- 1981 in literature
The year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
*
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time
*John Gardner successfully revives theJames Bond novel series originated byIan Fleming with "Licence Renewed " (not counting a faux biography of Bond and a pair of film novelizations, the first original Bond novel since 1968's "Colonel Sun "). The revived Bond book series would run uninterrupted until 2002.New books
*
Kingsley Amis - "The Golden Age of Science Fiction"
*Martin Amis - "Other People: A Mystery Story"
*Louis Auchincloss - "The Cat and the King "
*René Barjavel - "Une rose au paradis "
*Samuel Beckett - "Ill Seen Ill Said "
*Pierre Berton - "Flames Across the Border"
*William Boyd - "A Good Man in Africa "
*Peter Carey - "Bliss"
*Raymond Carver - "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love "
*David Case - "The Third Grave "
*James Clavell - "Noble House "
*L. Sprague de Camp - "The Hand of Zei "
*L. Sprague de Camp &Catherine Crook de Camp - "Footprints on Sand "
*Bernard Cornwell
**"Sharpe's Eagle"
**"Sharpe's Gold"
*Samuel R. Delany - "Distant Star"
*Régine Deforges - "La Bicyclette Bleue" ("The Blue Bicycle")
*Cynthia Freeman - "No Time for Tears"
*John Gardner - "Licence Renewed "
*Charles L. Grant - "Tales from the Nightside "
*Alasdair Gray - "Lanark"
*Jan Guillou - "Ondskan"
*Thomas Harris - "Red Dragon "
*Frank Herbert - "God Emperor of Dune "
*Douglas Hill - "Planet of the Warlord "
*Robert E. Howard andL. Sprague de Camp - "The Flame Knife "
*John Irving - "Hotel New Hampshire "
*Alan Judd - "A Breed of Heroes "
*Ismail Kadare - "The File on H " ("Dosja J")
*Stephen King - "Cujo "
*Colleen McCullough - "An Indecent Obsession"
*Elliot S! Maggin - "Miracle Monday "
*Naguib Mahfouz - "Arabian Nights and Days "
*Toni Morrison - "Tar Baby"
*Robert B. Parker
**"A Savage Place"
**"Early Autumn"
*Terry Pratchett - "Strata"
*Alain Robbe-Grillet - "Djinn"
*Harold Robbins - "Goodbye, Janette"
*Lawrence Sanders - "The Third Deadly Sin"
*Martin Cruz Smith - "Gorky Park"
*Muriel Spark - "Loitering with Intent "
*Jack Vance - "The Book of Dreams "
*Gore Vidal - "Creation"
*Joseph Wambaugh - "The Glitter Dome"
*Kit Williams - "Masquerade"
*Gene Wolfe
**"The Claw of the Conciliator "
**"The Sword of the Lictor "
*Roger Zelazny
**"The Changing Land "
**"Madwand "New drama
*
John Krizanc - "Tamara"
*Larry Shue - "The Nerd "Poetry
*
L. Sprague de Camp - "Heroes and Hobgoblins "
*Norman Nicholson - "Sea to the West"
*Richard L. Tierney - "Collected Poems"Non-fiction
*
Maya Angelou - "The Heart of a Woman "
*Hugo Brandt Corstius - "Opperlandse taal- & letterkunde "
*Timothy Findley - "Famous Last Words (book) "
*Stephen Jay Gould - "The Mismeasure of Man "
*Ian Smith - "The Great Betrayal "
*Viktor Suvorov - "The Liberators"Births
*
Deaths
*
January 9 -A. J. Cronin , novelist
*March 7 -Bosley Crowther , film critic
*March 20 -Pedro García Cabrera , poet
*April 26 -Robert Garioch , poet (b.1909 )
*May 9 -Nelson Algren , novelist
*May 18 -William Saroyan , novelist and dramatist
*June 15 -Philip Toynbee , novelist and journalist
*September 3 -Alec Waugh , novelist
*September 12 -Eugenio Montale , poetAwards
*
Nobel Prize for Literature :Elias Canetti
*Hugo Award for Best Novel : "The Snow Queen " byJoan D. Vinge Australia
*
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award :Chris Matthews (writer) , "Al Jazzar";Tim Winton , "An Open Swimmer "
*Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry :Alan Gould , "Astral Sea"Canada
* See
1981 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.France
*
Prix Goncourt :Lucien Bodard , "Anne Marie"
*Prix Médicis French:François-Olivier Rousseau , "L'Enfant d'Édouard"
*Prix Médicis International:David Shahar , "Le Jour de la comtesse"United Kingdom
*
Booker Prize :Salman Rushdie , "Midnight's Children "
*Cholmondeley Award :Roy Fisher ,Robert Garioch , Charles Boyle
*Eric Gregory Award :Alan Jenkins ,Simon Rae ,Marion Lomax ,Philip Gross ,Kathleen Jamie ,Mark Abley ,Roger Crowley ,Ian Gregson
*James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction:Salman Rushdie , "Midnight's Children ", andPaul Theroux , "The Mosquito Coast "
*James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography:Victoria Glendinning , "Edith Sitwell : Unicorn Among Lions "
*Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry :D. J. Enright
* Whitbread Best Book Award: William Boyd, "A Good Man in Africa "United States
*
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize :Kathy Calloway , "Heart of the Garfish"
* American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Belles Lettres:Malcolm Cowley
*Dos Passos Prize :Gilbert Sorrentino
*Nebula Award :Gene Wolfe , "The Claw of the Conciliator "
*Newbery Medal forchildren's literature :Katherine Paterson , "Jacob Have I Loved "
*Pulitzer Prize for Drama :Beth Henley , "Crimes of the Heart "
*Pulitzer Prize for Fiction :John Kennedy Toole - "A Confederacy of Dunces "
*Pulitzer Prize for Poetry :James Schuyler : "The Morning of the Poem"Elsewhere
*
Premio Nadal :Carmen Gómez Ojea , "Cantiga de aguero"
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