2017 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2017.

Events

*March – Emulating Kerouac's ''On the Road'', Ross Goodwin drives from New York to New Orleans with an artificial intelligence device in a laptop hooked up to various sensors, whose output it turns into words printed on rolls of thermal paper; the result is published unedited as ''1 the Road'' in 2018 in literature, 2018.
*August – The Chinese crime novelist Liu Yongbiao is arrested and eventually sentenced to death for four murders committed 22 years before.
*August 30 – A hard disk drive containing unfinished work by the English comic fantasy novelist Sir Terry Pratchett (died 2015 in literature, 2015) is crushed by a steamroller on his instructions.
*October 5 - The Swedish Academy announce that the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro.
*October – Tianjin Binhai Library opens in China.
*December – Kristen Roupenian's short story "Cat Person" is published in ''The New Yorker'' and becomes a viral phenomenon online, with more than 2.6 million hits.

Anniversaries

*Tercentenary of the Aberbaijani poet Molla Panah Vagif's birth in 1717"Anniversaries 2017" UNESCO.
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*600th anniversary of the death of the Turkic mystical poet Imadaddin Nasimi in 1417
*March 19 – Bicentenary of the Slovak writer Jozef Miloslav Hurban's birth
*May 8 – The American novelist Thomas Pynchon turns 80.
*June 18 – Centenary of the death of the Romanian literary critic and former prime minister Titu Maiorescu
*June 26 – 20th anniversary of the publication of ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (U.K. edition)
*July 12 – 200th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, author of ''Walden''
*July 14 – Bicentenary of the early French salonnière Germaine de Staël, Madame de Staël's death
*July 18 – Bicentenary of the novelist Jane Austen's death in 1817
*Nov 30 – 350th anniversary of the Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift's birth in 1667
*December 4 – Bicentenary of the birth of Nikoloz Baratashvili's in 1817, who introduced European style into Georgian literature.

New books

''Dates after each title indicate U.S. publication, unless otherwise indicated.''

Fiction

*Ayobami Adebayo – ''Stay With Me'' (March 2, UK)
*Paul Auster – ''4 3 2 1 (novel), 4 3 2 1'' (January 31)
*Brunonia Barry – ''The Fifth Petal: a novel''
*Darcey Bell – ''A Simple Favor (novel), A Simple Favor'' (March 1)
*Dan Brown – ''Origin (Dan Brown novel), Origin'' (October 3)
*Peter Carey (novelist), Peter Carey – ''A Long Way From Home'' (October 30, Australia)
*J. M. Coetzee – ''The Schooldays of Jesus'' (February 21)
*Claire G. Coleman – ''Terra Nullius (Coleman book), Terra Nullius''
*Curtis Dawkins – ''The Graybar Hotel'' (July 4)
*Didier Decoin – '':fr:Le bureau des jardins et des étangs, Le bureau des jardins et des étangs'' (The Office of Gardens and Ponds) (France)
*Steve Erickson – ''Shadowbahn''
*:fr:Christine Féret-Fleury, Christine Féret-Fleury – ''La fille qui lisait dans le Métro'' (The Girl who Read on the Metro) (March 9, France)
*Karl Geary – '' Montpelier Parade'' (August 31)
*John Grisham – ''Camino Island'' (June 6)
*Mohsin Hamid – ''Exit West'' (March 2, UK)
*Catherine Hernandez - ''Scarborough (novel), Scarborough''
*Alan Hollinghurst – ''The Sparsholt Affair'' (September 26, UK)
*Gail Honeyman – ''Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine'' (UK)
*N. K. Jemisin – ''The Stone Sky'' (August 15)
*Lisa Jewell – ''Then She Was Gone'' (July 27, UK)
*K Foundation, The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty) – ''2023'' (August 23, UK)
*Ian McDonald (British author), Ian McDonald – ''Luna: Wolf Moon'' (March 23, UK)
*Jon McGregor – ''Reservoir 13'' (April 6, UK)
*Claude McKay (died 1948 in literature, 1948) – ''Amiable with Big Teeth: A Novel of the Love Affair Between the Communists and the Poor Black Sheep of Harlem'' (February 7; written 1941)
*Robert Menasse – ''Die Hauptstadt'' (The Capital) (Germany)
*Denise Mina – ''The Long Drop'' (March 2, UK)
*Fiona Mozley – ''Elmet (Mozley novel), Elmet'' (August 10, UK)
*Neel Mukherjee (writer), Neel Mukherjee – ''A State of Freedom'' (July 6, UK)
*Timothy Ogene – ''The Day Ends Like Any Day'' (April 6, UK)
*James Patterson & Candice Fox – ''Never Never (James Patterson), Never Never'' (January 16, US)
*Tim Pears – ''The Horseman'' (January, UK)
*Gwendoline Riley – ''First Love'' (February, UK)
*Sally Rooney – ''Conversations with Friends'' (June, UK)
*George Saunders – ''Lincoln in the Bardo'' (February 14)
*Rachel Seiffert – ''A Boy in Winter'' (June 1, UK)
*Kamila Shamsie – ''Home Fire'' (August 15, UK)
*Joss Sheldon – ''Money Power Love'' (October 7, UK)
*Elizabeth Strout – ''Anything is Possible'' (April 25)
*J. R. R. Tolkien (died 1973 in literature, 1973), edited by Christopher Tolkien – ''The Tale of Beren and Lúthien, Beren and Lúthien'' (June 1, UK; original version written 1917)
*Zlatko Topčić – ''The Final Word (novel), zavrsna.rijec & Dagmar (novel), Dagmar''
*Éric Vuillard – ''The Order of the Day (L'Ordre du jour)'' (April 29, France)
*Jesmyn Ward – ''Sing, Unburied, Sing'' (September 5)
*Sarah Winman – ''Tin Man'' (July 27, UK)
*Kathleen Winter – ''Lost in September''

Children and young people

*Galia Bernstein – ''I Am a Cat (Bernstein book)'' (November, Australia, Singapore)
*Sarah Crossan – ''Moonrise'' (September 1, UK)
*Lissa Evans – ''Wed Wabbit'' (January 5, UK)
*Susie Ghahremani – ''Stack the Cats'' (USA)
*Connie Glynn – ''Undercover Princess'' (October 30, UK)
*Kiran Millwood Hargrave – ''The Island at the End of Everything'' (May 4, UK)
*Amanda Hocking – ''Freeks'' (January 3)
*Anna McQuinn – ''Lulu Gets a Cat''
*Philip Pullman – ''La Belle Sauvage'', first volume in ''The Book of Dust'' trilogy (October 19, UK)
*Katherine Rundell – ''The Explorer'' (August 10, UK)
*Angie Thomas – ''The Hate U Give'' (September 28)
*Jacqueline Wilson – ''Wave Me Goodbye'' (May 18, UK)

Poetry

*Helen Dunmore (died June 5) – ''Inside the Wave'' (April 27, UK)
*Robert Macfarlane (writer), Robert Macfarlane (illustrated by Jackie Morris) – ''The Lost Words: A Spell Book'' (October, UK)
*Sinéad Morrissey – ''On Balance'' (May 25)

Drama

*Jez Butterworth – ''The Ferryman (play), The Ferryman''
*Inua Ellams – ''Barber Shop Chronicles''

Non-fiction

*Nathaniel Frank – ''Awakening (book), Awakening: How Gays and Lesbians Brought Marriage Equality to America''
*Howard W. French – ''Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power''
*David Grann – ''Killers of the Flower Moon''
*Michel Houellebecq – ''En présence de Schopenhauer'' (January 11, France)
*Christine Hyung-Oak Lee – ''Tell Me Everything You Don't Remember'' (February 14)
*Obi Kaufmann – ''The California Field Atlas'' (September 1)
*Roel Konijnendijk - ''Classical Greek Tactics''
*Jamie Oliver – ''5 Ingredients – Quick and Easy Food'' (August 24, UK)
*Walter Scheidel – ''The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century''
*Matt Taibbi – ''Insane Clown President'' (January 17)
*Hedi Yahmed – ''I Was in Raqqa'' (كنت في الرقة)

Biography and memoirs

*Craig Brown (satirist), Craig Brown – ''Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret'' (September 21, UK)
*Richard Ford – ''Between Them: Remembering My Parents'' (May 2)
*Adam Kay (writer), Adam Kay – ''This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor'' (September 7, UK)
*Caroline Moorehead – ''A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini'' (June 15)
*Rebecca Stott – ''In the Days of Rain: a daughter, a father, a cult'' (June 1, UK)
*Stephen Westaby – ''Fragile Lives: A Heart Surgeon's Stories of Life and Death on the Operating Table'' (February 9, UK)
*Xiaolu Guo – ''Once Upon a Time in the East'' (January 26)

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in literature" article:
*January 2 – John Berger, English novelist, painter, art critic and poet, 90 (born 1926 in literature, 1926)
*January 12 – William Peter Blatty, American author (''The Exorcist (novel), The Exorcist''), 89 (born 1928 in literature, 1928)
*January 25:
**Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian novelist and children's writer (''The Bride Price'', ''The Joys of Motherhood''), 72 (born 1944 in literature, 1944)
**Harry Mathews, American novelist and poet, 86 (born 1930 in literature, 1930)
*January 29 – Howard Frank Mosher, American novelist (''Where the Rivers Flow North''), 74 (born 1942 in literature, 1942)
*January 30 - Teresa Amy, Uruguayan poet and translator, 66 (born 1950 in literature, 1950)
*February 1 – William Melvin Kelley, African-American novelist, 79 (born 1937 in literature, 1937)
*February 8 – Tom Raworth, English poet, 78 (born 1938 in literature, 1938)
*March 10 – Robert James Waller, American novelist (''The Bridges of Madison County''), 77 (b. 1939 in literature, 1939)
*March 16 – Torgny Lindgren, Swedish writer, 78 (born 1938 in literature, 1938)
*March 17 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Laureate in 1992, 87 (b. 1930 in literature, 1930)
*April 1 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet, 84 (b. 1933 in literature, 1933)
*May 1:
**Anatoly Aleksin, Russian writer and poet, 92
**Mohamed Talbi, Tunisian historian, 95
*May 24 – Denis Johnson, American poet, novelist (''Tree of Smoke''), and short story writer (''Jesus' Son (short story collection), Jesus' Son''), 67 (born 1949 in literature, 1949).
*June 2
**Jaroslav Kořán, Czech translator, writer and politician, 77
**Barrie Pettman, English author, publisher and philanthropist, 73
**S. Abdul Rahman, Indian poet, 79
*June 4
**Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist, 86
**Jack Trout, American marketer and author, 82
*June 5
**Helen Dunmore, English poet, novelist and children's writer, 64 (born 1952 in literature, 1952)
**Anna Jókai, Hungarian writer, 84
*June 8 – Naseem Khan (activist), Naseem Khan, British journalist, 77
*June 12 – C. Narayana Reddy, Indian poet and writer, Jnanpith Awardee, 85
*June 27 – Michael Bond, English author (Paddington Bear), 91 (born 1926 in literature, 1926)
*June 28 – Bruce Stewart (playwright), Bruce Stewart, New Zealand author and playwright, 80
*July 2
**Tony Bianchi, Welsh-language author, 65
**Jack Collom, American poet, essayist and poetry teacher, 85
**Abiola Irele, Nigerian literary critic, 81
**Fay Zwicky, Australian poet, 83
*July 5 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet, 63 (cancer)
*July 9
**Miep Diekmann, Dutch writer of children's literature, 92 (born 1925 in literature, 1925)
**Anton Nossik, Russian writer and internet entrepreneur, 51 (heart attack)
*July 10 – Peter Härtling, German writer and poet, 83
*September 23 – Harvey Jacobs, American author, 87
*November 20 - Amir Hamed, Uruguayan writer, essayist and translator, 55 (born 1962 in literature, 1962)
*December 28 – Sue Grafton, American mystery author, 77

Awards

In alphabetical order of prize names:
*Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction: Naomi Alderman for ''The Power''
*Baillie Gifford Prize: David France (writer), David France for ''How to Survive a Plague''
*Booker Prize: George Saunders for ''Lincoln in the Bardo''
*Caine Prize for African Writing: Bushra Elfadil, "The Story of the Girl Whose Bird Flew Away"
*Camões Prize: Manuel Alegre
*Costa Book Awards: Helen Dunmore (died June 5) for ''Inside the Wave'' (poetry)
*Danuta Gleed Literary Award: Kris Bertin, ''Bad Things Happen''
*David Cohen Prize: Tom Stoppard
*Dayne Ogilvie Prize: Kai Cheng Thom
*Desmond Elliott Prize: Francis Spufford, ''Golden Hill''
*DSC Prize for South Asian Literature:
*Dylan Thomas Prize: Fiona McFarlane for ''The High Places''
*European Book Prize: David Van Reybrouck, ''Zink'' and, Raffaele Simone, ''Si la démocratie fait faillite''
*Folio Prize: Hisham Matar for ''The Return''
*German Book Prize: Robert Menasse for ''Die Hauptstadt''
*Goldsmiths Prize: Nicola Barker for ''H(a)ppy''
*Gordon Burn Prize: Denise Mina for ''The Long Drop''
*Governor General's Award for English-language fiction: Joel Thomas Hynes, ''We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night''
*Governor General's Award for French-language fiction: Christian Guay-Poliquin, ''Le Poids de la neige''
*Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française:
*Hugo Award for Best Novel#Winners and nominees, Hugo Award for Best Novel: N. K. Jemisin for ''The Obelisk Gate''
*International Booker Prize: David Grossman for ''A Horse Walks Into a Bar''
*International Prize for Arabic Fiction: Mohammed Hasan Alwan for ''A Small Death''
*International Dublin Literary Award: José Eduardo Agualusa for ''A General Theory of Oblivion''
*James Tait Black Memorial Prize, James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction:
*James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography:
*Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award:
*Lambda Literary Awards: Various categories, see 29th Lambda Literary Awards
*Miguel de Cervantes Prize:
*Miles Franklin Award: Josephine Wilson (writer), Josephine Wilson for ''Extinctions''
*National Biography Award:
*National Book Award for Fiction:
*National Book Critics Circle Award:
*Newdigate Prize: Dominic Hand
*Nike Award:
*Nobel Prize in Literature: Kazuo Ishiguro
*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: Imbolo Mbue for ''Behold the Dreamers''
*PEN Center USA Fiction Award:
*Premio Planeta de Novela:
*Premio Strega:
*Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing:
*Prix Goncourt:
*Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Colson Whitehead for ''The Underground Railroad (novel), The Underground Railroad''
*Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Tyehimba Jess for ''Olio (book), Olio
*RBC Taylor Prize: Ross King (author), Ross King for ''Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies''
*Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize: David Chariandy, ''Brother''
*Russian Booker Prize:
*Scotiabank Giller Prize: Michael Redhill, ''Bellevue Square (novel), Bellevue Square''
*Struga Poetry Evenings, Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings:
*Walter Scott Prize: Sebastian Barry for ''Days Without End (novel), Days Without End''
*W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction:
*Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award: Breyten Breytenbach

See also

References

{{reflist, 30em

2017 in literature,
Years of the 21st century in literature
2017-related lists