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The year 2008 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Contents |
Events
- January 1 - In the 2008 New Year Honours, Hanif Kureishi (CBE), Jenny Uglow (OBE), Peter Vansittart (OBE) and Debjani Chatterjee (MBE) are all rewarded for "services to literature".
- June 15 - Gore Vidal, asked in a New York Times interview how he felt about the death of his great rival William F. Buckley, Jr., replies: "I thought hell is bound to be a livelier place, as he joins forever those whom he served in life, applauding their prejudices and fanning their hatred."
- July - Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children is the winner of a poll to select the "Best of the Booker".
Books
Literature
- Aravind Adiga - Between the Assassinations (November 1)
- Charles Bock - Beautiful Children (January 22)
- Roberto Bolaño - 2666: A Novel (November 11)
- Christopher Buckley - Supreme Courtship (September 3)
- Wendy Coakley-Thompson - Triptych (novel) (December 18)
- Dan Culberson - Plastic Man: A Novel of the Sixties [1]
- Ralph Ellison (edited by John F. Callahan) - Three Days Before the Shooting (posthumously published manuscript)
- Keith Gessen - All the Sad Young Literary Men (April 10)
- Lauren Groff - The Monsters of Templeton (February 5)
- Zoë Heller - The Believers (September 24)
- Samantha Hunt - The Invention of Everything Else (February 7)
- Siri Hustvedt - The Sorrows of an American (April 1)
- Karl Iagnemma - The Expeditions (January 15)
- Jhumpa Lahiri - Unaccustomed Earth (April 1)
- Kelly Link - Pretty Monsters (October 2)
- David Lodge - Deaf Sentence (May 1)
- James McBride - Song Yet Sung (February 5)
- Joe McGinniss Jr. - The Delivery Man (January 15)
- Lydia Millet - How the Dead Dream (January 25)
- Toni Morrison - A Mercy (November 11)
- Joyce Carol Oates - My Sister, My Love (June 24)
- Chuck Palahniuk - Snuff (May 20)
- Arturo Perez-Reverte - The Painter of Battles (January 8)
- Jodi Picoult - Change of Heart (March 4)
- Richard Price - Lush Life (March 4)
- Ruth Rendell - Portobello (November 20)
- Nathaniel Rich - The Mayor's Tongue (April 8)
- Marilynne Robinson - Home (September 2)
- Charlotte Roche - Feuchtgebiete (February 25)
- Philip Roth - Indignation (September 16)
- Salman Rushdie - The Enchantress of Florence (June 3)
- Curtis Sittenfeld - American Wife (September 2)
- John Updike - The Widows of Eastwick (October 28)
- Tobias Wolff - Our Story Begins (March 25)
- José Luis Rodríguez Pittí - Sueños urbanos
Horror Fiction
- Stephen King - Duma Key (January 22)
- Matthew J. Costello - Doom 3: Worlds on Fire (February 26)
- Stephenie Meyer - Breaking Dawn (August 2)
Children's and young adults' fiction
- Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox (July 15)
- John Green - Paper Towns (October 16)
- Brian Greene - Icarus At The Edge Of Time
- Charlie Higson - Young Bond: By Royal Command (September 3)
- D. J. MacHale - Raven Rise (May 20)
- Jenny Nimmo - Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (June 1)
- Garth Nix - Superior Saturday (May 5)
- Christopher Paolini - Brisingr (September 20)
- Angie Sage - Queste (April 8)
Science fiction and fantasy
- Jim Butcher - Small Favor (April 1) (Harry Dresden #10)
- Cornelia Funke - Inkdeath (October 7)
- Douglas Preston - Blasphemy (January 8)
- Matthew Stover - Caine Black Knife (October 14)
New drama
- Salvatore Antonio - In Gabriel's Kitchen
- Howard Brenton - Never So Good
- Mary Higgins Clark - Where Are You Now?
- Tyler Perry - The Marriage Counselor
- Lynn Nottage - Ruined
Poetry
Main article: 2008 in poetry
Non-fiction
- Julie Andrews - Home: A Memoir of My Early Years (April 1)
- Dan Ariely - Predictably Irrational (February 19)
- Margaret Atwood - Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth (October 1)
- Augusten Burroughs - A Wolf at the Table (April 29)
- Michael Chabon - Maps and Legends (May 1)
- Sloane Crosley - I Was Told There'd Be Cake (April 1)
- John Duignan - The Complex: An Insider Exposes the Covert World of the Church of Scientology (October 7) by
- Eminem - The Way I Am (October 21)
- Haruki Murakami (trans. Philip Gabriel) - What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (July 29)
- David Sedaris - When You Are Engulfed in Flames (June 3)
- Ronnie Thompson - Screwed (January 24)
- Bjørn Christian Tørrissen - One for the Road (January 31)
- Barbara Walters - Audition: A Memoir (May 6)
Awards and honors
- PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction - Kate Christensen, The Great Man
- Canada Reads - Paul Quarrington, King Leary
- IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - Rawi Hage, De Niro's Game
- Man Booker Prize - Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - Junot Diaz, The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
- Scotiabank Giller Prize - Joseph Boyden, Through Black Spruce
- Nobel Prize in Literature - J. M. G. Le Clézio
- Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year - The 2009-2014 World Outlook for 60-milligram Containers of Fromage Frais, Philip M. Parker
Deaths
January-February
- January 2 - George MacDonald Fraser, 82, British author (Flashman)
- January 3 - Henri Chopin, 85, French poet
- January 11 - Nancy Phelan, 94, Australian writer
- January 13 - Patricia Verdugo, 60, Chilean journalist and writer
- January 16 - Hone Tuwhare, 85, New Zealand poet
- January 17 - Edward D. Hoch, 77, American pulp writer
- January 26
- John Ardagh, 79, British journalist and writer
- Abraham Brumberg, 81, American writer and editor
- January 29 - Margaret Truman, 83, American writer
- January 30 - Miles Kington, 66, British journalist and writer
- February 4 - Rose Hacker, 101, British writer and journalist
- February 7 - Richard Altick, 92, American literary scholar
- February 8 - Phyllis A. Whitney, 104, American mystery writer
- February 10 - Steve Gerber, 60, American comic book writer (Howard the Duck)
- February 18 - Alain Robbe-Grillet, 85, French novelist
- February 21
- Archie Hind, 80, British novelist
- Robin Moore, 82, American writer
- February 22 - Stephen Marlowe, 79, American sci-fi and crime writer
- February 28 - Julian Rathbone, 73, British novelist
- February 28 (probable) - Val Plumwood, 68, Australian philosopher
March-April
- March 16 - Jonathan Williams, 79, American poet
- March 19
- Arthur C. Clarke, 90, British science-fiction writer and futurist
- Hugo Claus, 78, Belgian writer
- March 23 - E. A. Markham, 68, Montserratian poet
- April 3 - Andrew Crozier, 64, British poet and editor
- April 7 - Ludu Daw Amar, 92, Burmese writer and journalist
- April 13 - Robert Greacen, 87, Irish poet
- April 17
- Aimé Césaire, 94, French-Martinican poet
- Zoya Krakhmalnikova, 79, Russian writer and editor
- April 18
- Michael de Larrabeiti, 63, British novelist
- William W. Warner, 88, American biologist and Pulitzer Prize winning writer
May-June
- May 1 - Elaine Dundy, 86, American novelist
- May 9 - Nuala O'Faolain, Irish Journalist, novelist and critic
- May 11 - Jeff Torrington, 72, British novelist
- May 12 - Oakley Hall, 87, American novelist
- May 14 - Roy Heath, 81, Guyanese novelist
- May 19 - Vijay Tendulkar, 80, Indian playwright
- May 23 - Alan Brien, 83, British journalist and novelist
- May 28 - Elinor Lyon, 86, British children's writer
- June 2 - Ferenc Fejtő, 98, French-Hungarian historian and journalist
- June 4 - Matthew Bruccoli, 76, American biographer and editor
- June 5 - Angus Calder, 65, British writer and editor
- June 8 - Peter Rühmkorf, 78, German poet
- June 9 - Algis Budrys, 77, Lithuanian-American science fiction writer and editor
- June 10
- Chinghiz Aitmatov, 79, Kyrgyz writer
- Eliot Asinof, 88, American sportswriter
- June 16 - Mario Rigoni Stern, 86, Italian novelist
- June 18 - Tasha Tudor, 92, American children's writer and illustrator
- June 22 - Albert Cossery, 94, French-Egyptian novelist
- June 24 - Ruth Cardoso, 77, Brazilian anthropologist and writer
- June 25 - Lyall Watson, 69, South African new age writer
- June 27 - Lenka Reinerová, 92, Czech writer
July-August
- July 1
- Clay Felker, 82, American magazine editor and journalist, founder of New York
- Robert Harling, 98, British typographer, editor and novelist
- July 2 - Simone Ortega, 89, Spanish cookery writer
- July 4
- Thomas M. Disch, 68, American science fiction author and poet.
- Janwillem van de Wetering, 77, Dutch novelist
- July 20 - Roger Wolcott Hall, 89, American memoirist and novelist
- July 27 - Bob Crampsey, 78, British writer
- July 30 - Peter Coke, 95, British playwright
- August 3 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, 89, Russian writer and Nobel Prize laureate
- August 7 - Simon Gray, 71, British playwright
- August 9 - Mahmoud Darwish, 67, Palestinian poet
- August 11 - George Furth, 75, American playwright
- August 17 - Dave Freeman, 47, American travel writer
- August 23 - John Russell, 89, British-American art critic
- August 25 - Ahmed Faraz, 77, Pakistani poet
- August 31 - Ken Campbell, 66, British novelist and playwright
September-October
- September 5 - Robert Giroux, 94, American editor and publisher
- September 7 - Gregory Mcdonald, 71, American mystery writer
- September 12 - David Foster Wallace, 46, American novelist
- September 17 - James Crumley, 68, American crime writer
- September 20 - Duncan Glen, 75, British poet, critic and literary historian
- September 23 - William Woodruff, 92, British historian and autobiographer
- September 29 - Hayden Carruth, 87, American poet and literary critic
- October 4 - Peter Vansittart, 88, British historical novelist
- October 14 - Barrington J. Bayley, 71, British science-fiction writer
- October 26 - Tony Hillerman, 83, American mystery writer
- October 27 - Es'kia Mphahlele, 88, South African writer
- October 29 - William Wharton, 82, American novelist
- October 31 - Studs Terkel, 96, American historian
November-December
- November 4 - Michael Crichton, M.D., 66, author.
- December 1 - Dorothy Sterling, 95, nonfiction writer of black history for children[2]
- December 15 - Anne-Catharina Vestly, 88, Norwegian children's book author[3]
- December 31 - Donald E. Westlake, American novelist, [4]
References
- ^ "Official Website of Dan Culberson". Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1248558156348259. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
- ^ Staino, Rocco (January 5, 2009). "In Memoriam: Children's Authors and Illustrators Who Died in 2008" (in English). School Library Journal. http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6626055.html?industryid=47074. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
- ^ Hedeman, Anders (December 15, 2008). "Anne-Cath. Vestly er død" (in Norwegian). Aftenposten. http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/article2824292.ece. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ NYTimes.com 1 januari 2009
See also
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
