2009 in literature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2009.
Events
- April 21 – UNESCO launches the World Digital Library.[1]
- May 1 – Carol Ann Duffy is appointed Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, the first woman in the position;[2] she is also the first Scot and the first openly gay occupant of the post.[3]
- May 5 – J. R. R. Tolkien's narrative poem The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún in alliterative verse, based on the 13th century Poetic Edda and probably written in the 1930s, is published posthumously.
- May 16–25 – Ruth Padel becomes the first woman ever elected Professor of Poetry at the University of Oxford[4] but resigns nine days later after it is alleged she was involved in what some sources call as a smear campaign against Derek Walcott, a rival for the post.[5][6]
- June 25 – American pop singer Michael Jackson dies of an acute propofol intoxication at the age of 50.
- August 10 – Standard orthography for the Silesian language is adopted in Cieszyn, at a meeting of the Standardization Committee of the Silesian Language.[7]
- October 8 – Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature.
- October 12 – Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm-Zentrum Library opens at Humboldt University of Berlin.[8]
- November 10 – Linden MacIntyre wins the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel The Bishop's Man.
- unknown date – Australian publisher Allen & Unwin suspends its annual Iremonger Award, stating that no manuscript of sufficient merit has been submitted.[9]
New books
Fiction
- Nelson Algren (died 1981) – Entrapment and Other Writings (collection)
- Margaret Atwood – The Year of the Flood (September 8)
- Nicholson Baker – The Anthologist (September)
- T. C. Boyle – The Women (February 10)
- Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol (September 15)
- Arno Camenisch – Sez ner
- Jan Cempírek – Bílej kůň, žlutej drak
- Chan Koonchung – The Fat Years
- Sam Childers – Another Man's War
- Kate Christensen – Trouble: A Novel
- E. L. Doctorow – Homer & Langley (September 1)
- Dave Eggers – The Wild Things (October 1)
- Adam Foulds – The Quickening Maze
- Rodrigo Fresán – El fondo del cielo
- Glen David Gold – Sunnyside (May 5)
- Philippa Gregory – The White Queen (August 18)
- Lauren Groff – Delicate Edible Birds (January 27)
- Haruki Murakami – 1Q84 (いちきゅうはちよん, Ichi-Kyū-Hachi-Yon, vol. 1–2 (May 29 – Japan)
- Yuri Herrera – Señales que precederán al fin del mundo (Signs Preceding the End of the World)
- Terrence E. Holt – In the Valley of the Kings (September 14)
- John Irving – Last Night in Twisted River (October 20 – Canada; October 27 – US)
- Rabee Jaber – أميركا (America)
- Denis Johnson – Nobody Move (June 5)
- Daniel Kehlmann – Fame (January 16)
- Barbara Kingsolver – The Lacuna: A Novel (November 3)
- Karl Ove Knausgård – Min Kamp (Norway)[10]
- Herman Koch – The Dinner (Het diner – Netherlands)
- Joe R. Lansdale – Vanilla Ride (September 2009)
- Janice Y. K. Lee – The Piano Teacher
- Jonathan Lethem – Chronic City (October 13)
- Yiyun Li (李翊雲) – The Vagrants
- Attica Locke – Black Water Rising
- Hilary Mantel – Wolf Hall (April 30)
- Nadifa Mohamed – Black Mamba Boy (c. December)
- Lorrie Moore – A Gate at the Stairs (September 15)
- Alice Munro – Too Much Happiness (August 25)
- Vladimir Nabokov (died 1977) – The Original of Laura (unfinished last novel, November 3)
- Marie NDiaye – Three Strong Women (Trois Femmes puissantes, August 20)
- Joyce Carol Oates
- Dear Husband, (March 31)
- Little Bird of Heaven (September 15)
- Chuck Palahniuk – Pygmy (May 5)
- Lyudmila Petrushevskaya – There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby (short stories translated from Russian, September 29)
- Thomas Pynchon – Inherent Vice (August 4)
- Philip Roth – The Humbling (November 2)
- Richard Russo – That Old Cape Magic (August 4)
- Stig Sæterbakken – Don't Leave Me
- Raphael Selbourne – Beauty (September)
- Steve Sem-Sandberg – De fattiga i Łódź
- Nicholas Sparks – The Last Song (September 8)
- Peter Stamm – Seven Years
- Kathryn Stockett – The Help (February 10)[11]
- Mari Strachan – The Earth Hums in B Flat
- Olga Tokarczuk – Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych (Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead)
- Wells Tower – Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (March 17)
- Sue Townsend – Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years (November 5)
- Ferdinand von Schirach – "Verbrechen" (Burglary; short story)
- John Wray – Lowboy (March 3)
- Juli Zeh – Corpus Delicti (February 20)
Genre fiction
- Yukito Ayatsuji – Another (October 29)
- David Baldacci – First Family (April 21)
- Jim Butcher – Turn Coat (April 7)
- Eoin Colfer – And Another Thing... (October)
- Matthew J. Costello
- Doom 3: Maelstrom (March 31)
- Dark Calling (May 2009)
- Hell's Heroes (October 2009)
- Michael Crichton – Pirate Latitudes (November 24)
- Andrew Hussie – Homestuck (April 13)
- J.C. Hutchins – 7th Son, Book One: Descent (October 27)
- Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson – The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time volume 12, October 27)
- Stephen King – Under the Dome (November 10)
- Richard Laymon – Dark Mountain (March 2009)
- Attica Locke – Black Water Rising
- Michael E. Marks – Dominant Species (novel) (October 1)
- Haruki Murakami – 1Q84 (いちきゅうはちよん, Ichi-Kyū-Hachi-Yon, Books 1–2, May 29)
- James Patterson
- MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel (March 16)
- Daniel X: Watch the Skies (July 27)
- Lawrence M. Schoen – Buffalito Destiny (June 1, first in the Tales of the Amazing Conroy series)
Children and young people
- Sagu Aoyama (蒼山 サグ) and Tinkle – Ro-Kyu-Bu! (February 10)
- Hajime Asano (あさの ハジメ) and Seiji Kikuchi (菊池 政治) – Mayo Chiki! (November 21)
- Brent Crawford – Carter Finally Gets It
- James Dashner – The Hunt for Dark Infinity (March 1)
- Joseph Delaney and Mark Walden – The Spook's Tale/Interception Point (March 5)
- John Fardell – The Secret of the Black Moon Moth
- Brian Floca – Moonshot: The Flight Of Apollo 11
- Betsy Franco – A Curious Collection of Cats
- Neil Gaiman – Blueberry Girl (March 10)
- Odo Hirsch – Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool
- Nonny Hogrogian – Cool Cat
- Mandy Hubbard – Prada and Prejudice
- John Hulme and Michael Wexler – The Lost Train of Thought (October)
- Erin Hunter
- Great Bear Lake (February 10)
- Sunrise (April 24)
- Smoke Mountain (May 1)
- Code of the Clans (June 9)
- Bluestar's Prophecy (August)
- The Fourth Apprentice (November 24)
- Gordon Korman - Zoobreak
- Reif Larsen – The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet
- Ursula K. Le Guin – Cat Dreams
- Peter Lerangis – The Sword Thief (April 1)
- D. J. Machale – The Soldiers of Halla (May 12)
- Joshua Mowll, et al. – Operation Storm City (May 12)
- Robert Muchamore
- Henderson's Boys: The Escape (February 5)
- Eagle Day (June 4)
- Brandon Mull – Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (March 24)
- Marilyn Nelson – Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story Of The Greatest All-Girl Swing Band In The World
- Patrick Ness – The Ask and the Answer (May 4)
- Jenny Nimmo – Charlie Bone and the Red King[12]
- Charles Ogden – Split Ends (January 27)
- Margie Palatini – Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes
- Steven L. Peck – A Short Stay in Hell (novella, June 20)
- Catherine Rayner – Sylvia and Bird
- Rob Reger – Emily the Strange: The Lost Days (June 2)
- Rick Riordan – The Last Olympian (May 5)
- Amy Krouse Rosenthal – Duck! Rabbit!
- Carina Rozenfeld – Les Clefs de Babel
- Carrie Ryan – The Forest of Hands and Teeth (March 9)
- Angie Sage – Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers (June 23)
- Michael Scott – The Sorceress (May 26)
- Dugald Steer etc. – Drake's Comprehensive Compendium of Dragonology
- Maggie Stiefvater – Shiver[13]
- Jude Watson – Beyond the Grave (June 2)
- Victor Watson – Paradise Barn (first in eponymous series of four books)
- Tad Williams and Deborah Beale – The Dragons of Ordinary Farm (July 2)
- Jacqueline Wilson – Hetty Feather (first in eponymous series of five books)
- N. D. Wilson – Dandelion Fire
- Izuru Yumizuru and Okiura – Infinite Stratos (May 31)
Drama
- Jacob M. Appel – Causa mortis
- Jez Butterworth – Jerusalem
- Molly Davies – A Miracle
- Ella Hickson – Precious Little Talent
- Patrick Marber – After Miss Julie
- Lucy Prebble – ENRON
- Sarah Ruhl – In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)
- Anna Deavere Smith – Let Me Down Easy
- Zlatko Topčić – I Don't Like Mondays (Ne volim ponedjeljak)
Poetry
- Christopher Reid – A Scattering
- Toyo Shibata (柴田トヨ) – Kujikenaide (Don't lose heart)
Non-fiction
- Olivier Ameisen – The End of my Addiction (March 5)
- Daniel Ammann – The King of Oil (October 13)
- Joshua Blu Buhs – Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend
- Michael Chabon – Manhood for Amateurs (October 6)
- Barbara Demick – Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea (December 29)
- Wendy Doniger – The Hindus: An Alternative History
- Dave Eggers – Zeitoun (July 15)
- Christopher M. Fairman – Fuck: Word Taboo and Protecting Our First Amendment Liberties
- Craig Ferguson – American on Purpose (September 22)
- Brian Floca – Moonshot: The Flight Of Apollo 11
- Jonathan Safran Foer – Eating Animals (November 2)
- Jade Goody (died March 22) – Forever in My Heart: the Story of My Battle against Cancer
- David Grann – The Lost City of Z (February 24)
- Mitch Horowitz – Occult America (September 15)
- Michael Jones – The Retreat: Hitler's First Defeat
- Thomas Levenson – Newton and the Counterfeiter (June 3)
- Mark Levin – Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto (March 24)
- Norman Mailer (died 2007) – MoonFire ($112,500 coffee table edition)
- Patricia A. McAnany and Norman Yoffee - Questioning Collapse: Human Resilience, Ecological Vulnerability, and the Aftermath of Empire (November)
- Paul Midler – Poorly Made in China
- Joel Mokyr – The Enlightened Economy
- Brian A. Nelson – The Silence and the Scorpion
- Ram Oren – Gertruda's Oath
- Eric W. Sanderson – Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City (May 1)
- Bill Simmons – The Book of Basketball (October 26)
- Peter Sloterdijk – You Must Change Your Life (Du mußt dein Leben ändern)
- Guy Sorman – Economics Does Not Lie (July 20)
- Michael H. Stone – The Anatomy of Evil (July 28)
- Bron Taylor – Dark Green Religion (November)
- Joel D. Vaughan - The Rise and Fall of the Christian Coalition (2009)
- William T. Vollmann – Imperial (July 29)
- Helen Waldstein Wilkes – Letters from the Lost[14]
Deaths
- January 1 – Johannes Mario Simmel, Austrian novelist and screenwriter (born 1924)[15]
- January 7 – Valerie Flint, English medieval historian (born 1936)[16]
- January 20 – Sheila Walsh, English novelist (born 1928)[17]
- January 27 – John Updike, American novelist (born 1932)[18]
- February 18 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese fiction writer and cultural commentator (born 1929)[19]
- February 20 – Christopher Nolan, Irish poet and author (choking; born 1965)[20]
- February 25 – Philip José Farmer, American science fiction writer (born 1918)[21]
- March 13 – James Purdy, American novelist, poet and playwright (born 1914)[22]
- March 21 – Winifred Foley, English memoirist (born 1914)[23]
- March 31 – Michael Cox, English novelist and biographer (hemangiopericytoma, born 1948)
- April 14 – Maurice Druon, French historical novelist (born 1918)[24]
- April 15 – Clement Freud, German-born English writer and broadcaster (born 1924)[25]
- April 19 – J. G. Ballard, English novelist (born 1930)[26]
- May 6 – Lev Losev, Russian American poet (born 1937)
- May 17 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan writer (born 1920)
- June 2 – David Eddings, American novelist (born 1931)
- June 25 – Michael Jackson, American pop singer, songwriter and author (born 1958)
- June 27 – Frank Barlow, English historian (born 1911)[27]
- July 6 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian novelist (born 1932)
- July 14 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian novelist (born 1926)[28]
- July 19 – Frank McCourt, American memoirist and Pulitzer Prize winner (born 1930)[29]
- July 23 – E. Lynn Harris, African American novelist (heart disease; born 1955)
- July 25 – Stanley Middleton, English novelist (cancer; born 1919)
- July 27
- Aeronwy Thomas, English-born Welsh translator and writer (born 1943)[30]
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- Michaël Zeeman, Dutch critic, poet and writer (born 1958)
- July 31 – Tim Guest, English writer (drug overdose; born 1975)
- August 2 – Adolf Endler, German writer (born 1930)
- August 4 – Blake Snyder, American screenwriter and author (born 1957)
- August 5 – 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 – Danko Popović, Serbian writer (born 1928)
- August 8 – Alfonso Calderón, Chilean writer and poet (born 1930)[31]
- August 9 – Thierry Jonquet, French writer (born 1954)
- August 10
- Josef Burg, Ukrainian writing in Yiddish (born 1912)
- Merlyn Mantle, American author (born 1932)
- August 16 – Alistair Campbell, New Zealand poet (born 1925)
- August 18
- Dic Jones, Welsh poet writing in Welsh (born 1934)[32]
- Hugo Loetscher, Swiss author writing in German (born 1929)
- Fernanda Pivano, Italian writer (born 1917)
- August 20 – Karla Kuskin, American children's author (born 1932)
- August 22 – Elmer Kelton, American Western novelist (born 1926)
- August 25
- Bob Carroll, American historian and author (born 1936)
- Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian writer and poet (born 1913)
- September 3 – Christine D'Haen, Belgian poet writing in Flemish (born 1923)
- September 4 – Keith Waterhouse, English author and playwright (born 1929)[33]
- September 6
- Catherine Gaskin, Irish-born Australian romantic novelist (born 1929)
- Nada Iveljić, Croatian children's writer (born 1931)
- September 10 – Lyn Hamilton, Canadian author (born 1944)
- September 11 – Jim Carroll, American writer and poet (born 1949)
- September 12
- William Hoffman, American novelist (born 1925)
- Antônio Olinto, Brazilian writer (born 1919)
- September 13 – Sarah E. Wright, American novelist (born 1928)
- September 15 – Trevor Rhone, Jamaican playwright (born 1940)
- September 19 – Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (born 1915)
- September 21 – Junzo Shono (庄野 潤三), Japanese author (born 1921)
- September 22 – Kole Čašule, Macedonian essayist, dramatist and short story writer (born 1921)
- September 24 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian novelist writing in French (suicide; born 1973)
- September 25 – Willy Breinholst, Danish author (born 1918)
- September 27 – William Safire, American columnist (born 1929)
- October 1
- Otar Chiladze, Georgian writer (born 1933)
- Cintio Vitier, Cuban poet (born 1921)[34]
- October 4 – Veikko Huovinen, Finnish writer (born 1927)
- November 1 – Esther Hautzig, Polish-born American autobiographer (born 1930)
- November 20 – Naomi Frankel, German-born Israeli novelist (born 1918)[35]
- November 29 – Robert Holdstock, English fantasy novelist (born 1949)
- November 30 – Milorad Pavić, Serbian writer (born 1929)
- December 2 –Elizabeth Berridge, British novelist (born 1919)[36]
- December 5 – William Lederer, American author (born 1912)[37]
- December 7
- Carlene Hatcher Polite, American novelist (born 1932)
- Pyotr Vail, Latvian-born Russian essayist and journalist (born 1949)
- December 13 – Julian Fane, British author (born 1927)[38]
- December 15 – C. D. B. Bryan, American author (born 1936)
- December 19 – Loren Singer, American novelist (born 1923)
- December 20 – Vera Rich, English poet and journalist (born 1936)
- December 23 – Grigory Baklanov, Russian novelist (born 1923)[39]
- December 25
- Vrindavanam Venugopalan, Indian journalist (born 1935)
- (or 24th) Rachel Wetzsteon, American poet (suicide; born 1967)[40]
- December 26
- Dennis Brutus, South African poet (born 1924)[41]
- Norval White, American author (born 1926)[42]
- December 30 – Jacqueline Sturm, New Zealand poet and writer (born 1927)[43]
Awards
Australia
Canada
- Canada Reads: Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes
- Dayne Ogilvie Prize: Main award, Debra Anderson; honour of distinction, Greg Kearney.
- Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction: Russell Wangersky, Burning Down the House[44]
- Governor General's Awards: Multiple categories; see 2009 Governor General's Awards.
- Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction: Brian Brett, Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life
- Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize: Annabel Lyon, The Golden Mean
- Scotiabank Giller Prize: Linden MacIntyre, The Bishop's Man
- Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award: David Bergen
France
Sweden
United Kingdom
- Bookseller/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year: Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes, Daina Taimina
- Caine Prize for African Writing: E. C. Osondu, "Waiting"
- Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child[46]
- Man Booker Prize: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
- Orange Prize for Fiction: to Home by Marilynne Robinson
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, The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science
- 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
- Camões Prize: Arménio Vieira[47]
- David Cohen Prize: Seamus Heaney
- European Book Prize: Mariusz Szczygieł, Gottland and Sylvie Goulard, L'Europe pour les Nuls
- Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels: Claudio Magris
- International Dublin Literary Award: Michael Thomas, Man Gone Down
- International Prize for Arabic Fiction: Youssef Ziedan, Azazel
- SAARC Literary Award: Jayanta Mahapatra, Uday Prakash, Kamaal Khan
See also
Notes
- Hahn, Daniel (2015). The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature (Second ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198715542.