1980 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1980 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- Marguerite YourcenarMarguerite YourcenarMarguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie française, in 1980, and the seventeenth person to occupy Seat 3.-Biography:Yourcenar was born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie...
becomes the first woman to be elected to the Académie françaiseAcadémie françaiseL'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. - Kane and AbelKane and Abel (novel)Kane and Abel is a 1979 novel by British author Jeffrey Archer. The title and story is a play on the Biblical brothers, Cain and Abel.Released in the United Kingdom in 1979 and in the United States in February 1980, the book was an international success. It reached No...
by Jeffrey Archer (published 1979), reaches #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. - September - Performance of ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
with Peter O'ToolePeter O'ToolePeter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
in the lead opens at the Old Vic Theatre, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, often considered one of the greatest disasters in theatre history.
New books
- Douglas AdamsDouglas AdamsDouglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
- The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction trilogy of five by Douglas Adams. It was originally published by Pan Books as a paperback. The book was inspired by the song "Grand Hotel" by British rock band Procol Harum... - Richard Adams
- The Girl in a SwingThe Girl in a SwingThe Girl in a Swing is the fourth novel by Richard Adams, author of Watership Down. It was first published in 1980. Subsequent editions changed the female lead's name from Kathe Geutner to Karin Forster, due to threat of a libel suit from someone with that name...
- The Iron Wolf and Other Stories
- The Girl in a Swing
- Warren AdlerWarren AdlerWarren Adler is a world-renowned American novelist, short story writer and playwright based in New York, NY. His books have been translated into more than 25 languages and two of his novels, The War of the Roses and Random Hearts, have been made into movies, shown continually throughout the...
- The War of the Roses - Woody AllenWoody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
- Side Effects - Jean M. AuelJean M. AuelJean Marie Auel is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals...
- The Clan of the Cave BearThe Clan of the Cave BearThe Clan of the Cave Bear is an historical novel by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times set before the extinction of the Neanderthal race after 600,000 years as a species, and at least 10-15,000 years after Homo sapiens remains are documented and dated in Europe as a viable second human species... - 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...
- Earthly PowersEarthly PowersEarthly Powers is a panoramic saga of the 20th century by Anthony Burgess first published in 1980. On one level it is a parody of a "blockbuster" novel, with the 81-year-old hero, Kenneth Toomey , telling the story of his life in 82 chapters... - Ramsey CampbellRamsey CampbellJohn Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction author.Since he first came to prominence in the mid-1960s, critics have cited Campbell as one of the leading writers in his field: T. E. D. Klein has written that "Campbell reigns supreme in the field today", while S. T...
, editor - New Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos - Bruce ChatwinBruce ChatwinCharles Bruce Chatwin was an English novelist and travel writer. He won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel On the Black Hill...
- The Viceroy of OuidahThe Viceroy of Ouidah-Summary:Chatwin's novel, detailing the life of a slave trader named Francisco Manuel da Silva, is loosely based on the life of an historical Brazilian, Francisco Felix de Sousa, who became a powerful personage in Wydah or Ouidah, the so-called Slave Coast of West Africa, now Benin and Togo... - Mary Higgins ClarkMary Higgins ClarkMary Theresa Eleanor Higgins Clark Conheeney , known professionally as Mary Higgins Clark, is an American author of suspense novels...
- The Cradle Will Fall - J. M. Coetzee - Waiting for the BarbariansWaiting for the BarbariansWaiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The novel was published in 1980. It was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and...
- Larry CollinsLarry Collins (writer)Larry Collins, born John Lawrence Collins Jr., , was an American writer.-Life:...
and Dominique LapierreDominique LapierreDominique Lapierre is a French author.-Life:Dominique Lapierre was born in Châtelaillon-Plage, Charente-Maritime, France. At the age of thirteen, he traveled to America with his father who was a diplomat...
-The Fifth HorsemanThe Fifth Horseman (novel)The Fifth Horseman is a novel written by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre. In a suspenseful novel of terrorist threat, Libyan leader Gaddafi holds New York City hostage with the threat of setting off a hidden nuclear bomb... - Pat ConroyPat ConroyPat Conroy , is a New York Times bestselling author who has written several acclaimed novels and memoirs. Two of his novels, The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, were made into Oscar-nominated films.-Early life:...
- The Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of DisciplineThe Lords of Discipline is a 1980 novel by Pat Conroy.-Summary:The novel's narrator, Will McLean, attends the Carolina Military Institute in Charleston, from 1963 to 1967. The novel takes place in four parts. The first describes the beginning of his senior year and the admission of new freshmen... - Basil CopperBasil CopperBasil Copper is a prolific English writer and former journalist and newspaper editor. He became a fulltime writer in 1970.In addition to horror and detective fiction, Copper is perhaps best known for his series of Solar Pons stories continuing the character created as a tribute to Sherlock Holmes...
- NecropolisNecropolis (novel)Necropolis is a Gothic novel by author Basil Copper. It was published by Arkham House in 1980 in an edition of 4,050 copies. It was Copper's third book published by Arkham House.-Plot summary:... - Roald DahlRoald DahlRoald Dahl was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter.Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander...
- The TwitsThe TwitsThe Twits is a humorous children's book written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It was written in 1979, and first published in 1980.... - 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...
- Conan and the Spider GodConan and the Spider GodConan and the Spider God is a fantasy novel written by L. Sprague de Camp featuring Robert E. Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. It was first published in paperback by Bantam Books in December 1980; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books and Tor Books...
- The Purple PterodactylsThe Purple PterodactylsThe Purple Pterodactyls is a collection of short stories by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in hardcover by Phantasia Press in January, 1980, and in paperback by Ace Books in April of the same year...
- Conan and the Spider God
- Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
- The Brave Little ToasterThe Brave Little ToasterThe Brave Little Toaster is a novel by Thomas M. Disch intended for children or as put by Disch, A Bedtime Story for Small Appliances... - E. L. DoctorowE. L. DoctorowEdgar Lawrence Doctorow is an American author.- Biography :Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was born in the Bronx, New York City, the son of second-generation Americans of Russian Jewish descent...
- In Loon Lake - Allan W. EckertAllan W. EckertAllan W. Eckert was an American historian, historical novelist, and naturalist.-Biography:Eckert was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in the Chicago, Illinois area, but had been a long-time resident of Bellefontaine, Ohio, near where he attended university...
- Song of the Wild - Umberto EcoUmberto EcoUmberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
- The Name of the RoseThe Name of the RoseThe Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory... - Ken FollettKen FollettKen Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels. He has sold more than 100 million copies of his works. Four of his books have reached the number 1 ranking on the New York Times best-seller list: The Key to Rebecca, Lie Down with Lions, Triple, and World Without End.-Early...
- The Key to RebeccaThe Key to RebeccaThe Key to Rebecca is a novel by British author Ken Follett. Published in 1980 by Pan Books , it was a noted bestseller that achieved popularity both in the United Kingdom and worldwide... - Frederick ForsythFrederick ForsythFrederick Forsyth, CBE is an English author and occasional political commentator. He is best known for thrillers such as The Day of the Jackal, The Odessa File, The Fourth Protocol, The Dogs of War, The Devil's Alternative, The Fist of God, Icon, The Veteran, Avenger, The Afghan and The Cobra.-...
- The Devil's AlternativeThe Devil's AlternativeThe Devil's Alternative is a novel by British writer Frederick Forsyth first published in 1979. It was his fourth full-length novel and marked a new direction in his work, setting the story several years in the future rather than in the recent past.-Plot summary:The story opens with the discovery... - Mary Jayne GoldMary Jayne GoldMary Jayne Gold was an American heiress who played an important role helping European Jews and intellectuals escape Nazi Germany in 1940-1941, during World War II....
- Crossroads Marseilles 1940 - William GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
- Rites of Passage - Douglas HillDouglas HillDouglas Arthur Hill was a Canadian science fiction author, editor and reviewer. He was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of a railroad engineer, and was raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. An avid science fiction reader from an early age, he studied English at the University of Saskatchewan...
- Deathwing Over Veynaa - Douglas HillDouglas HillDouglas Arthur Hill was a Canadian science fiction author, editor and reviewer. He was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of a railroad engineer, and was raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. An avid science fiction reader from an early age, he studied English at the University of Saskatchewan...
- Day of the Starwind - Robert E. HowardRobert E. HowardRobert Ervin Howard was an American author who wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. Best known for his character Conan the Barbarian, he is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subgenre....
and 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...
- The Treasure of TranicosThe Treasure of Tranicos (collection)The Treasure of Tranicos is a 1980 collection of one fantasy short story written by Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, together with essays by de Camp on the title story and on Howard... - L. Ron HubbardL. Ron HubbardLafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
- Battlefield EarthBattlefield Earth (novel)Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 is a 1982 science fiction novel written by the Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. He composed a soundtrack to the book called Space Jazz.... - P. D. JamesP. D. JamesPhyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL , commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh.-Life and career:James...
- Innocent BloodInnocent Blood (novel)Innocent Blood is a mystery novel by P. D. James.- Plot summary :A young woman, Philippa Palfrey, finds out that her father and mother are actually her adoptive parents. Her adoptive father, Maurice, is a lecturer at a school. He is also a spokesperson for the Young Socialists party and a writer... - Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
- FirestarterFirestarterFirestarter is a novel by Stephen King first published in 1980. It was nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 1981.The book is dedicated to the author Shirley Jackson: "In Memory of Shirley Jackson, who never needed to raise her voice."... - Judith KrantzJudith KrantzJudith Krantz , is an American novelist who writes in the romance genre. Her works include Scruples, Princess Daisy, and Till We Meet Again.-Early years:...
- Princess DaisyPrincess Daisy (novel)Princess Daisy is a 1980 romance novel by American author Judith Krantz.-Plot summary:The novel tells the story of Princess Marguerite "Daisy" Valensky. She is the daughter of Prince Alexander "Stash" Valensky, a wealthy Russian-born polo player and former playboy, and his wife Francesca Vernon, a... - Björn KurténBjörn KurténBjörn Olof Lennartson Kurtén was a distinguished vertebrate paleontologist. He belonged to the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. He was a professor in paleontology at the University of Helsinki from 1972 up to his death in 1988...
- Dance of the TigerDance of the TigerDance of the Tiger is a short novel, published in English in 1980, by palaeontologist Björn Kurtén that deals with the interaction between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons... - 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"...
- Smiley's PeopleSmiley's PeopleSmiley's People is a spy novel by John le Carré, published in 1979. Featuring British master-spy George Smiley, it is the third and final novel of the "Karla Trilogy", following Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy... - 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 Ring of Endless LightA Ring of Endless LightA Ring of Endless Light is a 1980 novel by Madeleine L'Engle. The book tells of a girl named Vicky and her struggle to understand life and significance in the universe as she deals with her dying grandfather, while at the same time finding love.... - Robert LudlumRobert LudlumRobert Ludlum was an American author of 23 thriller novels. The number of his books in print is estimated between 290–500 million copies. They have been published in 33 languages and 40 countries. Ludlum also published books under the pseudonyms Jonathan Ryder and Michael Shepherd.-Life and...
- The Bourne Identity - Ruth Manning-SandersRuth Manning-SandersRuth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
- A Book of Spooks and SpectresA Book of Spooks and SpectresA Book of Spooks and Spectres is a 1980 anthology of 23 fairy tales from around the world that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders. It is one in a long series of such anthologies by Manning-Sanders.... - James A. MichenerJames A. MichenerJames Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
- The CovenantThe Covenant (novel)The Covenant is a historical novel by American author James A. Michener, published in 1980.-Plot summary:The novel is set in South Africa, home to five distinct populations: Bantu , Coloured The Covenant is a historical novel by American author James A. Michener, published in 1980.-Plot summary:The...
- Robert B. ParkerRobert B. ParkerRobert Brown Parker was an American crime writer. His most famous works were the novels about the private detective Spenser. ABC television network developed the television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character in the late 1980s; a series of TV movies based on the character were also...
- Looking for Rachel WallaceLooking for Rachel WallaceLooking for Rachel Wallace is the sixth Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker, first published in 1980.-Plot summary:Spenser is hired to protect a lesbian, feminist activist, the eponymous Rachel Wallace. After his protecting gets in the way of her protesting, she fires him. Shortly afterwards, she... - Belva PlainBelva PlainBelva Plain , née Offenberg, was a best-selling American author of mainstream fiction. She was born in New York City.-Biography:...
- Random Winds - Marin PredaMarin PredaMarin Preda was a Romanian novelist, one of the best-known post-WWII Romanian writers.Preda was born in Teleorman county, in a village called Siliştea-Gumeşti, into a family of peasants. He first studied at school in his home village, then schools in Abrud and Cristur-Odorhei...
- Cel mai iubit dintre pământeniCel mai iubit dintre pamânteniCel mai iubit dintre pământeni is the last, and perhaps most elaborate, novel by the Romanian author Marin Preda. Written in 1980, it is an intricate fresco of Communist Romania and the horrors of the Stalinist era...
(The Most Beloved of Earthlings) - Herman RaucherHerman RaucherHerman Raucher is an American author who has written several screenplays, among them the popular Summer of '42 and The Great Santini and several novels and plays...
- There Should Have Been CastlesThere Should Have Been CastlesThere Should have been Castles is a 1980 romantic comedy novel by Herman Raucher. It is a roman a clef, with Raucher acknowledging that the male and female main characters are based on him and his wife, to whom he had been married for twenty years at the time of the book's publication.-Plot:It is... - Mordecai RichlerMordecai RichlerMordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...
- Joshua Then and NowJoshua Then and NowJoshua Then and Now is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Mordecai Richler, first published in 1980 by McClelland and Stewart. Richler adapted it into the feature film Joshua Then and Now, starring James Woods, Alan Arkin, and Gabrielle Lazure; directed by Ted Kotcheff who had previously... - Marilynne RobinsonMarilynne Robinson-Biography:Robinson was born and grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho, and did her undergraduate work at Pembroke College, the former women's college at Brown University, receiving her B.A., magna cum laude in 1966, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She received her Ph.D...
- HousekeepingHousekeeping (novel)Housekeeping is a novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson. It was published in 1980, nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction , and given the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel.In 2003, the Guardian Unlimited named Housekeeping one of the 100 greatest novels of all... - Salman Rushdie - Midnight's ChildrenMidnight's ChildrenMidnight's Children is a 1981 book by Salman Rushdie about India's transition from British colonialism to independence and the partition of India. It is considered an example of postcolonial literature and magical realism...
- Sidney SheldonSidney SheldonSidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
- Rage of AngelsRage of AngelsRage of Angels is a 1980 novel by Sidney Sheldon. The novel revolves around young attorney Jennifer Parker, as she rises as a successful lawyer after being framed for threatening the chief witness against a Mafia boss by mistakenly giving him a dead canary with a broken neck which in turn leads to... - Gay TaleseGay TaleseGay Talese is an American author. He wrote for The New York Times in the early 1960s and helped to define literary journalism...
- Thy Neighbor's WifeThy Neighbor's WifeThy Neighbor's Wife is a non-fiction book by Gay Talese, published in 1981 and updated in 2009.The book is an exploration of early-1950s sexuality in America, with notable discussion of the free love subculture... - Walter Tevis - "Mockingbird"
- John Kennedy TooleJohn Kennedy TooleJohn Kennedy Toole was an American novelist from New Orleans, Louisiana, best-known for his posthumously published novel A Confederacy of Dunces. He also wrote The Neon Bible. Although several people in the literary world felt his writing skills were praiseworthy, Toole's novels were rejected...
- A Confederacy of DuncesA Confederacy of DuncesA Confederacy of Dunces is a picaresque novel written by John Kennedy Toole, published by LSU Press in 1980, 11 years after the author's suicide. The book was published through the efforts of writer Walker Percy and Toole's mother Thelma Toole, quickly becoming a cult classic, and later a... - Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
- The Shadow of the TorturerThe Shadow of the TorturerThe Shadow of the Torturer is a science fantasy novel by Gene Wolfe, first released in 1980. It is the first volume in the four-volume novel, The Book of the New Sun... - Roger ZelaznyRoger ZelaznyRoger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...
- Changeling
- The Last Defender of CamelotThe Last Defender of CamelotThe Last Defender of Camelot is an anthology of short stories written by science fiction/fantasy writer Roger Zelazny.-Contents:This is a list of the short stories included in the 1980 edition...
New drama
- Howard BrentonHoward Brenton-Early years:Brenton was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, son of Methodist minister Donald Henry Brenton and his wife Rose Lilian . He was educated at Chichester High School For Boys and read English Literature at St Catharine's College, Cambridge. In 1964 he was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal...
- The Romans in BritainThe Romans in BritainThe Romans in Britain is a stage play by Howard Brenton that comments upon imperialism and the abuse of power.A cast of thirty actors play sixty roles.- Stage history :... - Kenneth RossKenneth G. RossKenneth Graham Ross is an Australian playwright and screenwriter best known for writing the 1978 stage play Breaker Morant, that was based on the life of Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant....
- Breaker MorantBreaker MorantHarry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, soldier and convicted war criminal whose skill with horses earned him the nickname "The Breaker"... - Willy Russell - Educating RitaEducating RitaEducating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer....
- Sam ShepardSam ShepardSam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
- True WestTrue West (play)True West is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard. Like most of his works it is inspired by myths of American life and popular culture. The play is a more traditional narrative than most of the plays that Shepard has written.-Plot:...
Non-fiction
- Pierre BertonPierre BertonPierre Francis de Marigny Berton, was a noted Canadian author of non-fiction, especially Canadiana and Canadian history, and was a well-known television personality and journalist....
- The Invasion of CanadaThe Invasion of CanadaThe Invasion of Canada is a 1980 book by Pierre Berton.The book is an account of the first year of the War of 1812, and the events leading up to it... - Graham ChapmanGraham ChapmanGraham Arthur Chapman was a British comedian, physician, writer, actor, and one of the six members of the Monty Python comedy troupe.-Early life and education:...
et al. - A Liar's AutobiographyA Liar's AutobiographyA Liar's Autobiography humorous, fictionalised account of his life written by Graham Chapman of Monty Python fame. First published in Britain in 1980, it was republished in 1991 and again in 1999... - 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...
- The Ragged Edge of ScienceThe Ragged Edge of ScienceThe Ragged Edge of Science is a science book by L. Sprague de Camp, illustrated by Don Simpson. It was first published by Owlswick Press in 1980.... - 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...
, editor - The Spell of ConanThe Spell of ConanThe Spell of Conan is a 1980 collection of essays, poems and fiction edited by L. Sprague de Camp, published in paperback by Ace Books. The material was originally published as articles in George H. Scithers' fanzine Amra. The book is a companion to Ace’s earlier volume of material from Amra, The... - Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
- Ways of Escape - Jerry Hopkins & Danny SugermanDanny SugermanDaniel Stephen "Danny" Sugerman was the second manager of the Los Angeles-based rock band The Doors, and wrote several books about Jim Morrison and The Doors, including No One Here Gets Out Alive , and the autobiography Wonderland Avenue...
- No One Here Gets Out AliveNo One Here Gets Out AliveNo One Here Gets Out Alive was the first biography of Jim Morrison, lead singer and lyricist of the L.A. rock band The Doors, written after his death by journalist Jerry Hopkins, with later "insider" information added by Danny Sugerman. The book is largely credited with revitalizing the popularity... - Michael MedvedMichael MedvedMichael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
& Harry Medved - The Golden Turkey AwardsThe Golden Turkey AwardsThe Golden Turkey Awards is a 1980 book by film critic Michael Medved and his brother Harry Medved.The book awards the fictional "Golden Turkey Awards" to films judged by the authors as poor in quality, and to directors and actors judged to have created a chronically inept body of work... - Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
- CosmosCosmos (book)Cosmos is a popular science book by astronomer and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan. Its 13 illustrated chapters, corresponding to the 13 episodes of the Cosmos TV series on which the book was based, explore the mutual development of science and civilization... - Alvin TofflerAlvin TofflerAlvin Toffler is an American writer and futurist, known for his works discussing the digital revolution, communication revolution, corporate revolution and technological singularity....
- The Third WaveThe Third Wave (book)The Third Wave is a book published in 1980 by Alvin Toffler. It is the sequel to Future Shock, published in 1970, and the second in what was originally just a trilogy that was continued with Powershift: Knowledge, Wealth and Violence at the Edge of the 21st Century in 1990...
Deaths
- January 3 - Joy AdamsonJoy AdamsonJoy Adamson was a naturalist, artist, and author best known for her book, Born Free, which describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa...
, conservationist and author of Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
(killed by a servant in northern KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
) - January 3 - G. S. FraserG. S. FraserGeorge Sutherland Fraser was a Scottish poet, literary critic and academic. He was born in Glasgow, later moving with his family to Aberdeen. He went to the University of St. Andrews....
, poet and critic - January 11 - Barbara PymBarbara PymBarbara Mary Crampton Pym was an English novelist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century...
, novelist - March 25 - James WrightJames Wright (poet)James Arlington Wright was an American poet.Wright first emerged on the literary scene in 1956 with The Green Wall, a collection of formalist verse that was awarded the prestigious Yale Younger Poets Prize. But by the early 1960s, Wright, increasingly influenced by the Spanish language...
, poet - April 15 - Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
, philosopher, novelist and dramatist - June 7 - Henry MillerHenry MillerHenry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
, writer - July 1 - C. P. SnowC. P. SnowCharles Percy Snow, Baron Snow of the City of Leicester CBE was an English physicist and novelist who also served in several important positions with the UK government...
, novelist - July 9 - Vinicius de MoraesVinicius de MoraesMarcus Vinicius de Moraes , known as Vinicius de Moraes and nicknamed O Poetinho , was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Son of Lydia Cruz de Moraes and Clodoaldo Pereira da Silva Moraes, he was a seminal figure in contemporary Brazilian music...
, poet and songwriter - July 26 - Kenneth TynanKenneth TynanKenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
, influential theatre critic - September 18 - 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...
, novelist and essayist - November 9 - Patrick CampbellPatrick Campbell, 3rd Baron GlenavyPatrick Gordon Campbell, 3rd Baron Glenavy , known as Patrick Campbell, was an Irish journalist, humorist and television personality....
, journalist and wit - November 22 - Mae WestMae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, actress and dramatist - December 2 - Romain GaryRomain GaryRomain Gary was a French diplomat, novelist, film director, World War II aviator. He is the only author to have won the Prix Goncourt twice .- Early life :Gary was born in Vilnius under the name Roman Kacew...
, writer - December 8 - John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, musician, author - December 12 - Ben TraversBen TraversBen Travers AFC CBE in London) was a British playwright best remembered for his farces.Born in the London borough of Hendon, Travers was educated at Charterhouse, where today there is a theatre named for him...
, dramatist - December 31 - Marshall McLuhanMarshall McLuhanHerbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist...
(author) - date unknown - Gareth EvansGareth Evans (philosopher)Gareth Evans was a British philosopher.-Life:Gareth Evans studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at University College, Oxford . His philosophy tutor was Peter Strawson...
, philosopher - date unknown - Caradog PrichardCaradog PrichardCaradog Prichard was a Welsh poet and novelist writing in Welsh. His daughter, Mari Prichard, was married to the late Humphrey Carpenter....
, Welsh-language poet and novelist
Australia
- The Australian/Vogel Literary AwardThe Australian/Vogel Literary AwardThe Australian/Vogel Literary Award is an Australian literary award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35. The prize money, currently A$20,000, is the richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript in Australia...
: Inaugural award to Archie WellerArchie WellerArchie Weller is an Australian award winning writer of novels, short stories and screen plays.Weller was born in Cranbrook, Western Australia, and grew up on a farm called Woonenup in the South west of that state....
, The Day Of The Dog, after the award was initially given to Paul Radley, who was disqualified after admitting his manuscript was actually written by his uncle. - Kenneth Slessor Prize for PoetryKenneth Slessor Prize for PoetryThe Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards for a book of collected poems or for a single poem of substantial length published in book form...
: David CampbellDavid Campbell (poet)David Watt Ian Campbell was an Australian poet who wrote over 15 volumes of prose and poetry.-Life:Campbell was born on 16 July 1915 at Ellerslie Station, near Adelong, New South Wales...
, Man in the Honeysuckle
Canada
- See 1980 Governor General's Awards1980 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1980 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:*George Bowering, Burning WaterOther Finalists:...
for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
France
- Prix GoncourtPrix GoncourtThe Prix Goncourt 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"...
: Yves NavarreYves NavarreYves Navarre was a French writer. A gay man, most of his work concerned homosexuality and associated issues, such as AIDS. In his romantic works, Navarre was noted for his tendency to emphasize sensuality and "the mystical qualities of love" rather than sexuality or sensationalism...
, Le Jardin d'acclimatation - Prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
French: Jean-Luc Benoziglio, Cabinet-portrait who refused the prize, thus it was given to Jean Lahougue's Comptine des Height - Prix MédicisPrix MédicisThe Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent."...
International: Andre BrinkAndré BrinkAndré Philippus Brink, OIS, is a South African novelist. He writes in Afrikaans and English and is a Professor of English at the University of Cape Town....
, Une saison blanche et sèche
United Kingdom
- Booker Prize: William GoldingWilliam GoldingSir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
, Rites of Passage - 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...
: Peter DickinsonPeter DickinsonPeter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE is an English author and poet who has written a wide variety of books, notably children's books and detective stories, over a long and distinguished career.-Life and work:...
, City of Gold - Cholmondeley AwardCholmondeley AwardThe Cholmondeley Award is an annual award for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the late Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966...
: George BarkerGeorge Barker (poet)George Granville Barker was an English poet and author.-Life and work:Barker was born in Loughton, near Epping Forest in Essex, England, elder brother of Kit Barker [painter] George Barker was raised by his Irish mother and English father in Battersea, London. He was educated at an L.C.C. school...
, Terence TillerTerence TillerTerence Rogers Tiller was an English poet and radio producer.-Early life:He was born in Truro, Cornwall. His early career was in medieval history at the University of Cambridge. During the World War II he taught in Cairo.-BBC:In 1946 he joined the BBC; and was a known Fitzrovian...
, Roy FullerRoy FullerRoy Broadbent Fuller was an English writer, known mostly as a poet. He was born in Failsworth, Lancashire, and brought up in Blackpool. He worked as a lawyer for a building society, serving in the Royal Navy 1941-1946.Poems was his first book of poetry. He began to write fiction also in the 1950s... - 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....
: Robert MinhinnickRobert MinhinnickRobert Minhinnick is a Welsh poet, essayist, novelist and translator.Minhinnick was born in Neath, and now lives in Porthcawl. He studied at University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and University of Wales, Cardiff. An environmental campaigner, he co-founded the charities Friends of the Earth and...
, Michael HulseMichael HulseMichael Hulse is an English translator, critic, and poet.-Life and Works:Hulse has translated over sixty books from the German, among them works by Goethe, Rilke, and Jakob Wassermann. He is nowadays most familiar as the translator of three of W. G. Sebald's books: The Emigrants, The Rings of...
, Blake MorrisonBlake MorrisonPhilip Blake Morrison is a British poet and author who has published in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. His greatest success came with the publication of his memoirs And When Did You Last See Your Father? which won the J. R. Ackerley Prize for Autobiography. He has also written a...
, Medbh McGuckianMedbh McGuckianMedbh McGuckian is a poet from Northern Ireland.-Biography:She was born the third of six children as Maeve McCaughan to Hugh and Margaret McCaughan in North Belfast. Her father was a school headmaster and her mother an influential art and music enthusiast... - 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: J. M. Coetzee, Waiting for the BarbariansWaiting for the BarbariansWaiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born author J. M. Coetzee, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003. The novel was published in 1980. It was chosen by Penguin for its series Great Books of the 20th Century and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and... - 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: Robert B. Martin, TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
: The Unquiet Heart - Whitbread Best Book Award1980 Whitbread Awards-References:*...
: David LodgeDavid Lodge (author)David John Lodge CBE, is an English author.In his novels, Lodge often satirises academia in general and the humanities in particular. He was brought up Catholic and has described himself as an "agnostic Catholic". Many of his characters are Catholic and their Catholicism is a major theme...
, How Far Can You Go?How Far Can You Go?How Far Can You Go? is a novel by British writer and academic David Lodge. It was renamed Souls and Bodies when published in the United States...
United States
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for 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...
- Caldecott MedalCaldecott MedalThe Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children , a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. The award was named in honor of nineteenth-century English...
: Barbara CooneyBarbara CooneyBarbara Cooney was an American children's author and illustrator of more than 200 books and double Caldecott Medalist. She has written books for six decades...
, Ox-Cart ManOx-Cart ManOx-Cart Man is the title of a 1979 book written by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney. It won the 1980 Caldecott Medal. The book deals with an 18th century farming family that uses an ox-cart to take their goods to market, where they make the money to buy the things they need.Ox-Cart Man... - Dos Passos PrizeDos Passos PrizeThe John Dos Passos Prize is awarded annually to the best currently under-recognized American writer in the middle of their career.The Prize was founded at Longwood University in 1980 and is meant to honor John Dos Passos by recognizing other writers in his name...
: Graham GreeneGraham GreeneHenry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world... - Nebula AwardNebula AwardThe Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
: Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, TimescapeTimescapeTimescape is a 1980 novel by science fiction writer Gregory Benford . It won the 1980 Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards, and the 1981 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel... - 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...
: Joan BlosJoan BlosJoan Winsor Blos is an author, teacher and Advocate for Children and Literature. In 1980, she won the Newbery Medal and the National Book Award for A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal...
, A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's JournalA Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's JournalA Gathering of Days; A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 is a historical novel by Joan Blos that won the 1980 Newbery Medal for excellence in American children's literature.... - 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...
: Lanford WilsonLanford WilsonLanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
, Talley's FollyTalley's FollyTalley's Folly is a 1979 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson, the second in his cycle, The Talley Trilogy between his plays Talley & Son and Fifth of July. Set in an old boathouse near rural Lebanon, Missouri in 1944, it is a romantic comedy following the characters Matt Friedman and Sally... - 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:...
: Norman MailerNorman MailerNorman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, The Executioner's SongThe Executioner's SongThe Executioner's Song is a 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Norman Mailer that depicts the events surrounding the execution of Gary Gilmore by the state of Utah for murder. The title of the book may be a play on "The Lord High Executioner's Song" from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado... - 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:...
: Donald JusticeDonald JusticeDonald Justice was an American poet and teacher of writing. In summing up Justice's career, David Orr has written, "In most ways, Justice was no different from any number of solid, quiet older writers devoted to traditional short poems. But he was different in one important sense: sometimes his...
, Selected Poems
Elsewhere
- Hugo Award for Best NovelHugo Award for Best NovelThe Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
: Arthur C. ClarkeArthur C. ClarkeSir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, famous for his short stories and novels, among them 2001: A Space Odyssey, and as a host and commentator in the British television series Mysterious World. For many years, Robert A. Heinlein,...
, The Fountains of ParadiseThe Fountains of ParadiseThe Fountains of Paradise is a Hugo and Nebula Award–winning 1979 novel by Arthur C. Clarke. Set in the 22nd century, it describes the construction of a space elevator. This "orbital tower" is a giant structure rising from the ground and linking with a satellite in geostationary orbit at the... - Premio Cervantes : Juan Carlos OnettiJuan Carlos OnettiJuan Carlos Onetti was an Uruguayan novelist and author of short stories.A high school drop-out, Onetti's first novel, El pozo, published in 1939, met with his close friends' immediate acclaim, as well as from some writers and journalists of his time...
- 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...
: Juan Ramón Zaragoza, Concerto grosso