1984 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1984 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- The book Nineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-FourNineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
by George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
is widely read. - Of Mice and MenOf Mice and MenOf Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
, the novel by 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...
, was removed from TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
public schools when the School Board Chair promised to remove all "filthy books" from public school curricula and libraries. - 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...
is made the British Poet Laureate
New books
- 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...
- Random HeartsRandom HeartsRandom Hearts is a 1984 novel by American author Warren Adler. In 1999, the novel was made into a motion picture directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Harrison Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas.-Plot summary :... - 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...
- Stanley and the Women - Martin AmisMartin AmisMartin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
- MoneyMoney (novel)Money: A Suicide Note is a 1984 novel by Martin Amis. Time magazine included the novel in its "100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present".-Plot summary:... - Jeffrey Archer - First Among Equals
- Richard BachmanRichard BachmanRichard Bachman is a pseudonym used by horror fiction author Stephen King.-Origin:At the beginning of Stephen King's career, the general view among publishers was such that an author was limited to a book every year, since publishing more would not be acceptable to the public...
- ThinnerThinner (novel)Thinner is a 1984 novel by Stephen King, published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. It would be the last novel which King released under the Richard Bachman pseudonym until the release of The Regulators in 1996 . The photo is claimed to have been taken by Claudia Inez Bachman...
(nom de plumePen nameA pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
for 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...
) - 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...
- Empire of the SunEmpire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II... - Iain BanksIain BanksIain Banks is a Scottish writer. He writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies...
- The Wasp FactoryThe Wasp FactoryThe Wasp Factory was the first novel by Scottish writer Iain Banks. It was published in 1984.-Overview:It is written from a first person perspective, told by sixteen-year-old eunuch Frank Cauldhame, describing his childhood and all that remains of it... - Julian BarnesJulian BarnesJulian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer, and winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, for his book The Sense of an Ending...
- Flaubert's ParrotFlaubert's ParrotFlaubert's Parrot is a novel by Julian Barnes that was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1984 and won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize the following year... - J. J. Benitez - Caballo de TroyaCaballo de TroyaCaballo de Troya is a novel written in 1984 by Spanish journalist, writer and ufologist Juan José Benítez. It has reached considerable success in most Spanish-speaking countries as well as in Brazil...
- Michael BishopMichael Bishop (author)Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
- One Winter in EdenOne Winter in EdenOne Winter in Eden is a collection of science fiction and fantasy stories by author Michael Bishop. It was released in 1984 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,596 copies. It was the author's second book published by Arkham House.-Contents:...
and Who Made Stevie Crye?Who Made Stevie Crye?Who Made Stevie Crye? is a Horror novel by author Michael Bishop. It was released in 1984 by Arkham House in an edition of 3,591 copies. It was the author's first novel and third book published by Arkham House.-Plot summary:... - Simon BrettSimon BrettSimon Brett is a prolific writer of whodunnits. The son of a chartered surveyor, he was educated at Dulwich College and Wadham College, Oxford, where he got a first-class honours degree in English...
- A Shock to the SystemA Shock to the SystemA Shock to the System is a U.S. comedy crime thriller film directed by Jan Egleson, starring Michael Caine, Swoosie Kurtz, Elizabeth McGovern, and Peter Riegert... - David BrinDavid BrinGlen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
- The Practice EffectThe Practice Effect-Plot summary:A scientist by the name of Dennis Nuel is working at, and attending, an institute of scientific research and pioneering work into the fictional scientific field of "Zievatronics", the manipulation of Time and Space... - Anita BrooknerAnita BrooknerAnita Brookner CBE is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill, a suburb of London.-Early life and education:...
- Hotel du LacHotel du LacHotel du Lac is a 1984 Booker Prize winning novel by English writer Anita Brookner.-Plot:Romantic novelist Edith Hope is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, where her friends have advised her to retreat following an unfortunate incident... - Sandra CisnerosSandra CisnerosSandra Cisneros is an American writer best known for her acclaimed first novel The House on Mango Street and her subsequent short story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories...
- The House on Mango StreetThe House on Mango StreetThe House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age novel by Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros, published in 1984. It deals with a young Latina girl, Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans. Esperanza is determined to "say goodbye" to her impoverished Latino... - Tom ClancyTom ClancyThomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
- The Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red OctoberThe Hunt for Red October is a 1984 novel by Tom Clancy. The story follows the intertwined adventures of Soviet submarine captain Marko Aleksandrovich Ramius and CIA analyst Jack Ryan.The novel was originally published by the U.S... - Bernard & Judy CornwellBernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
(as Susannah Kells) - Fallen Angels - Marguerite DurasMarguerite DurasMarguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
- L'Amant - Kevin EastmanKevin EastmanKevin Brooks Eastman is an American comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Eastman is also the current owner, editor and publisher of the magazine Heavy Metal.-Early life:Eastman was born on May 30, 1962 in Springvale, Maine...
and Peter LairdPeter LairdPeter Alan Laird is an American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman.-Early life and career:...
-Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage Studios)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American comic book published by Mirage Studios from 1984 to 2009. Originally conceived by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird as a one-off parody, the comic's popularity has gone on to inspire a major pop culture franchise, including three television series, four...
(comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
) - Louise ErdrichLouise ErdrichKaren Louise Erdrich, known as Louise Erdrich, is an author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American heritage. She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance...
- Love MedicineLove MedicineLove Medicine is Louise Erdrich’s first novel, published in 1984. Erdrich revised and expanded the novel for an edition issued in 1993, and this version was considered the definitive edition until 2009 when Erdrich re-edited it... - Howard FastHoward FastHoward Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
- The Outsider - Leon ForrestLeon ForrestLeon Richard Forrest was an African American novelist. His novels concerned mythology, history, and Chicago....
- Two Wings to Veil My Face - 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 Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth ProtocolThe Fourth Protocol is a novel written by Frederick Forsyth and published in August 1984.-Explanation of the novel's title:The title refers to the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which contained four secret protocols. The fourth, of the protocols, was meant to prohibit the non-conventional... - John GardnerJohn Gardner (thriller writer)John Edmund Gardner was an English spy novelist, most notably for the James Bond series.-Early life:Gardner was born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge and did postgraduate study at Oxford...
- Role of HonourRole of HonourRole of Honour , first published in 1984, was the fourth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond... - William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
- NeuromancerNeuromancerNeuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy... - Kent HarufKent HarufKent Haruf is an award-winning American novelist.-Life:Haruf was born in Pueblo, Colorado, the son of a Methodist minister...
- The Tie That Binds - Frank HerbertFrank HerbertFranklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
- Heretics of DuneHeretics of DuneHeretics of Dune is a 1984 science fiction novel by Frank Herbert, fifth in a series of six novels. It was ranked as the #13 hardcover fiction best seller of 1984 by The New York Times.-Plot introduction:... - David HughesDavid Hughes (novelist)David Hughes was an English novelist. His best known work included The Pork Butcher and But for Bunter, published as The Joke of the Century in the United States....
- The Pork ButcherThe Pork ButcherThe Pork Butcher is a novel by English writer David Hughes, first published in 1984 by Constable & Co, and winner of the 1985 WH Smith Literary Award.-Outline:... - John JakesJohn JakesJohn William Jakes is an American writer, best known for American historical fiction.-Early life and education:...
- Love and War - 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...
, Peter StraubPeter StraubPeter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
- The Talisman - Russell KirkRussell KirkRussell Kirk was an American political theorist, moralist, historian, social critic, literary critic, and fiction author known for his influence on 20th century American conservatism. His 1953 book, The Conservative Mind, gave shape to the amorphous post–World War II conservative movement...
- Watchers at the Strait GateWatchers at the Strait GateWatchers at the Strait Gate is a collection of stories by author Russell Kirk. It was released in 1984 and was the author's second book published by Arkham House, and Kirk's third collection of supernatural stories... - Milan KunderaMilan KunderaMilan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
- The Unbearable Lightness of BeingThe Unbearable Lightness of BeingThe Unbearable Lightness of Being , written by Milan Kundera, is a philosophical novel about two men, two women, a dog and their lives in the Prague Spring of the Czechoslovak Communist period in 1968. Although written in 1982, the novel was not published until two years later, in France... - 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 Aquitaine ProgressionThe Aquitaine Progression-Plot summary:Joel Converse is a lawyer, having previously been a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Because of his wartime experiences with Command Saigon, in the form of a psychopathic general named "Mad" Marcus Delavane, he is chosen to thwart a cabal of former generals bent on world... - 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 Magic HorsesA Book of Magic HorsesA Book of Magic Horses is a 1984 anthology of 16 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.-Table of contents:*1. The Dapple Horse... - 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...
- Valediction - Mario PuzoMario PuzoMario Gianluigi Puzo was an American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, including The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film by Francis Ford Coppola...
- The SicilianThe SicilianThe Sicilian is a novel by Italian-American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group , it is based on Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfathers literary sequel.... - Thomas PynchonThomas PynchonThomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. is an American novelist. For his most praised novel, Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon received the National Book Award, and is regularly cited as a contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature...
- Slow Learner: Early StoriesSlow LearnerSlow Learner is the 1984 published collection of six early novellas by the American novelist Thomas Pynchon, originally published in various sources between 1959 and 1964.The book is also notable for its introduction, written by Pynchon... - Dr. SeussDr. SeussTheodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
- The Butter Battle BookThe Butter Battle BookThe Butter Battle Book is a rhyming story written by Dr. Seuss. It was published by Random House Books for Young Readers on January 12, 1984. It is an anti-war story; specifically, a parable about arms races in general, mutually assured destruction and nuclear weapons in particular... - Bob SheaRobert SheaRobert Joseph Shea was an American novelist and former journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In...
and Robert Anton WilsonRobert Anton WilsonRobert Anton Wilson , known to friends as "Bob", was an American author and polymath who became at various times a novelist, philosopher, psychologist, essayist, editor, playwright, poet, futurist, civil libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
- The Illuminatus! TrilogyThe Illuminatus! TrilogyThe Illuminatus! Trilogy is a series of three novels written by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1975. The trilogy is a satirical, postmodern, science fiction-influenced adventure story; a drug-, sex-, and magick-laden trek through a number of conspiracy theories, both...
(collected edition) - Michael SladeMichael SladeMichael Slade is the pen name of Canadian novelist Jay Clarke, a lawyer who has participated in more than 100 criminal cases and who specializes in criminal insanity. Before Clarke entered law school, his undergraduate studies focused on history...
- Headhunter - Danielle SteelDanielle SteelDanielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel , better known as Danielle Steel, is an American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas....
- Full Circle - Neal StephensonNeal StephensonNeal Town Stephenson is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction.Difficult to categorize, his novels have been variously referred to as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk...
- The Big UThe Big UThe Big U is Neal Stephenson's first published novel, a satire of campus life.- Plot :The story chronicles the disillusionment of a number of young intellectuals as they encounter the realities of the higher education establishment parodied in the story...
(debut novel) - Robert SwindellsRobert SwindellsRobert E. "Bob" Swindells is an English author of children's and young adult literature.- Biography :Born in Bradford, Yorkshire, Swindells worked for a newspaper after leaving school aged 15. He served with the Royal Air Force and held various jobs before training as a primary school teacher...
- Brother in the LandBrother in the LandBrother in the Land is a 1984 post-apocalyptic novel by Robert E. "Bob" Swindells. It follows a teenage boy as he fights for survival following a nuclear attack on his home... - John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
- The Witches of EastwickThe Witches of EastwickThe Witches of Eastwick is a 1984 novel by John Updike.-Plot summary:The story, set in the fictional Rhode Island town of Eastwick in the late 1960s, follows the witches Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont, who acquired their powers after leaving or being left by their husbands.... - 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...
- LincolnLincoln (novel)Lincoln is a historical novel, part of the Narratives of Empire series by Gore Vidal.Set during the American Civil War, the novel describes the presidency of Abraham Lincoln through the eyes of several historical figures, including presidential secretary John Hay, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln,... - Janusz ZajdelJanusz ZajdelJanusz Andrzej Zajdel was a prominent Polish science fiction author, second in popularity in Poland after Stanisław Lem. His writing carees started in 1965. His novels were recognized as the best in science fiction in Poland in 1982 Janusz Andrzej Zajdel (15 August 1938 in Warsaw – 19 July...
- ParadyzjaParadyzjaParadyzja is a 1984 science fiction novel by Janusz A. Zajdel.It is a dystopian novel similar to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The space colonies are more or less federated with the Earth. Human rights are observed and respected everywhere, but Paradise has not been verified for sure...
New drama
- Howard BarkerHoward BarkerHoward E. Barker is a British playwright.-The Theatre of Catastrophe :Barker has coined the term "Theatre of Catastrophe" to describe his work...
- Scenes from an Execution - Dario FoDario FoDario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
- Elizabeth: Almost by Chance a WomanElizabeth: Almost by Chance a WomanElizabeth: Almost by Chance a Woman is a play by the Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo.The play takes place in the boudoir of Queen Elizabeth I of England. In the midst of political upheaval aging Elizabeth is eagerly awaiting the arrival of her lover, the Earl of Essex, who is involved in an attempted... - Beth HenleyBeth HenleyElizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley is an American dramatist and actress. She writes primarily about women's issues and family in the Southern United States. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays...
- The Miss Firecracker Contest - Elfriede JelinekElfriede JelinekElfriede Jelinek is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2004 for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that, with extraordinary linguistic zeal, reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and their subjugating power."-...
- Krankheit oder Moderne Frauen - David MametDavid MametDavid Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
- Glengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell... - Joshua Sobol - GhettoGhetto (play)Ghetto is a play by Israeli playwright Joshua Sobol about the experiences of the Jews of the Vilna Ghetto during Nazi occupation in World War II. The play focuses on the Jewish theatre in the ghetto, incorporating live music and including as characters historical figures such as Jacob Gens, the...
- Tom StoppardTom StoppardSir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
- Rough CrossingRough CrossingRough Crossing is a 1984 comedic play by British playwright Tom Stoppard, "freely adapted from Ferenc Molnár's Play at the Castle." Set on board the S.S...
Poetry
- John AshberyJohn AshberyJohn Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
- A Wave - Louise ErdrichLouise ErdrichKaren Louise Erdrich, known as Louise Erdrich, is an author of novels, poetry, and children's books featuring Native American heritage. She is widely acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of the second wave of what critic Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance...
- JacklightJacklightJacklight is a 1984 poetry collection by Louise Erdrich. The collection grew from poems Erdrich wrote for her 1979 Master of Arts thesis at Johns Hopkins University.-Table of Contents:*Jacklight**"Jacklight"*Runaways**"A Love Medicine"... - Christopher Gilbert - Across the Mutual Landscape
- Paulette JilesPaulette JilesPaulette Jiles-Johnson is an American-born Canadian poet and novelist. Born in Salem, Missouri, she was educated at the University of Illinois in Spanish literature...
- Celestial Navigation - Sharon OldsSharon Olds-Life:Sharon Olds was born in 1942 in San Francisco. She was raised as a “hellfire Calvinist”, as she describes it. She says she was by nature "a pagan and a pantheist" and notes "I was in a church where there was both great literary art and bad literary art, the great art being psalms and the bad...
- The Dead and the Living
Non-fiction
- Morrill CodyMorrill CodyMorrill Cody was an American diplomat, literary editor, and author. Cody served with the United States Foreign Service for more than two decades and was a former deputy director of the United States Information Agency from 1961 to 1963 under Edward R. Murrow...
& Hugh FordHugh FordHugh Ford was an American film director and screenwriter. He directed 31 films between 1913 and 1921. He also wrote for 19 films between 1913 and 1920.He was born in Washington, D.C..-Selected filmography:...
- The Women of Montparnasse, the Americans in Paris. - 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...
- BoyBoy (book)Boy: Tales of Childhood is the first autobiographical book by British writer Roald Dahl. It describes his life from birth until leaving school, focusing on living conditions in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, the public school system at the time, and how his childhood experiences led him to...
an autobiography - Lee IacoccaLee IacoccaLido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca is an American businessman known for engineering the Mustang, the unsuccessful Ford Pinto, being fired from Ford Motor Company, and his revival of the Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s...
- Iacocca: An AutobiographyIacocca: An AutobiographyIacocca: An Autobiography is Lee Iacocca's best selling autobiography, co-authored with William Novak and originally published in 1984. Most of the book is taken up with reminiscences of Iacocca's career in the car industry, first with the Ford Motor Company, then the Chrysler Corporation...
. - Steven LevySteven LevySteven Levy is an American journalist who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.-Career:...
- Hackers: Heroes of the Computer RevolutionHackers: Heroes of the Computer RevolutionHackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution is a book by Steven Levy about hacker culture. It was published in 1984 in Garden City, New York by Anchor Press/Doubleday...
. - Derek ParfitDerek ParfitDerek Parfit is a British philosopher who specializes in problems of personal identity, rationality and ethics, and the relations between them. His 1984 book Reasons and Persons has been very influential...
- Reasons and PersonsReasons and PersonsReasons and Persons is a philosophical work by Derek Parfit, first published in 1984. It focuses on ethics, rationality and personal identity....
. - Joan PetersJoan PetersJoan Peters is a former CBS news producer of otherwise unnamed documentaries, and the author best known for a number of theses on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, put forward in her book From Time Immemorial, published in 1984 in which she claims that the Palestinians are largely not indigenous...
- From Time ImmemorialFrom Time ImmemorialFrom Time Immemorial: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine is a 1984 book by Joan Peters about the demographics of the Arab population of Palestine and of the Jewish population of the Arab world before and after the formation of the State of Israel.According to the book a large...
: The Origins of the Arab-Jewish Conflict over Palestine. - Herbert Jay SternHerbert Jay SternHerbert Jay Stern is a lawyer in New Jersey who formerly served as a federal judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and as United States Court for Berlin....
- Judgment in BerlinJudgment in BerlinJudgment in Berlin is a 1984 book by federal judge Herbert Jay Stern about a hijacking trial in the United States Court for Berlin in 1979, over which he presided....
.
Deaths
- February 22 - Jessamyn WestJessamyn West (writer)Mary Jessamyn West was an American Quaker who wrote numerous stories and novels, notably The Friendly Persuasion ....
, writer - July 6 - Denys Val BakerDenys Val BakerDenys Val Baker was a British writer, specialising in short stories, novels, and autobiographical novels. He was also known for his activities as an editor, and promotion of the arts in Cornwall.-Early years:...
, Welsh writer (b. 1917) - August 25 - Truman CapoteTruman CapoteTruman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
, American writer (b. 1924)
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...
: Kate GrenvilleKate GrenvilleKate Grenville is one of Australia's best-known authors. She's published nine novels, a collection of short stories, and four books about the writing process....
, Lilian's Story - 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...
: Les MurrayLes Murray (poet)Leslie Allan Murray, AO , known as Les Murray, is an Australian poet, anthologist and critic. His career spans over forty years, and he has published nearly 30 volumes of poetry, as well as two verse novels and collections of his prose writings...
, The People's Other World
Canada
- See 1984 Governor General's Awards1984 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1984 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit was selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:*Josef Skvorecky, The Engineer of Human SoulsOther 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"...
: Marguerite DurasMarguerite DurasMarguerite Donnadieu, better known as Marguerite Duras was a French writer and film director.-Background:...
, L'Amant - 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: Bernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
, Le Diable en tête - 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: Elsa MoranteElsa MoranteElsa Morante was an Italian novelist, perhaps best known for her novel La storia .-Biography:...
, Aracoeli
United Kingdom
- Booker PrizeMan Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
: Anita BrooknerAnita BrooknerAnita Brookner CBE is an English language novelist and art historian who was born in Herne Hill, a suburb of London.-Early life and education:...
, Hotel du LacHotel du LacHotel du Lac is a 1984 Booker Prize winning novel by English writer Anita Brookner.-Plot:Romantic novelist Edith Hope is staying in a hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, where her friends have advised her to retreat following an unfortunate incident... - 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...
: Margaret MahyMargaret MahyMargaret Mahy ONZ is a well-known New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. While the plots of many of her books have strong supernatural elements, her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growing up.Her books The Haunting and The Changeover: A Supernatural...
, The ChangeoverThe ChangeoverThe Changeover: a Supernatural Romance is a young adult novel by the New Zealand novelist Margaret Mahy, first published in 1984. It won the Carnegie Medal for that year.- Plot introduction :... - 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...
: Michael BaldwinMichael BaldwinMichael Baldwin is a fictional character on the CBS television soap opera The Young and the Restless, portrayed by Christian LeBlanc originally from late December 1991 until June 1993 and then he returned on April 25, 1997. The character has also crossed over briefly to As the World Turns on April...
, Michael HofmannMichael HofmannMichael Hofmann is a German-born poet who writes in English and a translator of texts from German.-Biography:...
, Carol Rumens - 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....
: Martyn Crucefix, Mick Imlah, Jamie McKendrick, Bill Smith, Carol Ann DuffyCarol Ann DuffyCarol Ann Duffy, CBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet and playwright. She is Professor of Contemporary Poetry at the Manchester Metropolitan University, and was appointed Britain's poet laureate in May 2009...
, Christopher MeredithChristopher Meredith- Personal life :He was educated at Tredegar Comprehensive school and later studied philosophy and English at Aberystwyth University. He has a wife and two sons, Rhodri and Steffan...
, Peter Armstrong, Iain Bamforth - 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. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
, Empire of the SunEmpire of the SunEmpire of the Sun is a 1984 novel by J. G. Ballard which was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story, "The Dead Time" , it is essentially fiction but draws extensively on Ballard's experiences in World War II...
, and Angela CarterAngela CarterAngela Carter was an English novelist and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works...
, Nights at the CircusNights at the CircusNights at the Circus is a novel by Angela Carter, first published in 1984 and that year's winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Fevvers, a woman who is – or so she would have people believe – a Cockney virgin, hatched from an egg... - 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: Lyndall GordonLyndall GordonLyndall Gordon is a South African writer and academic, known for her literary biographies. Born in Cape Town, she was an undergraduate at the University of Cape Town, then a doctoral student at Columbia University...
, Virginia WoolfVirginia WoolfAdeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
: A Writer's Life - Whitbread Best Book Award1984 Whitbread AwardsThe Whitbread Awards are among the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary awards. They were first given in 1971. The selections are made both for high literary merit and for works that are enjoyable reading and whose aim is to convey the enjoyment of reading to the widest possible audience...
: James BuchanJames BuchanJames Buchan, born 11 June 1954, is a British novelist and journalist.-Biography:Buchan is the son of William Buchan, 3rd Baron Tweedsmuir and grandson of John Buchan, the Scottish novelist and diplomat. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, and began his career as a Financial...
, A Parish of Rich Women
United States
- Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry PrizeAgnes Lynch Starrett Poetry PrizeThe Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize is a major American literary award for a first full-length book of poetry in the English language.This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA was initiated by Ed Ochester and developed by Frederick A. Hetzel. The prize is...
: Arthur Smith, Elegy on Independence Day - Frost MedalFrost MedalThe Robert Frost Medal is an award of the Poetry Society of America for "distinguished lifetime service to American poetry." Medalists receive a prize purse of $2,500....
: Jack Stadler - 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...
: William GibsonWilliam GibsonWilliam Gibson is an American-Canadian science fiction author.William Gibson may also refer to:-Association football:*Will Gibson , Scottish footballer...
, NeuromancerNeuromancerNeuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy... - 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...
: Beverly ClearyBeverly ClearyBeverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...
, Dear Mr. HenshawDear Mr. HenshawDear Mr. Henshaw is a juvenile epistolary novel by Beverly Cleary which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984.-Plot summary:Dear Mr. Henshaw begins with the book's main character, Leigh Botts, writing a letter, as part of a second grade classroom assignment, to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Mr... - 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...
: David MametDavid MametDavid Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
, Glengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen RossGlengarry Glen Ross is a 1984 play written by David Mamet. The play shows parts of two days in the lives of four desperate Chicago real estate agents who are prepared to engage in any number of unethical, illegal acts—from lies and flattery to bribery, threats, intimidation and burglary—to sell... - 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:...
: William J. Kennedy - IronweedIronweedIronweed is a 1983 novel by William Kennedy. It received the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is the third book in Kennedy's Albany Cycle... - 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:...
: Mary OliverMary OliverMary Oliver is an American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The New York Times described her as "far and away, this country's [America's] best-selling poet".-Early life:...
: American Primitive