent works regarded the change in t ...
– '' Centuries of Childhood: A Social History of Family Life (L'Enfant et la vie familiale sous l'Ancien Régime)'' * Peg Bracken – ''The I Hate to Cook Book'' *
Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...
(died January 4) – '' Resistance, Rebellion, and Death'' (selected essays) *
Jean-Paul Desbiens Brother Jean-Paul Desbiens, Frère Pierre-Jérôme, F.M.S., OC (March 7, 1927 – July 23, 2006) was a Quebec writer, journalist, teacher and member of the Catholic institute of Marist Brothers. He was born at Métabetchouan in the Lac Sain ...
– '' Les Insolences du Frère Untel'' (The Insolences of Brother Anonymous) * Hans-Georg Gadamer – '' Truth and Method (Wahrheit und Methode)'' *
John Howard Griffin John Howard Griffin (June 16, 1920 – September 9, 1980) was an American journalist and author from Texas who wrote about and championed racial equality. He is best known for his 1959 project to temporarily pass as a black man and journey throug ...
– '' Black Like Me'' * Helen Keller – '' Light in my Darkness'' *
Arthur Koestler Arthur Koestler, (, ; ; hu, Kösztler Artúr; 5 September 1905 – 1 March 1983) was a Hungarian-born author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria. In 1931, Koestler join ...
– ''
The Lotus and the Robot ''The Lotus and the Robot'' is a 1960 book by Arthur Koestler, in which the author explores eastern mysticism. Although later dated by Westerners' greater exposure to Oriental practices, it concentrates mainly on Indian and Japanese traditions, w ...
'' * Jessica Mitford – '' Hons and Rebels'' * A. S. Neill – '' Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing'' *
Louis Pauwels Louis Pauwels (; 2 August 1920 – 28 January 1997) was a French journalist and writer. Born in Paris, France, he wrote in many monthly literary French magazines as early as 1946 (including ''Esprit'' and ''Variété'') until the 1950s. He partic ...
and Jacques Bergier – '' The Morning of the Magicians (Le Matin des magiciens)'' * R. C. Majumdar – '' An Advanced History of India'' *
Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...
– ''
Critique of Dialectical Reason ''Critique of Dialectical Reason'' (french: Critique de la raison dialectique) is a 1960 book by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, in which the author further develops the existentialist Marxism he first expounded in his essay '' Search for a Met ...
(Critique de la raison dialectique)'' *
William L. Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly w ...
– ''
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany'' is a book by American journalist William L. Shirer in which the author chronicles the rise and fall of Nazi Germany from the birth of Adolf Hitler in 1889 to the end of World W ...
'' * H. H. Smythe and M. M. Smythe – ''The New Nigerian Elite'' * W. T. Stace – '' The Teachings of the Mystics'' * Elie Wiesel – ''
Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends ...
'' (''La Nuit'', 1958)


Births

*
January 18 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later. * 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail. * 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chi ...
Mark Rylance, English actor and theater director *
January 23 Events Pre-1600 * 393 – Roman emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor. * 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao. *1264 & ...
André Verbart, Dutch poet *
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 ...
Robert von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American historian and academic *
January 31 Events Pre-1600 * 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as successor to the late Pope Miltiades. *1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the ...
Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...
, Scottish comic-book and graphic-novel scriptwriter * February 19
Helen Fielding Helen Fielding (born 19 February 1958) is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, and a sequence of novels and films beginning with the life of a thirty something singleton in Lo ...
, English novelist and screenwriter *
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 bou ...
Jeffrey Eugenides Jeffrey Kent Eugenides (born March 8, 1960) is an American novelist and short story writer. He has written numerous short stories and essays, as well as three novels: ''The Virgin Suicides'' (1993), ''Middlesex'' (2002), and'' The Marriage Plot'' ...
, American fiction writer *
April 28 Events Pre-1600 * 224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire. * 357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory ...
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a sch ...
, Scottish crime novelist *
April 29 Events Pre-1600 * 1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. * 1386 – Battle of the Vikhra River: The Principality of Smolensk is defeated by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and b ...
Andrew Miller, English novelist *
May 4 Events Pre-1600 * 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull ''Licet ecclesiae catholicae''. * 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus ar ...
Kate Saunders, English author and children's writer *
May 21 Events Pre-1600 * 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as ''Caesar'' to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy. * 878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabi ...
John O'Brien, American novelist (died 1994) *
June 2 Events Pre-1600 * 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks. * 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later. 1601 ...
Julie Myerson Julie Myerson (born Julie Susan Pike; 2 June 1960) is an English author and critic. As well as fiction and non-fiction books, she formerly wrote a column in ''The Guardian'' entitled "Living with Teenagers", based on her family experiences. She ...
, English novelist and columnist *
July 13 Events Pre-1600 * 1174 – William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173–74, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Henry II of England. * 1249 – Coronation of Alexander III as King of Scots. *1260 – The Livon ...
Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine ''Private Eye''. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz sho ...
, Welsh-born satirist *
August 4 Events Pre-1600 * 598 – Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo during th ...
Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Fr ...
, Australian novelist * October 2
Joe Sacco Joe Sacco (; born October 2, 1960) is a Maltese-American cartoonist and journalist. He is best known for his comics journalism, in particular in the books '' Palestine'' (1996) and '' Footnotes in Gaza'' (2009), on Israeli–Palestinian rela ...
, Maltese-born graphic author *
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 ...
Hồ Anh Thái, Vietnamese author *
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 ...
Neil Gaiman, English author *
December 10 Events Pre-1600 * 1317 – The "Nyköping Banquet": King Birger of Sweden treacherously seizes his two brothers Valdemar, Duke of Finland and Eric, Duke of Södermanland, who were subsequently starved to death in the dungeon of Nyköpi ...
Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
, Northern Irish actor and screenwriter *''unknown dates'' ** Malcolm Pryce, Anglo-Welsh detective novelist ** Alexis Stamatis, Greek novelist, playwright and poet ** D. J. Taylor, English literary critic and biographer


Deaths

* January 4
Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...
, French ''
Pied-Noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...
'' novelist (car accident, born
1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
) * January 9Elsie J. Oxenham (Elsie Jeanette Dunkerley), English girls' story writer (born
1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February ...
) *
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 rei ...
Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect ...
, English-born novelist (stroke, born
1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...
) * January 14
Ralph Chubb Ralph Nicholas Chubb (8 February 1892 – 14 January 1960) was an English poet, Printer (publisher), printer and artist. Heavily influenced by Walt Whitman, Whitman, William Blake, Blake, and the Romanticism, Romantics, his work was the creati ...
, English poet, printer and artist (born
1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...
) *
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 ...
Zora Neale Hurston, African-American anthropologist and author (born
1891 Events January–March * January 1 ** Paying of old age pensions begins in Germany. ** A strike of 500 Hungarian steel workers occurs; 3,000 men are out of work as a consequence. ** Germany takes formal possession of its new Af ...
) * May 30Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist, poet and translator (born 1890) *
July 27 Events Pre-1600 * 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland, somewhere north of the Firth of Forth. * 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Ste ...
** Leonora Eyles, English feminist writer and novelist (born
1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...
) **
Ethel Lilian Voynich Ethel Lilian Voynich, ''née'' Boole (11 May 1864 – 27 July 1960) was an Irish-born British novelist and musician, and a supporter of several revolutionary causes. She was born in Cork, but grew up in Lancashire, England. Voynich was a signifi ...
, Anglo-Irish novelist and composer (born 1864) *
July 28 Events Pre-1600 *1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina. *1540 – Henry VIII of England marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day his former Chancellor, Thom ...
Kassian Bogatyrets, Rusyn priest, politician and historian (born
1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...
) * August 19Frances Cornford, English poet (born
1886 Events January–March * January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885. * January 5– 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson's novella ''Strange ...
) *
August 29 Events Pre-1600 * 708 – Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708). * 870 – The city of Melite surrenders to an Aghlabid army following a siege, putting an end to Byzantine M ...
Vicki Baum Hedwig "Vicki" Baum (; he, ויקי באום; January 24, 1888 – August 29, 1960) was an Austrian writer. She is known for the novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' ("People at a Hotel", 1929 — published in English as '' Grand Hotel''), one of h ...
, Austrian-born novelist writing in German and English (born
1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
) *
October 31 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Co ...
H. L. Davis, American fiction writer and poet (born
1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...
) * November 20Ya'akov Cohen, Russian-born Israeli poet (born
1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The ...
) *
November 28 Events Pre-1600 * 587 – Treaty of Andelot The Treaty of Andelot (or Pact of Andelot) was signed at Andelot-Blancheville in 587 between King Guntram of Burgundy and Queen Brunhilda of Austrasia. Based on the terms of the accord, Brun ...
Richard Wright, African-American novelist and poet (born 1908) *
December 26 Events Pre-1600 * 887 – Berengar I is elected as king of Italy by the lords of Lombardy. He is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Pavia. * 1481 – Battle of Westbroek: An army of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers raised by David of Bu ...
Tetsuro Watsuji (和辻 哲郎), Japanese philosopher and historian of ideas (born
1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...
)


Awards

* American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Criticism:
E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...
* Carnegie Medal for
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
: Ian Wolfran Cornwall, '' The Making of Man'' * Eric Gregory Award: Christopher Levenson *
James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...
for fiction:
Rex Warner Rex Warner (9 March 1905 – 24 June 1986) was an English classicist, writer, and translator. He is now probably best remembered for ''The Aerodrome'' (1941).Chris Hopkins, ''English Fiction in the 1930s: Language, Genre, History'' Continuum Inte ...
, ''Imperial Caesar'' *
James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...
for biography: Canon Adam Fox, ''The Life of Dean Inge'' * Kate Greenaway Medal:
Gerald Rose Gerald Hembdon Seymour Rose (born 1935) is a British illustrator of children's books. He won the 1960 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject, for ''Old Win ...
, ''Old Winkle and the seagulls'' * Miles Franklin Award: Elizabeth O'Conner, ''
The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book ''I Heard You Paint Hou ...
'' *
Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...
for
children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
: Joseph Krumgold, '' Onion John'' *
Nobel Prize for literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
: Saint-John Perse *
Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
: Jerome Weidman,
George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...
for book,
Jerry Bock Jerrold Lewis Bock (November 23, 1928November 3, 2010) was an American musical theater composer. He received the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with Sheldon Harnick for their 1959 musical ''Fiorello!'' and the Tony ...
for music, and
Sheldon Harnick Sheldon Mayer Harnick (born April 30, 1924) is an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as ''Fiorello!'' and '' Fiddler on the Roof''. Early life Sheldon Mayer Harnick was ...
for lyrics, ''
Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman and ...
'' * Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Allen Drury, ''
Advise and Consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive branch of a government enacts something previ ...
'' *
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first presented in 1922, and is given for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author, published ...
: W. D. Snodgrass, ''Heart's Needle'' *
Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry The Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded for a book of verse published by someone in any of the Commonwealth realms. Originally the award was open only to British subjects living in the United Kingdom, but in 1985 the scope was extended to in ...
: John Betjeman


References

Years of the 20th century in literature {{DEFAULTSORT:1960 In Literature