This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1990.

Events

*March –

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

's play '' Three Sisters'' opens at the

Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochla ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

with locally born Sinéad, Sorcha and Niamh Cusack in the title rôles and their father Cyril Cusack as Dr. Chebutykin. * March 20 – Stephen Blumberg is arrested for stealing more than 23,600 books in North America. *

May 24 Events Pre-1600 * 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom. * 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. * 1276 – Magnus ...

– Alicia Girón García is the first woman to become director of the Biblioteca Nacional de España. *c. June – J. K. Rowling has the idea for Harry Potter while on a train from

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to London: "I was staring out the window, and the idea for Harry just came. He appeared in my mind's eye, very fully formed. The basic idea was for a boy who didn't know what he was." She begins writing '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', which will be completed in 1995 and published in 1997. *October – Nicci Gerrard marries Sean French in the London Borough of Hackney, to make up a writing team known as Nicci French. *''Uncertain date'' – Austrian writer Ernest Bornemann is awarded the first Magnus Hirschfeld Medal for sexual research.

New books

Fiction

* Felipe Alfau – ''Chromos'' (completed 1948) * Iain M. Banks – '' Use of Weapons'' * Greg Bear – ''Heads'' and '' Queen of Angels'' * Thomas Berger – ''Orrie's Story'' * Louis de Bernières – '' The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts'' * William Boyd – '' Brazzaville Beach'' * Ray Bradbury – '' A Graveyard for Lunatics'' * John Bradshaw – ''Homecoming'' * A.S. Byatt – '' Possession'' (1990 Booker Prize winner) *

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

– '' Clear and Present Danger'' * Hugh Cook – ''The Wazir and the Witch'' and ''The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers'' * Bernard Cornwell – '' Sharpe's Waterloo'' and ''Crackdown'' * Michael Crichton – ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'' * Jim Dodge – ''Stone Junction'' * Roddy Doyle – '' The Snapper'' * Dominick Dunne – '' An Inconvenient Woman'' * James Ellroy – '' L.A. Confidential'' * Neil Gaiman – '' The Sandman: The Doll's House'' (graphic novel; volume 2 of '' The Sandman'' series) * Neil Gaiman and

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

– '' Good Omens'' *

John Kenneth Galbraith John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the ...

– '' A Tenured Professor'' * John Gardner – '' Brokenclaw'' * Elizabeth George – '' Well-Schooled in Murder'' * Andrew Greeley – '' The Cardinal Virtues'' * Peter Høeg – '' Tales of the Night'' (''Fortællinger om Natten'') * Elizabeth Jane Howard – ''The Light Years'', first of the Cazalet series * Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter – '' The Conan Chronicles 2'' * Marsha Hunt – '' Joy'' * Monica Hughes – '' Invitation to the Game'' * P. D. James – '' Devices and Desires'' * Charles Johnson – '' Middle Passage'' (1990 National Book Award for Fiction) * Robert Jordan – ''

The Eye of the World ''The Eye of the World'' is a high fantasy novel by American writer Robert Jordan and the first book in the ''The Wheel of Time'' series. Published by Tor Books on January 15, 1990, it was initially released as a large paperback. The original u ...

'' * Jamaica Kincaid – '' Lucy'' *

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

– '' Four Past Midnight'' and '' The Stand'' ("The Complete & Uncut Edition") * Hanif Kureishi – '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' * Joe R Lansdale – '' Savage Season'' *

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

– '' Get Shorty'' * Robert Ludlum – '' The Bourne Ultimatum'' * Ian McEwan – '' The Innocent'' * Patrick McGrath – ''

Spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

'' *

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

and David Lloyd – ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...

'' (graphic novel) * Brian Moore – ''Lies of Silence'' * Alice Munro – '' Friend of My Youth'' (short stories) * Tim O'Brien – '' The Things They Carried'' * Orhan Pamuk – '' The Black Book'' * Robert B. Parker – ''Stardust'' * Rosamund Pilcher – ''

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

'' * Belva Plain – ''Harvest'' *

– ''

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-N ...

'' and '' Moving Pictures'' * Thomas Pynchon – '' Vineland'' * W. G. Sebald – '' Vertigo (Schwindel. Gefühle)'' *

Lucius Shepard Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism. Career Shepard was a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, wher ...

– '' The Ends of the Earth'' * Danielle Steel – '' Message From Nam'' * James Tiptree, Jr. – '' Her Smoke Rose Up Forever'' *

Christopher Tolkien Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English and naturalised French academic editor and writer. The son of the author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher edited 24 volumes based on his father's P ...

(with

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

(d. 1973) and Alan Lee (illustrator)) – ''The War of the Ring'' ('' The History of The Lord of the Rings'' vol. 3; ''

The History of Middle-earth ''The History of Middle-earth'' is a 12-volume series of books published between 1983 and 1996 by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Houghton Mifflin in the US. They collect and analyse much of J. R. R. Tolkien' ...

'' vol. 8) * Scott Turow – '' The Burden of Proof'' *

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

– '' Rabbit at Rest'' (1990 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction; 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) * Andrew Vachss – '' Blossom'' *

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

– '' Hocus Pocus'' * Harry L. Watson – ''Liberty and Power'' *

John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus o ...

– ''Philadelphia Fire'' (1991 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction) * Banana Yoshimoto – '' Amrita''

Children and young people

* Chris Van Allsburg – ''Just a Dream'' * Avi – '' The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle'' * Lucy Cousins – ''Maisy Goes for a Swim'' (first in the Maisy Mouse series) * Gillian Cross – ''

Wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

'' * Lynley Dodd - '' Slinky Malinki'' * Rumer Godden – ''Fu-Dog'' * Ken Kesey – ''Little Tricker the Squirrel Meets Big Double the Bear'' * Jean Marzollo – '' Pretend You're a Cat'' * Terenci Moix – ''Los Grandes Mitos del Cine (The Greatest Stories of Hollywood Cinema)'' * Inga Moore – '' Six-dinner Sid'' * Jim Murphy – '' The Boys' War: Confederate and Union soldiers talk about the Civil War'' * Bill Peet – ''Cock-a-doodle Dudley'' * Salman Rushdie – '' Haroun and the Sea of Stories'' * Dr. Seuss – '' Oh, the Places You'll Go'' * Diane Stanley – '' Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England'' * Jacqueline Wilson – '' Glubbslyme'' (fantasy novel) * William Steig – '' Shrek!''

Drama

* Brian Friel – '' Dancing at Lughnasa'' * Declan Hughes – ''I Can't Get Started'' * John Guare – '' Six Degrees of Separation'' * Girish Karnad – '' Taledanda'' (Kannada: ತಲೆದಂಡ, Death by Beheading) * Peter Shaffer – '' Lettice and Lovage''

Poetry

* Derek Walcott – '' Omeros''

Non-fiction

* Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine – '' Last Chance to See'' * Bill Bryson – ''The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way'' * Judith Butler – '' Gender Trouble'' * Cheikh Anta Diop – ''Alerte sous les tropiques: articles 1946–1960: culture et développement en Afrique noire'' (translated as ''Towards the African Renaissance: essays in African culture & development, 1946–1960'') * Dougal Dixon – '' Man After Man: An Anthropology of the Future'' * Lawrence Durrell – ''Caesar's Vast Ghost: Aspects of Provence'' * Arun Shourie and Sita Ram Goel – Hindu Temples: What Happened to Them * Ryszard Kapuscinski – '' The Soccer War'' * Pierre Lévêque – '' The Birth of Greece'' * Michael Lynch – ''

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

: A New History'' * Susan Mayse – '' Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin'' * James A. Michener – ''Pilgrimage'' * Raphael Patai – '' The Hebrew Goddess'' *

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

– '' An American Life'' * Barry Siegel – '' A Death in White Bear Lake'' *

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

– ''The Practice of the Wild'' * Hans-Jürgen Syberberg – '' On the Fortunes and Misfortunes of Art in Post-War Germany (Vom Unglück und Glück der Kunst in Deutschland nach dem letzten Kriege)''

Births

* March 29 – Kiran Millwood Hargrave, English poet, playwright and novelist * July 27 - Victoria Aveyard, American young-adult novelist * Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Senegalese francophone fiction writer

Deaths

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

– Leon Kalustian, Romanian journalist, essayist and memoirist (born 1908) *

February 27 Events Pre-1600 * 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity. * 425 – The University of Constantin ...

– Alexandru Rosetti, Romanian linguist, editor and memoirist (burns, born 1895) *

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 th ...

– Rosamond Lehmann, English novelist (born 1901) * May 4 – John Ormond, Welsh poet (born 1923) *

May 10 Events Pre-1600 * 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China. * 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of ...

– Walker Percy, American novelist (born 1916) *

May 25 Events Pre-1600 * 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. * 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet. * 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes ...

– Lucy M. Boston, English children's novelist (born 1892) * July 15 – Zaim Topčić, Yugoslav and Bosnian writer (born 1920) * July 22 – Manuel Puig, Argentine novelist (heart attack, born

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

) *

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

– Michael Glenny, British translator of Russian literature into English (born 1927) * August 17 – Roderick Cook, English playwright (born

) * August 25 – Morley Callaghan, Canadian novelist, playwright and broadcasting personality (born 1903) * September 8 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English children's writer (born 1905) * September 26 – Alberto Moravia, Italian novelist and journalist (born 1907) * September 27 – Ion Biberi, Romanian social scientist, novelist, and essayist (born 1904) * September 30 – Patrick White, Australian novelist (born

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

) * October 23 – Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher (heart attack, born

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

) *

November 7 Events Pre-1600 * 335 – Athanasius, 20th pope of Alexandria, is banished to Trier on the charge that he prevented a grain fleet from sailing to Constantinople. * 680 – The Sixth Ecumenical Council commences in Constantinople. ...

– Lawrence Durrell, English novelist, dramatist, and travel writer (born

) * November 8 – Anya Seton, American genre novelist (born 1904) * November 23 –

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British author of popular children's literature and short stories, a poet, screenwriter and a wartime Flying ace, fighter ace. His books have sold more than 300 million copies ...

, Welsh-born children's author ( myelodysplastic syndrome, born 1916) * November 24 – Dodie Smith, English novelist and dramatist (born 1899) * December 1 – Irma Chilton, Welsh children's writer in Welsh and English (born 1930) * December 7 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright (suicide, born

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

) * December 11 – David Turner, English dramatist (born 1927) * December 14 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss dramatist (congestive heart failure, born 1921) * December 16 - Stanley Green, American theatre and film historian and writer (born 1923) * December 20 – Andrea Dunbar, English playwright (born 1961) * December 24 – Gwyn Williams, Welsh poet and novelist (born 1904) ''Uncertain date'' * Clare Hoskyns-Abrahall, English biographer and children's writer (born 1900)

Awards

* Nobel Prize for Literature: Octavio Paz * Europe Theatre Prize: Giorgio Strehler * Camões Prize: João Cabral de Melo Neto

Australia

* The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Gillian Mears, ''The Mint Lawn'' * C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Robert Adamson, ''The Clean Dark'' * Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Robert Adamson, ''The Clean Dark'' * Mary Gilmore Prize: Kristopher Rassemussen, ''In the Name of the Father'' * Miles Franklin Award: Tom Flood, '' Oceana Fine''

Canada

*See 1990 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

: Jean Rouaud, ''Les Champs d'honneur'' * Prix Décembre: François Maspero, ''Les Passagers du Roissy–Express'' *

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

French: ''Les Quartiers d'hiver'' – Jean-Noël Pancrazi *

Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis () is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and .

International: Amitav Ghosh, ''Les Feux du Bengale''

United Kingdom

* Booker Prize: A. S. Byatt, '' Possession: A Romance'' * Carnegie Medal for

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

: Gillian Cross, ''

'' * Cholmondeley Award:

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 crit ...

, Elaine Feinstein, Michael O'Neill * Eric Gregory Award: Nicholas Drake, Maggie Hannan, William Park, Jonathan Davidson, Lavinia Greenlaw, Don Paterson, John Wells * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: William Boyd, '' Brazzaville Beach'' * James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: Claire Tomalin, ''The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

'' * Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Sorley Maclean * Whitbread Best Book Award: Nicholas Mosley, ''Hopeful Monsters'' * The Sunday Express Book of the Year: J. M. Coetzee, '' Age of Iron''

United States

* Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Debra Allbery, ''Walking Distance'' * Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry: W. S. Merwin * Bernard F. Connors Prize for Poetry: Christopher Logue, ''Kings'' * Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry: James Merrill, '' The Inner Room'' * Caldecott Award: Ed Young, ''Lon Po Po: A Red–Riding Hood Story from China'' * Compton Crook Award: Josepha Sherman, ''The Shining Falcon'' * Frost Medal: Denise Levertov / James Laughlin * Hugo Award for Best Novel: Dan Simmons for '' Hyperion'' * National Book Award for Fiction: Charles Johnson for '' Middle Passage'' * Nebula Award: Ursula K. Le Guin, '' Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea'' * Newbery Medal for

: Lois Lowry, '' Number the Stars'' * Pulitzer Prize for Drama: August Wilson, '' The Piano Lesson'' * Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Oscar Hijuelos for '' The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' * Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Charles Simic: ''The World Doesn't End'' * Whiting Awards: :Fiction: Yannick Murphy, Lawrence Naumoff, Mark Richard, Christopher Tilghman, Stephen Wright :Nonfiction: Harriet Ritvo, Amy Wilentz :Plays:

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''Angels in America'', which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award, as well as its subsequent acclaime ...

:Poetry: Emily Hiestand, Dennis Nurkse

Elsewhere

* Premio Nadal, Juan José Millás, ''La soledad era esto''

References

{{Year in literature article categories