1990 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1990 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- J. K. RowlingJ. K. RowlingJoanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
gets the idea for Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
while on a trainTrainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
ride from ManchesterManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
to 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...
. She says "I was staring out the window, and the idea for Harry just came. He appeared in my mind's eye, very fully formed. The basic idea was for a boy who didn't know what he was." It would be seven more years before the world was introduced to "Harry." - Ernest BornemanErnest BornemanErnst Wilhelm Julius Bornemann was a German crime writer, filmmaker, anthropologist, ethnomusicologist, jazz musician, jazz critic, psychoanalyst, sexologist, and committed socialist. All these diverse interests, he claimed, had a common root in his lifelong insatiable curiosity...
is awarded the Magnus Hirschfeld MedalMagnus Hirschfeld MedalThe Magnus Hirschfeld Medal is awarded by the German Society for Social-Scientific Sexuality Research for outstanding service to sexual science, granted in the categories "Sexual Research" and "Sexual Reform"...
. - Nicci Gerrard marries Sean French, resulting in the writing team now known as Nicci FrenchNicci FrenchNicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, who write psychological thrillers together.-Personal life:...
.
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...
& Mark CarwardineMark CarwardineMark Carwardine is a zoologist who achieved widespread recognition for his Last Chance to See conservation expeditions with Douglas Adams, first aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1990. Since then he has become a leading and outspoken conservationist, and a prolific broadcaster, columnist and...
- Last Chance to SeeLast Chance to SeeLast Chance to See is a 1989 BBC radio documentary series and its accompanying book, written and presented by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine. In the series, Adams and Carwardine travel to various locations in the hope of encountering species on the brink of extinction... - Iain M. Banks - Use of WeaponsUse of WeaponsUse of Weapons is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1990 as the third novel in the Culture series.-Plot introduction:...
- Greg BearGreg BearGregory Dale Bear is an American science fiction and mainstream author. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict , artificial universes , consciousness and cultural practices , and accelerated evolution...
- Heads and Queen of Angels - Louis de BernieresLouis de BernièresLouis de Bernières is a British novelist most famous for his fourth novel, Captain Corelli's Mandolin. In 1993 de Bernières was selected as one of the "20 Best of Young British Novelists", part of a promotion in Granta magazine...
- The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether PartsThe War of Don Emmanuel's Nether PartsThe War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts is a novel by Louis de Bernières, first published in 1990. It is the first of his Latin American trilogy. The other two parts are Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman.It is de Bernières' first published novel, but is... - William BoydWilliam Boyd (writer)William Boyd, CBE is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter.-Biography:Of Scottish descent, Boyd spent his early life in Ghana and Nigeria, in Africa...
- Brazzaville BeachBrazzaville BeachBrazzaville Beach is a novel by William Boyd, for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1990, and the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year. The book tells the story of a woman researching chimpanzees, Hope Clearwater, and the circumstances that brought her to... - Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
- A Graveyard for LunaticsA Graveyard for LunaticsA Graveyard for Lunatics: Another tale of two cities is a mystery novel by Ray Bradbury, published in 1990. It is the second in a series of three mystery novels that Bradbury wrote featuring a fictionalized version of the author himself as the unnamed narrator.The novel is set in 1954, when the... - John BradshawJohn Bradshaw (author)John Elliot Bradshaw is an American educator, counselor, motivational speaker and author who has hosted a number of PBS television programs on topics such as addiction, recovery, codependency and spirituality. Bradshaw is active in the self-help movement, and is credited with popularizing such...
- Homecoming - 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...
- Clear and Present DangerClear and Present DangerClear and Present Danger is a novel by Tom Clancy, written in 1989, and is a canonical part of the Jack Ryan universe. In the novel, Jack Ryan is thrown into the position of CIA Acting Deputy Director and discovers that he is being kept in the dark by his colleagues who are conducting a covert war... - Hugh CookHugh Cook (science fiction author)Hugh Cook was a cult author whose works blend fantasy and science fiction. He is best-known for his epic series The Chronicles of an Age of Darkness.-Biography:...
- The Wazir and the Witch and The Wishstone and the Wonderworkers - Bernard 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:...
- Sharpe's WaterlooSharpe's Waterloo (novel)Sharpe's Waterloo is a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell set during the 1815 Waterloo campaign.-Characters in Sharpe's Waterloo:*Lt. Col...
and Crackdown - Michael CrichtonMichael CrichtonJohn Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
- Jurassic Park - Jim DodgeJim DodgeJim Dodge is an American novelist and poet whose works combine themes of folklore and fantasy, set in a timeless present. He has published three novels, Fup, Not Fade Away and Stone Junction and a collection of poetry and prose, Rain on the River.-Biography:Dodge was born in 1945 and grew up as an...
- Stone Junction - Roddy DoyleRoddy DoyleRoddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....
- The Snapper - Dominick DunneDominick DunneDominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...
- An Inconvenient WomanAn Inconvenient WomanAn Inconvenient Woman is a 1990 novel by Dominick Dunne. Its plot centers on the affair between married Jules Mendelson, an extremely influential member of Los Angeles high society, and Flo March, a diner waitress and aspiring actress whose life is transformed by the illicit relationship until she... - James EllroyJames EllroyLee Earle "James" Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist. Ellroy has become known for a so-called "telegraphic" prose style in his most recent work, wherein he frequently omits connecting words and uses only short, staccato sentences, and in particular for the novels The Black...
- L.A. ConfidentialL.A. ConfidentialL.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity... - John Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth GalbraithJohn Kenneth "Ken" Galbraith , OC was a Canadian-American economist. He was a Keynesian and an institutionalist, a leading proponent of 20th-century American liberalism...
- A Tenured ProfessorA Tenured ProfessorA Tenured Professor is a satirical novel by Canadian/American economist and Professor Emeritus at Harvard, John Kenneth Galbraith, about a liberal university teacher who sets out to change American society by making money and then using it for the public good... - 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...
- BrokenclawBrokenclawBrokenclaw, first published in 1990, was the tenth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton and in the United States by Putnam... - Elizabeth GeorgeElizabeth GeorgeSusan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain.Eleven of her novels featuring her lead character Inspector Lynley have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Biography:George was born in Warren, Ohio to Robert Edwin and Anne ...
- Well-Schooled in MurderWell-Schooled in MurderWell-Schooled in Murder is a crime novel by Elizabeth George first published in 1990. Set in the late 1980s at an elite public school in the South of England founded in 1489, the book, which is a mystery novel in the tradition of the whodunnit, revolves around the strict yet unwritten code of... - Andrew GreeleyAndrew GreeleyFather Andrew M. Greeley is an Irish-American Roman Catholic priest, sociologist, journalist and fiction writer....
- The Cardinal Virtues - 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....
, 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...
and Lin CarterLin CarterLinwood Vrooman Carter was an American author of science fiction and fantasy, as well as an editor and critic. He usually wrote as Lin Carter; known pseudonyms include H. P. Lowcraft and Grail Undwin.-Life:Carter was born in St. Petersburg, Florida...
- The Conan Chronicles 2The Conan Chronicles 2The Conan Chronicles 2 is a 1990 omnibus collection of two previous fantasy collections and one fantasy novel by Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter featuring Howard's seminal sword and sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian, published by Orbit Books. The component books had originally... - Marsha HuntMarsha Hunt (singer and novelist)Marsha Hunt is an American singer, novelist, actress and model.-Early life:Hunt was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1946 and lived in North Philadelphia near 23rd and Columbia then in Germantown and Mount Airy for the first 13 years of her life...
- JoyJoy (novel)Joy is a novel by Marsha Hunt about the relationship between two African American women which is based on secrets, lies, and delusion. Mainly set in a posh New York apartment in the course of one day in the spring of 1987, the novel contains frequent flashbacks that describe life in a black... - 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...
- Devices and DesiresDevices and DesiresDevices and Desires is a 1989 detective novel in the Adam Dalgliesh series by P. D. James. It takes place on Larksoken, an isolated headland in Norfolk.-Plot overview:... - Imre KertészImre KertészImre Kertész is a Hungarian Jewish author, Holocaust concentration camp survivor, and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2002 "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history"....
- Kaddish for an Unborn Child (Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért) - 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...
- Four Past MidnightFour Past MidnightFour Past Midnight is a collection of four novellas by Stephen King, published in 1990. The four stories are "The Langoliers"; "Secret Window, Secret Garden"; "The Library Policeman"; and "The Sun Dog".- The Langoliers :...
and The Stand - Hanif KureishiHanif KureishiHanif Kureishi CBE is an English playwright, screenwriter and filmmaker, novelist and short story writer. The themes of his work have touched on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality...
- The Buddha of Suburbia - Elmore LeonardElmore LeonardElmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...
- Get ShortyGet ShortyGet Shorty is a 1990 novel by American novelist Elmore Leonard. In 1995, the novel was adapted into a film of the same name.-Plot summary:... - 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 UltimatumThe Bourne UltimatumThe Bourne Ultimatum is the third Jason Bourne novel written by Robert Ludlum and a sequel to The Bourne Supremacy . First published in 1990, it was the last Bourne novel to be written by Ludlum himself. Eric Van Lustbader wrote a sequel titled The Bourne Legacy fourteen years later.A film titled... - Ian McEwanIan McEwanIan Russell McEwan CBE, FRSA, FRSL is a British novelist and screenwriter, and one of Britain's most highly regarded writers. In 2008, The Times named him among their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945"....
- The InnocentThe Innocent (novel)-Summary:The novel takes place in 1955-56 Berlin at the beginning of the Cold War and centres on the joint CIA/MI6 operation to build a tunnel from the American sector of Berlin into the Russian sector to tap the phone lines of the Soviet High Command. Leonard Marnham is a 25-year-old Englishman... - 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...
- Pilgrimage - Brian MooreBrian Moore (novelist)Brian Moore was a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter who emigrated to Canada and later lived in the United States. He was acclaimed for the descriptions in his novels of life in Northern Ireland after the Second World War, in particular his explorations of the inter-communal divisions of The...
- Lies of Silence - Tim O'BrienTim O'Brien (author)Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there...
- The Things They CarriedThe Things They CarriedThe Things They Carried is a collection of related stories by Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin, 1990... - Orhan PamukOrhan PamukFerit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
- The Black BookThe Black Book (Orhan Pamuk novel)The Black Book is a novel by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. It was published in Turkish in 1990 and first translated and published in English in 1994... - 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...
- Stardust - Rosamund Pilcher - SeptemberSeptember (novel)September is a novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. September was published in 1990, three years after The Shell Seekers. Although one Shell Seekers character, Noel Keeling, makes a fairly minor appearance, a new cast of characters is introduced....
- Belva PlainBelva PlainBelva Plain , née Offenberg, was a best-selling American author of mainstream fiction. She was born in New York City.-Biography:...
- Harvest - Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
- Eric and Moving PicturesMoving Pictures (novel)Moving Pictures is the name of the tenth Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, published in 1990. The book takes place in Discworld's most famous city, Ankh-Morpork and a town called "Holy Wood"... - 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...
- VinelandVinelandVineland is a 1990 novel by Thomas Pynchon, a postmodern fiction set in California, United States in 1984, the year of Ronald Reagan's re-election... - Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
- The Ends of the EarthThe Ends of the EarthThe Ends of the Earth is a collection of science fiction and horror stories by author Lucius Shepard. It was released in 1991 and was the author's second book published by Arkham House . It was published in an edition of 4,655 copies... - Danielle SteelDanielle SteelDanielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel , better known as Danielle Steel, is an American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas....
- Message From NamMessage from NamMessage From Nam is a fiction novel, authored by Danielle Steel and published by Dell Publishing in October, 1990. The novel follows Paxton Andrews, a fictional character who is stationed in Vietnam as a journalist, focusing on the men she enounters and how her life and the lives of the people she... - James Tiptree, Jr. - Her Smoke Rose Up ForeverHer Smoke Rose Up ForeverHer Smoke Rose Up Forever is a collection of Science fiction and fantasy stories by author James Tiptree, Jr.. It was released in 1990 by Arkham House...
- Scott TurowScott TurowScott F. Turow is an American author and a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies...
- The Burden of ProofThe Burden of ProofThe Burden of Proof, published in 1990, is Scott Turow's second novel, somewhat of a sequel to Presumed Innocent. The Burden of Proof follows the story of defense attorney Sandy Stern as he attempts to put his life in order in the midst of seeming dishonesty all around him.The novel begins with... - Andrew VachssAndrew VachssAndrew Henry Vachss is an American crime fiction author, child protection consultant, and attorney exclusively representing children and youths...
- Blossom - Kurt VonnegutKurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
- Hocus PocusHocus Pocus (novel)Hocus Pocus is a 1990 novel by Kurt Vonnegut which deals with themes of class, race, crime, suicide, and globalization.-Introduction:Like many of Vonnegut's novels, Hocus Pocus is not organized in a traditional linear fashion, and has a plot centered around a major event which is alluded to early,... - Harry L. WatsonHarry L. WatsonHarry L. Watson is an American historian of the antebellum American South, Jacksonian America, and the history of North Carolina. He is Director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina....
- Liberty and PowerLiberty and PowerLiberty and Power is a group weblog established in 2003 and is part of the History News Network of the Center for History and New Media. The members share a libertarian or classical liberal perspective. They are primarily university professors and represent diverse fields. Past guest bloggers have... - Banana YoshimotoBanana Yoshimotois the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto , a Japanese contemporary writer. She writes her name in hiragana.-Biography:Yoshimoto, daughter of Takaaki Yoshimoto, was born in Tokyo on July 24, 1964...
- AmritaAmrita (novel)Amrita （アムリタ) is a novel written by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto Amrita （アムリタ) is a novel written by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto Amrita （アムリタ) is a novel written by Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto (吉本ばなな）in 1994 and translated into English in 1997 by Russell F. Wasden.-Plot synopsis:...
New drama
- Brian FrielBrian FrielBrian Friel is an Irish dramatist, author and director of the Field Day Theatre Company. He is considered to be the greatest living English-language dramatist, hailed by the English-speaking world as an "Irish Chekhov" and "the universally accented voice of Ireland"...
- Dancing at LughnasaDancing at LughnasaDancing at Lughnasa is a 1990 play by dramatist Brian Friel set in Ireland's County Donegal in August 1936 in the fictional town of Ballybeg. It is a memory play told from the point of view of the adult Michael Evans, the narrator... - Peter ShafferPeter ShafferSir Peter Levin Shaffer is an English dramatist and playwright, screenwriter and author of numerous award-winning plays, several of which have been filmed.-Early life:...
- Lettice and LovageLettice and LovageLettice and Lovage is a comedic play by Peter Shaffer, author of Equus and Amadeus. The play was written specifically for Dame Maggie Smith, who originated the title role of Lettice Douffet in both the English and American runs of the production. The role of Lotte Schoen was played by Margaret... - Girish KarnadGirish KarnadGirish Raghunath Karnad is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language...
- TaledandaTaledandaTaledanda Taledanda Taledanda ((Kannada: ತಲೆದಂಡ, Hindi: Rakt Kalyan, literally: Death by Beheading) is a 1990 Kannada play written by Girish Karnad, an eminent person in Kannada literature, about the rise of the radical protest and reform movement, Veerashaivism, in 12th century Karnatak...
(Death by Beheading)
Non-fiction
- Dougal DixonDougal Dixon-Biography:Dixon studied geology and palaeontology at the University of St. Andrews and is best known for his illustrated works of speculative fiction, which largely concern "zoologies of the future": his own visions of how human beings and animals might evolve in millions of years' time...
- Man After Man: An Anthropology of the FutureMan After Man: An Anthropology of the FutureMan After Man: An Anthropology of the Future is a speculative book written by Scottish geologist Dougal Dixon and illustrated by Philip Hood. The theme of the book is a science fiction body horror exploration of the possibilities of the future evolution of humans... - Ryszard KapuscinskiRyszard KapuscinskiRyszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist and writer whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation. Also a photographer and poet, he was born in Pińsknow in Belarusin the Kresy Wschodnie or eastern borderlands of the second Polish Republic, into poverty: he would say later that...
- The Soccer War - Michael Lynch - Scotland: A New HistoryScotland: A New HistoryThe book Scotland: A New History was first published by Century Limited in 1990. Pimlico published a revised edition in 1992 and reprinted this later edition in 1992 and 1993....
- V. S. NaipaulV. S. NaipaulSir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
- India: A Million Mutinies NowIndia: A Million Mutinies NowIndia: A Million Mutinies Now is a nonfiction book by V. S. Naipaul published in 1990. It is a travelogue written during the author's sojourn in his ancestral land — India. It was the third of Naipaul's acclaimed Indian trilogy which includes An Area of Darkness and India: A Wounded... - Raphael PataiRaphael PataiRaphael Patai , born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist.-Family background:...
- The Hebrew GoddessThe Hebrew GoddessThe Hebrew Goddess is a 1967 book by Jewish historian and anthropologist Raphael Patai. In this book, Patai argues that the Jewish religion historically had elements of polytheism, especially the worship of goddesses and a cult of the mother goddess... - Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
- An American LifeAn American LifeAn American Life is the 1990 autobiography authored by former American President Ronald Reagan. Released almost two years after President Reagan left office, the book reached number eight on The New York Times bestsellers list.-Content:... - Barry SiegelBarry SiegelBarry Siegel is a former national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times who won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2002 for his piece "A Father's Pain, a Judge's Duty, and a Justice Beyond Their Reach." In 2003, University of California, Irvine recruited Siegel to chair the school's new...
- A Death in White Bear LakeA Death in White Bear LakeA Death in White Bear Lake is a true crime book by journalist Barry Siegel, published in 1990. The book recounts one of the most notorious cases of child abuse ever prosecuted in the United States, the murder of three year-old Dennis Jurgens by his adopted mother Lois Jurgens...
Deaths
- February 24 – Malcolm ForbesMalcolm ForbesMalcolm Stevenson Forbes was publisher of Forbes magazine, founded by his father B. C. Forbes and today run by his son Steve Forbes.-Life and career:...
, publisher - May 10 – Walker PercyWalker PercyWalker Percy was an American Southern author whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is best known for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans, Louisiana, the first of which, The Moviegoer, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1962...
- July 22 – Manuel PuigManuel PuigManuel Puig was an Argentine author...
, Argentine writer - August 25 – Morley CallaghanMorley CallaghanMorley Callaghan, was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, TV and radio personality.-Biography:...
, Canadian writer - September 26 – Alberto MoraviaAlberto MoraviaAlberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
, Italian writer - October 23 – Louis AlthusserLouis AlthusserLouis Pierre Althusser was a French Marxist philosopher. He was born in Algeria and studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, where he eventually became Professor of Philosophy....
, French Marxist philosopher - November 7 – Lawrence DurrellLawrence DurrellLawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
, writer - November 8 – Anya SetonAnya SetonAnya Seton was the pen name of Ann Seton, an American author of historical romances.-Biography:...
, author - November 23 – 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...
, author - December 7 – Reinaldo ArenasReinaldo ArenasReinaldo Arenas was a Cuban poet, novelist, and playwright who despite his early sympathy for the 1959 revolution, grew critical of and then rebelled against the Cuban government.- Life :...
, Cuban-American writer (b. 19431943 in literatureThe year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
) - December 14 – Friedrich DürrenmattFriedrich DürrenmattFriedrich Dürrenmatt was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-garde dramas, philosophically deep crime novels, and often macabre satire...
, writer
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...
: Gillian MearsGillian MearsGillian Mears is an Australian short story writer, and novelist.Her books, Ride a Cock Horse, and The Grass Sister won a Commonwealth Writers' Prize, shortlist, in 1989, and 1996. The Mint Lawn won The Australian/Vogel Award....
, The Mint Lawn - C. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryC. J. Dennis Prize for PoetryThe C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry is awarded annually as part of the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, for a significant selection of new work by a poet published in a book. It is named after the early twentieth century vernacular poet C. J...
: Robert AdamsonRobert Adamson (poet)Robert Adamson is an Australian poet and publisher.-Biography:Adamson grew up in Neutral Bay and spent much of his teenage years in Gosford Boys Home for juvenile offenders. He discovered poetry while educating himself in Gaol in his 20s. His first book, Canticles on the Skin, was published in 1970...
, The Clean Dark - 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...
: Robert AdamsonRobert Adamson (poet)Robert Adamson is an Australian poet and publisher.-Biography:Adamson grew up in Neutral Bay and spent much of his teenage years in Gosford Boys Home for juvenile offenders. He discovered poetry while educating himself in Gaol in his 20s. His first book, Canticles on the Skin, was published in 1970...
, The Clean Dark - Mary Gilmore PrizeMary Gilmore PrizeThe Mary Gilmore Prize for the best first book of poetry is given to a first book of poetry from the previous two years; prior to 1998 it was awarded annually...
: Kristopher Rassemussen - In the Name of the Father
Canada
- See 1990 Governor General's Awards1990 Governor General's AwardsEach winner of the 1990 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit received $10000 and a specially bound edition of his or her book. The winners were selected by a panel of judges administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.-Fiction:Winner:...
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"...
: Jean RouaudJean RouaudJean Rouaud is a French author who was born in Campbon, Loire-Atlantique. In 1990 his novel Fields of Glory won the Prix Goncourt.-External links:*http://www.jean-rouaud.com...
, Les Champs d'honneur - Prix DécembrePrix DécembreThe Prix Décembre, originally known as the Prix Novembre, is one of France's premier literary awards. Its winners are generally far more radical choices than the more staid and conservative Prix Goncourt...
: François MasperoFrançois MasperoFrançois Maspero ) is a French author and journalist, best known as a publisher of leftist books in the 1970s. He has also worked as a translator, translating the works of Joseph Conrad and John Reed, author of Ten Days that Shook the World, among others...
, Les Passagers du Roissy–Express - 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: Les Quartiers d'hiver – Jean-Noël Pancrazi - 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: Amitav GhoshAmitav GhoshAmitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
,, Les feux du Bengale
United Kingdom
- Booker Prize: A. S. ByattA. S. ByattDame Antonia Susan Duffy, DBE is an English novelist, poet and Booker Prize winner...
, Possession: A RomancePossession: A RomancePossession: A Romance is a 1990 bestselling novel by British writer A. S. Byatt. It is a winner of the Man Booker Prize.Part historical as well as contemporary fiction, the title Possession refers to issues of ownership and independence between lovers, the practice of collecting historically... - 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...
: Gillian CrossGillian CrossGillian Cross is a children's author. She won the 1990 Carnegie Medal for her book Wolf and the 1992 Whitbread Children's Book Award for her novel The Great Elephant Chase....
, WolfWolf (novel)Wolf is a young adult novel by Gillian Cross. It was the winner of the Carnegie Medal for 1990.-Plot summary:Cassy, who lives with her grandmother, is awakened by mysterious footsteps one night. The next day, as always when the footsteps are heard, she is sent away to live with her lovely but... - 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...
: 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...
, Elaine FeinsteinElaine FeinsteinElaine Feinstein is a poet, novelist, short-story writer, playwright, biographer and translator.-Biography:...
, Michael O'NeillMichael O'Neill (academic)Michael O'Neill is an English poet, and academic, specialising in the Romantic period and post-war poetry.-Academic career:... - 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....
: Nicholas Drake, Maggie Hannan, William Park, Jonathan Davidson, Lavinia GreenlawLavinia Greenlaw-Biography:Greenlaw was born in London into a family of doctors and scientists, but spent much of her childhood in a small village in Essex. She began her working life in publishing and arts administration before embarking upon a career as a freelance artist, critic and radio broadcaster. She lives...
, Don PatersonDon PatersonDon Paterson, OBE, FRSL is a Scottish poet, writer and musician.-Background:Paterson was born in Dundee. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 1990 and his poem A Private Bottling won the Arvon Foundation International Poetry Competition in 1993. He was included on the list of 20 poets chosen for the...
, John Wells - 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: William BoydWilliam Boyd (writer)William Boyd, CBE is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter.-Biography:Of Scottish descent, Boyd spent his early life in Ghana and Nigeria, in Africa...
, Brazzaville BeachBrazzaville BeachBrazzaville Beach is a novel by William Boyd, for which he was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for 1990, and the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year. The book tells the story of a woman researching chimpanzees, Hope Clearwater, and the circumstances that brought her to... - 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: Claire TomalinClaire TomalinClaire Tomalin is an English biographer and journalist. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge.She was literary editor of the New Statesman and of the Sunday Times, and has written several noted biographies...
, The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic... - Queen's Gold Medal for PoetryQueen's Gold Medal for PoetryThe Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry is awarded for a book of verse published by someone in any of the Commonwealth realms. Originally the award was open only to British subjects living in the United Kingdom, but in 1985 the scope was extended to include people from the rest of the Commonwealth realms...
: Sorley MacleanSorley MacLeanSorley MacLean was one of the most significant Scottish poets of the 20th century.-Early life:He was born at Osgaig on the island of Raasay on 26 October 1911, where Scottish Gaelic was the first language. He attended the University of Edinburgh and was an avid shinty player playing for the... - Whitbread Best Book Award1990 Whitbread Awards-Book of the Year:*Nicholas Mosley, Hopeful Monsters-References:*...
: Nicholas Mosley, Hopeful Monsters - The Sunday Express Book of the YearThe Sunday Express Book of the YearThe Sunday Express Book of the Year also known as The Sunday Express Fiction Award was awarded between 1987 and 1993. Worth £20,000 for the winner and £1,000 for each of the five shortlisted authors, it was the most lucrative fiction prize in Britain at the time.-Winners:*1987 - Brian Moore, The...
: J. M. Coetzee, Age of Iron
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...
: Debra AllberyDebra Allbery-Life:She is an Ohio native. She graduated from College of Wooster, University of Virginia, and University of Iowa.She taught at Dickinson College, Randolph College, the University of Michigan.She teaches at the Warren Wilson College....
, Walking Distance - Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American PoetryAiken Taylor Award for Modern American PoetryThe Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry is an annual prize, administered by the Sewanee Review and the University of the South, awarded to a writer who has had a substantial and distinguished career. It was established through a bequest by Dr. K.P.A...
: W. S. MerwinW. S. MerwinWilliam Stanley Merwin is an American poet, credited with over 30 books of poetry, translation and prose. During the 1960s anti-war movement, Merwin's unique craft was thematically characterized by indirect, unpunctuated narration. In the 1980s and 1990s, Merwin's writing influence derived from... - Bernard F. Connors Prize for PoetryBernard F. Connors Prize for PoetryThe Bernard F. Conners Prize for Poetry is given by the Paris Review "for the finest poem over 200 lines published in The Paris Review in a given year", according to the magazine. The winner is awarded $1,000....
: Christopher LogueChristopher LogueChristopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
, Kings - Bobbitt National Prize for PoetryBobbitt National Prize for PoetryThe Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry is awarded biennially by the Library of Congress on behalf of the nation in recognition for the most distinguished book of poetry written by an American and published during the preceding two years....
: James MerrillJames MerrillJames Ingram Merrill was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for Divine Comedies...
, The Inner RoomThe Inner RoomThe Inner Room is a collection of poetry by James Merrill published in 1988 . It is dedicated to Merrill's partner Peter Hooten.... - Caldecott Award: Ed YoungEd Young (illustrator)Ed Young is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author of picture books.-Biography:...
, Lon Po Po: A Red–Riding Hood Story from China - Compton Crook AwardCompton Crook AwardThe Compton Crook Award is presented to the best first novel of the year in the field of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Horror by the members of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc, at their annual Baltimore-area science fiction convention, Balticon, held on Memorial Day weekend in the...
: Josepha ShermanJosepha ShermanJosepha Sherman is an American author. In 1990 she won the Compton Crook Award for the novel The Shining Falcon.-Buffyverse:*Visitors *Deep Water ...
, The Shining Falcon - 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....
: Denise LevertovDenise Levertov-Early life and influences:Levertov was born and grew up in Ilford, Essex.Couzyn, Jeni Contemporary Women Poets. Bloodaxe, p74 Her mother, Beatrice Spooner-Jones Levertoff, came from a small mining village in North Wales...
/ James LaughlinJames LaughlinJames Laughlin was an American poet and literary book publisher who founded New Directions Publishers.- Biography :He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin... - Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually 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 officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novel: Dan SimmonsDan SimmonsDan Simmons is an American author most widely known for his Hugo Award-winning science fiction series, known as the Hyperion Cantos, and for his Locus-winning Ilium/Olympos cycle....
for HyperionHyperion CantosThe Hyperion Cantos is a series of science fiction novels by Dan Simmons. Set in the far future, and focusing more on plot and story development than technical detail, it falls into the soft science fiction category... - National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
for Fiction: Charles JohnsonCharles R. JohnsonCharles R. Johnson is an American scholar and author of novels, short stories, and essays. Johnson, an African-American, has directly addressed the issues of black life in America in novels such as Middle Passage and Dreamer....
for Middle PassageMiddle Passage (novel)Middle Passage is a 1990 historical novel by Charles R. Johnson about the final voyage of an illegal American slave ship. Set in 1830, the novel presents a personal and historical perspective of the illegal slave trade in the United States, telling the story of Rutherford Calhoun, a freed slave who... - 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...
: Ursula K. Le GuinUrsula K. Le GuinUrsula Kroeber Le Guin is an American author. She has written novels, poetry, children's books, essays, and short stories, notably in fantasy and science fiction...
, Tehanu: The Last Book of EarthseaTehanuTehanu is the fourth of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books. It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1990, and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 1991.-Plot summary:... - 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...
: Lois LowryLois LowryLois Lowry is an American author of children's literature. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s...
, Number the StarsNumber the StarsNumber the Stars is a work of historical fiction about the Holocaust of the Second World War by award-winning author Lois Lowry. The story centers around ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lived in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1943 and was caught up in the events surrounding the rescue of the Danish... - 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...
: August WilsonAugust WilsonAugust Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
, The Piano LessonThe Piano LessonThe Piano Lesson is a 1990 play by American playwright August Wilson. The Piano Lesson is the fifth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying ones past"... - 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:...
: Oscar HijuelosOscar HijuelosOscar Jerome Hijuelos is an American novelist. He is the first Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.- Early life and career :...
for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of LoveThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of LoveThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a 1989 novel by Oscar Hijuelos.It is about the lives of two Cuban brothers and musicians, Cesar and Nestor Castillo, who immigrate to the United States and settle in New York City in the early 1950s.... - 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:...
: Charles SimicCharles SimicDušan "Charles" Simić is a Serbian-American poet, and was co-Poetry Editor of the Paris Review. He was appointed the fifteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 2007.-Early years:...
: The World Doesn't End
Elsewhere
- 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 José MillásJuan José MillásJuan José Millás is a Spanish writer and winner of the 1990 Premio Nadal. He was born in Valencia and has spent most of his life in Madrid where he studied Philosophy and Literature in the Universidad Complutense.-Life:...
, La soledad era esto