This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2009.
Events
New books
Fiction
Genre fiction
Children and young people
Drama
Poetry
Non-fiction
Deaths
- January 1 â Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian novelist and screenwriter (born 1924)
- January 7 â Valerie Flint, English medieval historian (born 1936)
- January 20 â Sheila Walsh, English novelist (born 1928)
- January 27 â John Updike, American novelist (born 1932)
- February 18 â Tayeb Salih, Sudanese fiction writer and cultural commentator (born 1929)
- February 20 â Christopher Nolan, Irish poet and author (choking; born 1965)
- February 25 â Philip José Farmer, American science fiction writer (born 1918)
- March 13 â James Purdy, American novelist, poet and playwright (born 1914)
- March 21 â Winifred Foley, English memoirist (born 1914)
- March 31 â Michael Cox, English novelist and biographer (hemangiopericytoma, born 1948)
- April 14 â Maurice Druon, French historical novelist (born 1918)
- April 15 â Clement Freud, German-born English writer and broadcaster (born 1924)
- April 19 â J. G. Ballard, English novelist (born 1930)
- May 6 â Lev Losev, Russian American poet (born 1937)
- May 17 â Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer (born 1920)
- June 2 â David Eddings, American novelist (born 1931)
- June 25 â Michael Jackson, American pop singer, songwriter and author (born 1958)
- June 27 â Frank Barlow, English historian (born 1911)
- July 6 â Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist (born 1932)
- July 14 â Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian novelist (born 1926)
- July 19 â Frank McCourt, American memoirist and Pulitzer Prize winner (born 1930)
- Michaël Zeeman, Dutch critic, poet and writer (born 1958)
- July 31 â Tim Guest, English writer (drug overdose; born 1975)
- August 2 â Adolf Endler, German writer (born 1930)
- August 4 â Blake Snyder, American screenwriter and author (born 1957)
- August 5 â Budd Schulberg, American screenwriter and novelist (born 1914)
- August 6
- Jack T. Kirby, American historian (born 1938)
- Willibrordus S. Rendra, Indonesian poet (born 1935)
- August 7 â Danko PopoviÃÂ, Serbian writer (born 1928)
- August 8 â Alfonso Calderón, Chilean writer and poet (born 1930)
- August 9 â Thierry Jonquet, French writer (born 1954)
- August 10
- Josef Burg, Ukrainian writing in Yiddish (born 1912)
- Merlyn Mantle, American author (born 1932)
- August 16 â Alistair Campbell, New Zealand poet (born 1925)
- August 18
- Dic Jones, Welsh poet writing in Welsh (born 1934)
- Hugo Loetscher, Swiss author writing in German (born 1929)
- Fernanda Pivano, Italian writer (born 1917)
- August 20 â Karla Kuskin, American children's author (born 1932)
- August 22 â Elmer Kelton, American Western novelist (born 1926)
- September 4 â Keith Waterhouse, English author and playwright (born 1929)
- September 6
- Catherine Gaskin, Irish-born Australian romantic novelist (born 1929)
- Nada IveljiÃÂ, Croatian children's writer (born 1931)
- September 10 â Lyn Hamilton, Canadian author (born 1944)
- September 11 â Jim Carroll, American writer and poet (born 1949)
- September 12
- William Hoffman, American novelist (born 1925)
- Antônio Olinto, Brazilian writer (born 1919)
- September 13 â Sarah E. Wright, American novelist (born 1928)
- September 15 â Trevor Rhone, Jamaican playwright (born 1940)
- September 19 â Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (born 1915)
- September 21 â Junzo Shono (åºÂé 潤ä¸Â), Japanese author (born 1921)
- September 22 â Kole ÃÂaÃ
¡ule, Macedonian essayist, dramatist and short story writer (born 1921)
- September 24 â Nelly Arcan, Canadian novelist writing in French (suicide; born 1973)
- September 25 â Willy Breinholst, Danish author (born 1918)
- September 27 â William Safire, American columnist (born 1929)
- October 1
- Otar Chiladze, Georgian writer (born 1933)
- Cintio Vitier, Cuban poet (born 1921)
- October 4 â Veikko Huovinen, Finnish writer (born 1927)
- November 1 â Esther Hautzig, Polish-born American autobiographer (born 1930)
- November 20 â Naomi Frankel, German-born Israeli novelist (born 1918)
- November 29 â Robert Holdstock, English fantasy novelist (born 1949)
Awards
Australia
Canada
France
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
- Lambda Literary Awards: Multiple categories; see 2009 Lambda Literary Awards.
- National Book Award for Fiction: Colum McCann, Let the Great World Spin
- National Book Critics Circle Award: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
- National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction: Richard Holmes, '
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book
- PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: Joseph O'Neill, Netherland
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge
- Whiting Awards: Fiction: Adam Johnson, Nami Mun, Salvatore Scibona, Vu Tran; Nonfiction: Michael Meyer, Hugh Raffles; Plays: Rajiv Joseph; Poetry: Jericho Brown, Jay Hopler, Joan Kane
Elsewhere
See also
Notes
References