1962 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1962 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- January 7 - In an article in the New York Times Book Review, Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
calls Evelyn WaughEvelyn WaughArthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
"our time's first satirist." - Arthur MillerArthur MillerArthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
marries photographer Inge MorathInge MorathIngeborg Morath was an Austrian-born photographer. In 1953 she joined the Magnum Photos Agency, founded by top photographers in Paris, and became a full photographer with them in 1955...
. - Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
and Kenneth HalliwellKenneth HalliwellKenneth Halliwell was a British actor and writer. He was the mentor, boyfriend and eventual murderer of playwright Joe Orton.- Childhood :...
are prosecuted and jailed for defacing library books. - A tape-recorded conversation on science fiction took place between Kingsley AmisKingsley AmisSir Kingsley William Amis, CBE was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, various short stories, radio and television scripts, along with works of social and literary criticism...
, C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
and Brian AldissBrian AldissBrian Wilson Aldiss, OBE is an English author of both general fiction and science fiction. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss is a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society...
in Lewis's rooms at Cambridge. - The works of Pierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de ChardinPierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
are denounced by the Roman Catholic Church. - Ted HughesTed HughesEdward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
and Sylvia PlathSylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
separate. - Lynne Reid BanksLynne Reid BanksLynne Reid Banks is a British author of books for children and adults.She has written forty books, including the best-selling children's novel The Indian in the Cupboard, which has sold over 10 million copies and has been successfully adapted to film. Her first novel, The L-Shaped Room, published...
goes to live in a kibbutzKibbutzA kibbutz is a collective community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economic branches, including industrial plants and high-tech enterprises. Kibbutzim began as utopian communities, a combination of socialism and Zionism...
. - George OppenGeorge OppenGeorge Oppen was an American poet, best known as one of the members of the Objectivist group of poets. He abandoned poetry in the 1930s for political activism, and later moved to Mexico to avoid the attentions of the House Un-American Activities Committee...
published his first collection of poetry since Discrete Series in 19341934 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* The Barretts of Wimpole Street, a film directed by Sidney Franklin, with Norma Shearer as Elizabeth Barrett and Fredric March as Robert Browning; redone in 1957, less successfully*The University...
, breaking a 28 year silence. Goes on to win the Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 19691969 in poetryNationality words link to articles with information on the nation's poetry or literature .-Events:* FIELD magazine founded at Oberlin College...
. - L. Frank BaumL. Frank BaumLyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
's short story "The Tiger's EyeThe Tiger's EyeThe Tiger's Eye: A Jungle Fairy Tale is a short story by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The story was unpublished in its own era, but has attracted significant attention since its belated publication in 1962....
" is first published in December, nearly six decades after it was written.
New books
- James BaldwinJames Baldwin (writer)James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
- Another CountryAnother Country (novel)Another Country is a 1962 novel by James Baldwin. The novel tells of the bohemian lifestyle of musicians, writers and other artists living in Greenwich Village in the late 1950s. It portrayed many taboo themes such as bisexuality, interracial couples and extramarital affairs.-Plot summary:The first... - Isaac AsimovIsaac AsimovIsaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000...
, editor - The Hugo WinnersThe Hugo WinnersThe Hugo Winners is a collection of science fiction short stories and novelettes that won the Hugo Award in the World Science Fiction Convention between 1955 and 1961. Isaac Asimov edited it, writing the introduction and a short essay about each author featured in the book.-Volume 1:*1955: 13th... - J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
- The Drowned WorldThe Drowned WorldThe Drowned World is a 1962 science fiction novel by J. G. Ballard. In contrast to much post-apocalyptic fiction, the novel features a central character who, rather than being disturbed by the end of the old world, is enraptured by the chaotic reality that has come to replace it... - William BarrettWilliam Edmund BarrettWilliam Edmund Barrett was an American author.Born in New York City, he studied at Manhattan College. He married Christine M. Rollman on February 15, 1925. He worked as an aeronautics consultant with the Denver Public Library from 1941 on. He received a citation from Regis College in 1956...
- Lilies of the FieldLilies of the Field (novel)Lilies of the Field is a 1962 semi-fictional novel by William Edmund Barrett that is based on the true story of the Sisters of Walburga. It was later adapted into the film Lilies of the Field, and for the musical stage with the title Look to the Lilies.It tells the story of a black itinerant worker... - Giorgio BassaniGiorgio BassaniGiorgio Bassani was an Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual.-Biography:Bassani was born in Bologna into a prosperous Jewish family of Ferrara, where he spent his childhood with his mother Dora, father Enrico , brother Paolo, and sister Jenny...
- The Garden of the Finzi-ContinisThe Garden of the Finzi-ContinisThe Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a historical novel by Giorgio Bassani, published in 1962. It chronicles the relationships between the narrator and the children of the Finzi-Contini family from the rise of Benito Mussolini until the start of World War II.-Background:The Garden of the...
(Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini) - Thomas BergerThomas Berger (US novelist)-Biography:Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Berger was in Europe with the United States Army and then studied at the University of Cincinnati, and at Columbia University. He worked as a librarian and a journalist before publishing his first novel, Crazy in Berlin, in 1958. Berger may be best known for...
- Reinhart in Love - Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
- R is for RocketR is for RocketR is for Rocket is a short story collection by Ray Bradbury, compiled for Young Adult library sections. It contains fifteen stories from earlier Bradbury collections, and two previously uncollected stories.-Contents:* "R Is for Rocket"...
- Something Wicked This Way ComesSomething Wicked This Way Comes (novel)Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1962 novel by Ray Bradbury. It is about two 13-year-old boys, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, who have a harrowing experience with a nightmarish traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr...
- R is for Rocket
- John BraineJohn BraineJohn Gerard Braine was an English novelist. Braine is usually associated with the Angry Young Men movement.-Biography:...
- Life at the TopLife at the TopLife At The Top is the third novel by the English author John Braine, first published in the UK by Eyre & Spottiswoode and in the US by Houghton Mifflin & Co. in 1962. It continues the story of the life and difficulties of Joe Lampton, an ambitious young man of humble origins... - John BrunnerJohn Brunner (novelist)John Kilian Houston Brunner was a prolific British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1968 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel. It also won the BSFA award the same year...
- Secret Agent of TerraSecret Agent of TerraSecret Agent of Terra is a 1962 science fiction novel by John Brunner. It is the first book of the Zarathustra Refugee Planets series. The other books are Castaways' World and The Repairmen of Cyclops . Secret Agent of Terra was first published as Ace Double F-133, with The Rim of Space by A...
- The Super BarbariansThe Super BarbariansThe Super Barbarians is a science fiction novel by John Brunner.It was first published in the United States by Ace Books in 1962.-Plot summary:...
- Secret Agent of Terra
- Eugene BurdickEugene BurdickEugene L. Burdick , was an American political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer, co-author of The Ugly American and Fail-Safe and author of The 480 ....
and Harvey WheelerHarvey WheelerJohn Harvey Wheeler was an American author, political scientist, and scholar. He was best known as co-author with Eugene Burdick of Fail-Safe, 1962, an early cold war novel that depicted what could easily go wrong in an age on the verge of nuclear war. The novel was made into a movie, directed...
- Fail-SafeFail-Safe (novel)Fail-Safe is a novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, published in 1962.The popular and critically acclaimed novel was first adapted into a 1964 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, and Walter Matthau. In 2000, the novel was adapted again for... - Anthony BurgessAnthony BurgessJohn Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
- A Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork OrangeA Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian.... - William S. BurroughsWilliam S. BurroughsWilliam Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
- The Ticket That ExplodedThe Ticket That ExplodedThe Ticket That Exploded is a novel by William S. Burroughs first published in 1962 by Olympia Press and later published in the United States by Grove Press in 1967. It is the second book in a trilogy created using the cut-up technique, often referred to as The Nova Trilogy... - Taylor CaldwellTaylor CaldwellJanet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell was an Anglo-American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction, also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner, and by her married name of J. Miriam Reback....
- A Prologue To Love - John Dickson CarrJohn Dickson CarrJohn Dickson Carr was an American author of detective stories, who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson and Roger Fairbairn....
- The DemoniacsThe DemoniacsThe Demoniacs, first published in 1962, is a detective story/historical novel by John Dickson Carr set in the London of 1757. This novel is a mystery of the type known as a whodunnit as well as being a historical novel.-Plot summary:... - Agatha ChristieAgatha ChristieDame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
- The Mirror Crack'd from Side to SideThe Mirror Crack'd from Side to SideThe Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 12, 1962 and in US by Dodd, Mead and Company in September 1963 under the shorter title of The Mirror Crack'd and with a copyright date of 1962... - James ClavellJames ClavellJames Clavell, born Charles Edmund DuMaresq Clavell was an Australian-born, British novelist, screenwriter, director and World War II veteran and prisoner of war...
- King RatKing Rat (1962 novel)King Rat is a 1962 novel by James Clavell. Set during World War II, Clavell's literary debut describes the struggle for survival of British, Australian and American prisoners of war in a Japanese camp in Singapore—a description informed by Clavell's own three-year experience as a prisoner in the... - Len DeightonLen DeightonLeonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
- The IPCRESS FileThe Ipcress FileThe IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Michael Caine as the protagonist.... - August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
- Lonesome PlacesLonesome PlacesLonesome Places is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American author August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,201 copies and was Derleth's fifth collection of weird tales...
- The Trail of CthulhuThe Trail of CthulhuThe Trail of Cthulhu is a series of interconnected short stories written by August Derleth as part of the Cthulhu Mythos genre of horror fiction...
- Lonesome Places
- August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
, editor - Dark Mind, Dark HeartDark Mind, Dark HeartDark Mind, Dark Heart is an anthology of horror stories edited by August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,493 copies. The anthology was conceived as a collection of new stories by old Arkham House authors... - Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
- The Man in the High CastleThe Man in the High CastleThe Man in the High Castle is a science fiction alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It won a Hugo Award in 1963 and has since been translated into many languages.... - Allen DruryAllen DruryAllen Stuart Drury was a U.S. novelist. He wrote the 1959 novel Advise and Consent, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960.- Early life & ancestry :...
- A Shade of DifferenceA Shade of DifferenceA Shade of Difference is a 1962 political novel written by Allen Drury. It is the first sequel to Advise and Consent, for which Drury was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1960, and is followed by Capable of Honor.... - William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
- The ReiversThe ReiversThe Reivers, published in 1962, is the last novel by the American author William Faulkner. The bestselling novel was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1963. Faulkner previously won this award for his book A Fable, making him one of only three authors to be awarded it more than once... - Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
- The Spy Who Loved Me - Aldous HuxleyAldous HuxleyAldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
- IslandIsland (novel)Island is the final book by English writer Aldous Huxley, published in 1962. It is the account of Will Farnaby, a cynical journalist who is shipwrecked on the fictional island of Pala. Island is Huxley's utopian counterpart to his most famous work, the 1932 novel Brave New World, itself often... - Shirley JacksonShirley JacksonShirley Jackson was an American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years...
- We Have Always Lived in the CastleWe Have Always Lived in the CastleWe Have Always Lived in the Castle is the final novel by Shirley Jackson, published in 1962, three years before her death in 1965. In 1966, the novel was adapted into a play by Hugh Wheeler... - James JonesJames Jones (author)James Jones was an American author known for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath.-Life and work:...
- The Thin Red LineThe Thin Red Line (1962 novel)The Thin Red Line is author James Jones's fictional account of the World War II Galloping Horse portion of the Battle of Mount Austen, specifically Hill 53, during the Guadalcanal campaign, which he experienced firsthand in the United States Army's 25th Infantry Division... - Ken KeseyKen KeseyKenneth Elton "Ken" Kesey was an American author, best known for his novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , and as a counter-cultural figure who considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. "I was too young to be a beatnik, and too old to be a...
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (novel)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon asylum, the narrative serves as a study of the institutional process and the human mind, as well as a critique of Behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Written in 1959, the novel was adapted into a... - Fletcher KnebelFletcher KnebelFletcher Knebel was an American author of several popular works of political fiction.Knebel was born in Dayton, Ohio, but moved a number of times during his youth. He graduated from high school in Yonkers, New York, spent a year studying at the Sorbonne and graduated from Miami University in...
& Charles W. Bailey II– Seven Days in MaySeven Days in MaySeven Days in May is an American political thriller novel written by Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II and published in 1962. It was made into a motion picture and released in February 1964, with a screenplay by Rod Serling, directed by John Frankenheimer, and starring Burt Lancaster, Kirk... - John le CarréJohn le CarréDavid John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
- A Murder of QualityA Murder of QualityA Murder of Quality is the second novel by John le Carré. It follows George Smiley, the most famous of le Carré's recurring characters, in his only book set outside the espionage community.-Plot summary:... - Madeleine L'EngleMadeleine L'EngleMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer best known for her young-adult fiction, particularly the Newbery Medal-winning A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time...
- A Wrinkle in TimeA Wrinkle in TimeA Wrinkle in Time is a science fantasy novel by Madeleine L'Engle, first published in 1962. The story revolves around a young girl whose father, a government scientist, has gone missing after working on a mysterious project called a tesseract. The book won a Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and... - Doris LessingDoris LessingDoris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
- The Golden NotebookThe Golden NotebookThe Golden Notebook is a 1962 novel by Doris Lessing. This book, as well as the couple that followed it, enters the realm of what Margaret Drabble in The Oxford Companion to English Literature has called Lessing's "inner space fiction", her work that explores mental and societal breakdown... - Anne Morrow LindberghAnne Morrow LindberghAnne Morrow Lindbergh was an American author, aviator, and the spouse of fellow aviator Charles Lindbergh.She was an acclaimed author whose books and articles spanned the genres of poetry to non-fiction, touching upon topics as diverse as youth and age; love and marriage; peace, solitude and...
- Dearly Beloved - H. P. LovecraftH. P. LovecraftHoward Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
- Dreams and FanciesDreams and FanciesDreams and Fancies is a collection of letters and fantasy, horror and science fiction short stories by American author H. P. Lovecraft. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 2,030 copies and was the sixth collection of Lovecraft's work to be released by Arkham House... - Alistair MacLeanAlistair MacLeanAlistair Stuart MacLean was a Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers or adventure stories, the best known of which are perhaps The Guns of Navarone, Ice Station Zebra and Where Eagles Dare, all three having been made into successful films...
- The Satan BugThe Satan Bug (novel)The Satan Bug is a thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It was originally published in 1962 under the pseudonym Ian Stuart, and later republished under MacLean's own name.-Plot summary:... - Eloise McGrawEloise McGrawEloise Jarvis McGraw was an author of children's books and young adult novels. She was awarded the Newbery Honor three times in three different decades, for her novels Moccasin Trail , The Golden Goblet , and The Moorchild...
- The Golden GobletThe Golden GobletThe Golden Goblet is a children's historical novel by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. It was first published in 1961 and received a Newbery Honor award in 1962... - Vladimir NabokovVladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
- Pale FirePale FirePale Fire is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional John Shade, with a foreword and lengthy commentary by a neighbor and academic colleague of the poet. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are... - Anthony PowellAnthony PowellAnthony Dymoke Powell CH, CBE was an English novelist best known for his twelve-volume work A Dance to the Music of Time, published between 1951 and 1975....
- The Kindly OnesThe Kindly Ones (novel)The Kindly Ones is a novel by Anthony Powell that forms the sixth in his twelve-volume sequence, A Dance to the Music of Time. Nonetheless the story stands up on its own and may be enjoyed without having read the preceding books.... - Katherine Anne PorterKatherine Anne PorterKatherine Anne Porter was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel Ship of Fools was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her short stories received much more critical acclaim...
- Ship of FoolsShip of Fools (Porter novel)Ship of Fools is a 1962 novel by Katherine Anne Porter which tells the tale of a group of disparate characters sailing from Mexico to Europe aboard a German freighter and passenger ship... - Mary RenaultMary RenaultMary Renault born Eileen Mary Challans, was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece...
- The Bull from the SeaThe Bull from the SeaThe Bull from the Sea is the sequel to Mary Renault's The King Must Die. It continues the story of the mythological hero Theseus after his return from Crete.-Plot introduction:... - Isaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Bashevis Singer – July 24, 1991) was a Polish Jewish American author noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978...
- The Slave - Aleksandr SolzhenitsynAleksandr SolzhenitsynAleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was aRussian and Soviet novelist, dramatist, and historian. Through his often-suppressed writings, he helped to raise global awareness of the Gulag, the Soviet Union's forced labor camp system – particularly in The Gulag Archipelago and One Day in the Life of...
- One Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichOne Day in the Life of Ivan DenisovichOne Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine Novy Mir . The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s, and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov... - Noel StreatfeildNoel StreatfeildMary Noel Streatfeild OBE , known as Noel Streatfeild, was an author, most famous for her children's books including Ballet Shoes . Several of her novels have been adapted for film or television.-Biography:...
- Travelling Shoes (first published as Apple Bough) - Mary StewartMary StewartMary Florence Elinor Stewart is a popular English novelist, best known for her Merlin series, which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and the fantasy genre.-Career:...
- The Moon-SpinnersThe Moon-SpinnersThe Moon-Spinners is a 1964 American Walt Disney Productions feature film starring Hayley Mills in a story about a jewel thief hiding on the island of Crete. The film was based upon a suspense novel by Mary Stewart and was directed by James Neilson... - Rex StoutRex StoutRex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
- Homicide TrinityHomicide TrinityHomicide Trinity is a collection of Nero Wolfe mystery novellas by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1962. The book comprises three stories:* "Eeny Meeny Murder Mo," first published in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine #220... - Rex StoutRex StoutRex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
- GambitGambit (novel)Gambit is a Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, first published by the Viking Press in 1962.-Plot introduction:A chess prodigy is poisoned during a club tournament, and the police arrest the member who served the victim hot chocolate... - Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
- Mother NightMother NightMother Night is a novel by American author Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1961. The title of the book is taken from Goethe's Faust.... - Irving WallaceIrving WallaceIrving Wallace was an American best-selling author and screenwriter. Wallace was known for his heavily researched novels, many with a sexual theme. One critic described him "as the most successful of all the many exponents of junk fiction perhaps because he took it all so seriously, not so say...
- The PrizeThe Prize (novel)The Prize is a novel written by Irving Wallace in 1962 concerning the annual prize-giving ceremony of the Nobel Prize. A film, based on the book and starring Paul Newman, was made later in 1963.... - Elie WieselElie WieselSir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
- Day - David WilkersonDavid WilkersonDavid Ray Wilkerson was an American Christian evangelist, best known for his book The Cross and the Switchblade...
- The Cross and the SwitchbladeThe Cross and the SwitchbladeThe Cross and the Switchblade is a book written in 1963 by pastor David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. It tells the true story of Wilkerson's first five years in New York City, where he ministered to disillusioned youth, encouraging them to turn away from the drugs and gang violence... - Herman WoukHerman WoukHerman Wouk is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author of novels including The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, and War and Remembrance.-Biography:...
- Youngblood HawkeYoungblood HawkeYoungblood Hawke is a novel by American writer Herman Wouk about the rise and fall of a young writer. It is based on the life of Thomas Wolfe.-Plot summary:...
New drama
- Edward AlbeeEdward AlbeeEdward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider... - Friedrich DürrenmattFriedrich DürrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
- Die PhysikerDie PhysikerThe Physicists is a satiric drama often recognized as the most impressive yet most easily understood work of the Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt...
(The Physicists) - Witold GombrowiczWitold GombrowiczWitold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...
- Historia
Poetry
- George OppenGeorge OppenGeorge Oppen was an American poet, best known as one of the members of the Objectivist group of poets. He abandoned poetry in the 1930s for political activism, and later moved to Mexico to avoid the attentions of the House Un-American Activities Committee...
- The Materials - Al PurdyAl PurdyAlfred Wellington Purdy, OC, O.Ont was one of the most popular and important Canadian poets of the 20th century. Purdy's writing career spanned more than fifty years. His works include over thirty books of poetry; a novel; two volumes of memoirs and four books of correspondence...
- Poems for all the Annettes - William Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
- Pictures from Brueghel and Other PoemsPictures from Brueghel and Other PoemsPictures from Brueghel and Other Poems is a 1962 book of poems by the American modernist poet/writer William Carlos Williams. It was Williams's final book, for which he posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1963....
Non-fiction
- W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
- The Dyer's Hand and other essays - Helen Gurley BrownHelen Gurley BrownHelen Gurley Brown , is an author, publisher, and businesswoman. She was editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.-Personal life and career:...
- Sex and the Single GirlSex and the Single GirlSex and the Single Girl was written in 1962 by Helen Gurley Brown, as an advice book that encouraged women to become financially independent and experience sexual relationships before or without marriage... - Rachel CarsonRachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
– Silent SpringSilent SpringSilent Spring is a book written by Rachel Carson and published by Houghton Mifflin on 27 September 1962. The book is widely credited with helping launch the environmental movement.... - Thomas B. CostainThomas B. CostainThomas Bertram Costain was a Canadian journalist who became a best-selling author of historical novels at the age of 57.-Life:...
– The Last Plantagenets (Fourth book in the Plantagenet or Pageant of England series) - L. Sprague de CampL. Sprague de CampLyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
– Energy and PowerEnergy and PowerEnergy and Power is a 1962 science book for children by L. Sprague de Camp, illustrated by Weimer Pursell and Fred Eng, published by Golden Press as part of The Golden Library of Knowledge Series.... - August DerlethAugust DerlethAugust William Derleth was an American writer and anthologist. Though best remembered as the first publisher of the writings of H. P...
– 100 Books by August Derleth100 Books by August Derleth100 Books by August Derleth is bibliography of books by American author August Derleth. It was released in 1962 by Arkham House in an edition of 1,225 copies... - Milton FriedmanMilton FriedmanMilton Friedman was an American economist, statistician, academic, and author who taught at the University of Chicago for more than three decades...
– Capitalism and FreedomCapitalism and FreedomCapitalism and Freedom is a book by Milton Friedman originally published in 1962 by the University of Chicago Press which discusses the role of economic capitalism in liberal society. It sold over 400,000 copies in the first 18 years and more than half a million since 1962. It has been translated... - Thomas KuhnThomas KuhnThomas Samuel Kuhn was an American historian and philosopher of science whose controversial 1962 book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions was deeply influential in both academic and popular circles, introducing the term "paradigm shift," which has since become an English-language staple.Kuhn...
– The Structure of Scientific RevolutionsThe Structure of Scientific RevolutionsThe Structure of Scientific Revolutions , by Thomas Kuhn, is an analysis of the history of science. Its publication was a landmark event in the history, philosophy, and sociology of scientific knowledge and it triggered an ongoing worldwide assessment and reaction in — and beyond — those scholarly... - W. Somerset MaughamW. Somerset MaughamWilliam Somerset Maugham , CH was an English playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and, reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s.-Childhood and education:...
– Looking Back - V. S. NaipaulV. S. NaipaulSir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
– The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies - British, French and Dutch in the West Indies and South America - Louis NizerLouis NizerLouis Nizer was a noted Jewish-American trial lawyer and senior partner of the law firm Phillips Nizer Benjamin Krim & Ballon...
- My Life in Court - John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
– Travels With Charley: In Search of AmericaTravels With Charley: In Search of AmericaTravels with Charley: In Search of America is a travelogue written by American author John Steinbeck. It recounts tales of a 1960 road trip with his French standard poodle, Charley, around the United States. He wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he... - Barbara TuchmanBarbara TuchmanBarbara Wertheim Tuchman was an American historian and author. She became known for her best-selling book The Guns of August, a history of the prelude to and first month of World War I, which won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1963....
– The Guns of AugustThe Guns of AugustThe Guns of August, also published as August 1914 , is a military history book written by Barbara Tuchman. It primarily describes in great detail the events of the first month of World War I, which for most of the great powers involved in the war was August 1914...
Births
- January 17 - Sebastian JungerSebastian JungerSebastian Junger is an American author, journalist and documentarian, most famous for the best-selling book The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, his award-winning chronicle of the war in Afghanistan in the 2010 movie Restrepo, and his 2010 book War.-Background:Junger was born...
, novelist, journalist, documentarian - February 21 - David Foster WallaceDavid Foster WallaceDavid Foster Wallace was an American author of novels, essays, and short stories, and a professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California...
, novelist - February 21 - Chuck PalahniukChuck PalahniukCharles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter...
, author, journalist - March 31 - Michal VieweghMichal VieweghMichal Viewegh is one of the most popular contemporary Czech writers and the bestselling one. He writes about romantic relationships of his contemporaries with humour, and variously successful irony and attempts at deeper meaningfulness; he is sometimes compared to Nick Hornby by his fans.His...
, Czech languageCzech languageCzech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
writer - October 19 - Tracy ChevalierTracy ChevalierTracy Chevalier is a bestselling historical novelist. She lives in London with her husband and son.Chevalier was raised in Washington, D.C and graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, Maryland. After receiving her B.A...
, novelist - October 28 - Mark HaddonMark HaddonMark Haddon is an English novelist and poet, best known for his 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.- Life and work :...
, novelist - unknown date - David EdwardsDavid Edwards (journalist)David Edwards is a British political writer who specializes in the analysis of corporate media. He is co-editor of the Media Lens website....
, journalist
Deaths
- February 16 - Frank PrewettFrank PrewettFrank James Prewett was a Canadian poet, who spent most of his life in the United Kingdom. He was a war poet of World War I, and was taken up by Siegfried Sassoon...
, poet - April 24 - Emilio PradosEmilio PradosEmilio Prados was a Spanish poet and editor, a member of the Generation of '27.-Life:Born in the Andalusian city of Málaga in 1899, Prados was offered a place at Madrid's famous Residencia de estudiantes in 1914 and moved into its university section in 1918...
, poet - May 26 - Wilfred Wilson Gibson, poet
- June 2 - Vita Sackville-WestVita Sackville-WestThe Hon Victoria Mary Sackville-West, Lady Nicolson, CH , best known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author, poet and gardener. She won the Hawthornden Prize in 1927 and 1933...
, poet and gardener - July 6 - William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
, American novelist - July 21 - G. M. TrevelyanG. M. TrevelyanGeorge Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
, historian - July 27 - Richard AldingtonRichard AldingtonRichard Aldington , born Edward Godfree Aldington, was an English writer and poet.Aldington was best known for his World War I poetry, the 1929 novel, Death of a Hero, and the controversy arising from his 1955 Lawrence of Arabia: A Biographical Inquiry...
, World War I writer - August 9 - Hermann HesseHermann HesseHermann Hesse was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature...
, novelist - September 3 - E. E. CummingsE. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings , popularly known as E. E. Cummings, with the abbreviated form of his name often written by others in lowercase letters as e.e. cummings , was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright...
, poet - September 23 - Patrick HamiltonPatrick Hamilton (dramatist)Patrick Hamilton was an English playwright and novelist.He was well regarded by Graham Greene and J. B. Priestley and study of his novels has been revived recently because of their distinctive style, deploying a Dickensian narrative voice to convey aspects of inter-war London street culture...
, dramatist - December 3 - Dame Mary GilmoreMary GilmoreDame Mary Gilmore DBE was a prominent Australian socialist poet and journalist.-Early life:Mary Jean Cameron was born on 16 August 1865 at Cotta Walla near Goulburn, New South Wales...
, poet and journalist
Awards
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Fiction: William FaulknerWilliam FaulknerWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
- Carnegie MedalCarnegie MedalThe Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
for children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
: Pauline ClarkePauline ClarkePauline Clarke is an English writer who has written for young children under the name Helen Clare, for older children as Pauline Clarke, and more recently for adults under her married name, Pauline Hunter Blair...
, The Twelve and the GeniiThe Twelve and the GeniiThe Twelve and the Genii is a children's fantasy novel by Pauline Clarke, published in 1962. It was awarded the Carnegie Medal and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. Its title in the U.S. is The Return of the Twelves... - Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory AwardThe Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
: Donald ThomasDonald ThomasDonald Serrell Thomas is an English author of Victorian-era historical, crime and detective fiction, as well as books on factual crime and criminals, in particular several academic books on the history of crime in London...
, James Simmons, Brian Johnson, Jenny JosephJenny Joseph-Life and career:She was born in Birmingham, and with a scholarship, studied English literature at St Hilda's College, Oxford .Her poems were first published when she was at university in the early 1950s... - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for fiction: Ronald HardyRonald HardyRonald Harold Hardy was an English novelist and screenwriter. His first novel The Place of Jackals was published in 1954 to general acclaim. Hardy drew on his experiences as a liaison officer in Indochina during World War II in the writing of this novel...
, Act of Destruction - James Tait Black Memorial PrizeJames Tait Black Memorial PrizeFounded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English language and are Britain's oldest literary awards...
for biography: Meriol TrevorMeriol TrevorMeriol Trevor was one of the most prolific Roman Catholic women writers of the twentieth century. She was educated at Perse Girls' School, Cambridge, and St Hugh's College, Oxford, taking her degree in 1942. During World War II she worked in a day nursery and later as the steerer of a cargo barge...
, Newman: The Pillar and the Cloud and Newman: Light in Winter - Newbery MedalNewbery MedalThe John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
for children's literatureChildren's literatureChildren's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
: Elizabeth George SpeareElizabeth George SpeareElizabeth George Speare was an American children's author who won many awards for her historical fiction novels, including two Newbery Medals. She has been called one of America’s 100 most popular children’s authors and much of her work has become mandatory reading in many schools throughout the...
, The Bronze BowThe Bronze BowThe Bronze Bow is a book by Elizabeth George Speare that won the Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature in 1962.-Plot summary:This book is set in first century Judaea... - Newdigate PrizeNewdigate prizeSir Roger Newdigate's Prize is awarded to students of the University of Oxford for Best Composition in English verse by an undergraduate who has been admitted to Oxford within the previous four years. It was founded by Sir Roger Newdigate, Bt in the 18th century...
: Stanley Johnson - Nobel Prize for Literature: John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
- Premio NadalPremio NadalPremio Nadal is a Spanish literary prize awarded annually by the publishing house Ediciones Destino, part of Planeta. It has been awarded every year on January 6 since 1944...
: José María Mendiola, Muerte por fusilamiento - Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
: Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, Abe BurrowsAbe BurrowsAbe Burrows was a Tony and Pulitzer-winning American humorist, author, and director for radio and the stage.-Early years:...
, How To Succeed In Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really TryingHow to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert, based on Shepherd Mead's 1952 book of the same name.... - Pulitzer Prize for FictionPulitzer Prize for FictionThe Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
: Edwin O'ConnorEdwin O'ConnorEdwin O'Connor was an American radio personality, journalist, and novelist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962 for The Edge of Sadness...
, The Edge of SadnessThe Edge of SadnessThe Edge of Sadness is a novel by the American author Edwin O'Connor. It was published in 1961 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1962. The story is about a middle-aged Catholic priest in New England.-External links:*... - Pulitzer Prize for PoetryPulitzer Prize for PoetryThe Pulitzer Prize in Poetry has been presented since 1922 for a distinguished volume of original verse by an American author. However, special citations for poetry were presented in 1918 and 1919.-Winners:...
: Alan DuganAlan DuganAlan Dugan was an American poet.His first volume Poems published in 1961 was a chosen by the Yale Series of Younger Poets and went on to win the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry....
, Poems - Queen's Gold Medal for PoetryQueen's Gold Medal for PoetryThe 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 include people from the rest of the Commonwealth realms...
: Christopher FryChristopher FryChristopher Fry was an English playwright. He is best known for his verse dramas, notably The Lady's Not for Burning, which made him a major force in theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life:...