2009 in literature

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The year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.

Events

Herta Müller

• 8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 10 November - Linden MacIntyre wins the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his novel The Bishop's Man.

Books

Literature

• Margaret Atwood - The Year of the Flood (September 8)
• T. C. Boyle - The Women (February 10)
• Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol (September 15)
• E. L. Doctorow - Homer & Langley (September 1)
• Glen David Gold - Sunnyside (May 5)
• Lauren Groff - Delicate Edible Birds (January 27)
• Terrence E. Holt - In the Valley of the Kings (September 14)
• Denis Johnson - Nobody Move (June 5)
• Lorrie Moore - A Gate at the Stairs (September 15)
• Alice Munro - Too Much Happiness (August 25)
• Joyce Carol Oates - Dear Husband, (March 31)
• Joyce Carol Oates - 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 (September 29)
• Thomas Pynchon - Inherent Vice (August 4)
• Richard Russo - That Old Cape Magic (August 4)
• Nicholas Sparks - The Last Song (September 8)
• Wells Tower - Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned (March 17)
• John Wray - Lowboy (March 3)

Horror Fiction

• Darren Shan
• Matthew J. Costello - Doom 3: Maelstrom (March 31)
  • Dark Calling (May 2009)
  • Hell's Heroes (book) (October 2009)
• Richard Laymon - Dark Mountain (book) (March 2009)
• Stephen King - Under the Dome (November 10)

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Charles Ogden - Split Ends (January 27, 2009)
• Robert Muchamore - Henderson's Boys: The Escape (February 5, 2009)
• Erin Hunter - Great Bear Lake (February 10, 2009)
• James Dashner - The Hunt for Dark Infinity (March 1, 2009)
• The Spook's Tale/Interception Point (March 5, 2009) by Joseph Delaney and Mark Walden
• Carrie Ryan - The Forest of Hands and Teeth (March 9, 2009)
• Neil Gaiman - Blueberry Girl (March 10, 2009)
• Brandon Mull - Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (March 24, 2009)
• Peter Lerangis - The Sword Thief (April 1, 2009)
• Robert Muchamore - Eagle Day (June 4, 2009)
• Erin Hunter - Warriors: Sunrise (April 24, 2009)
• Erin Hunter - Smoke Mountain (May 1, 2009)
• Rick Riordan - The Last Olympian (May 5, 2009)
• D.J. Machale - The Soldiers of Halla (May 12, 2009)
• Operation Storm City (May 12, 2009) by Joshua Mowll and various
• Michael Scott - The Sorceress (May 26, 2009)
• Septimus Heap: The Magykal Papers - Angie Sage (June 23, 2009)
• Beyond the Grave (June 2, 2009) by Jude Watson
• Emily the Strange: The Lost Days (June 2, 2009) by Rob Reger
• Code of the Clans (June 9, 2009) by Erin Hunter
• The Dragons of Ordinary Farm by Tad Williams and Deborah Beale (2 Jul 2009)
• Bluestar's Prophecy (August 2009) by Erin Hunter
• The Green Bronze Mirror (reprint) (October 29 , 2009) by Lynne Ellison

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• James Patterson - MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel (March 16, 2009)
• Jim Butcher - Turn Coat (April 7)
• James Patterson - Daniel X: Watch the Skies (July 27)
• Michael E. Marks - Dominant Species (novel) (October 1, 2009)
• Eoin Colfer - And Another Thing... (October 2009)
• J.C. Hutchins - 7th Son, Book One: Descent (October 27)
• Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson - The Gathering Storm (Wheel of Time volume 12) (27 Oct 2009)

Mystery

• David Baldacci - First Family (April 21)

Non-fiction

• Dave Eggers - Zeitoun (July 15)
• Craig Ferguson - American on Purpose (September 22)
• Jonathan Safran Foer - Eating Animals (October 28)
• David Grann - The Lost City of Z (February 24)
• Thomas Levenson - Newton and the Counterfeiter (June 3)
• Eric W. Sanderson - Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City (May 1)
• Bill Simmons - The Book of Basketball (October 26)
• William T. Vollmann - Imperial (July 29)

New drama

• Jacob M. Appel - Causa Mortis
• Patrick Marber - After Miss Julie
• Tony Glazer - In The Daylight
• Anna Deavere Smith - Let Me Down Easy
• Sarah Ruhl - In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)

Poetry

Main article: 2009 in poetry

Political

• Mark Levin - Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto (March 24, 2009)

Forthcoming

Literature

• Dave Eggers - The Wild Things (October 1)
• Jonathan Lethem - Chronic City (October 13)
• John Irving - Last Night in Twisted River (October 20 - Canada) (October 27 - U.S.A.)
• Philip Roth - The Humbling (November 2)
• Vladimir Nabokov - The Original of Laura (unfinished last novel) (November 3)
• Barbara Kingsolver - The Lacuna: A Novel (November 3)

Non-fiction

• Michael Chabon - Manhood for Amateurs (October 6)
• Jonathan Safran Foer - Eating Animals (November 2)

Children's

• The Lost Train of Thought (October 2009) by John Hulme and Michael Wexler
• The Fourth Apprentice (November 24, 2009) by Erin Hunter
• The Immortals (December 2009) by Derek Benz and J. S. Lewis

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Michael Crichton - Pirate Latitudes (November 24)

Deaths

• January 1 - Johannes Mario Simmel, 84, Austrian writer
• January 27 - John Updike, 76, American novelist (Rabbit series)

  

  John Updike

• February 20 – Christopher Nolan, 43, Irish poet and author
• February 25 - Philip José Farmer, 91, American science fiction writer
• March 31
  • Jarl Alfredius, 66, Swedish journalist
  • Michael Cox, 60, British novelist and biographer
• April 14 - Maurice Druon, 90, French historical novelist
• April 19 - J. G. Ballard, 78, British novelist
• May 6 - Lev Losev, 71, Russian-American poet
• May 17 - Mario Benedetti, 88, Uruguayan writer
• June 2 - David Eddings, 77, American novelist
• July 6 - Vasily Aksyonov, 76, Russian novelist
• July 19 - Frank McCourt, 78, American novelist and Pulitzer Prize winner

  

  Frank McCourt

• July 23 - E. Lynn Harris, 54, American author
• July 25 - Stanley Middleton, 89, British author
• July 27
  • Aeronwy Thomas, 66, British translator and writer
  • Michaël Zeeman, 50, Dutch literary critic, poet and writer
• July 31 - Tim Guest, 34, British writer
• August 2 - Adolf Endler, 78, German writer
• August 4 - Blake Snyder, 51, American screenwriter and author
• August 5 - Budd Schulberg, 95, American screenwriter and novelist
• August 6
  • Jack T. Kirby, 70, American historian
  • Willibrordus S. Rendra, 73, Indonesian poet
• August 7 - Danko Popović, 81, Serbian writer
• August 8 - Alfonso Calderón, 78, Chilean writer and poet
• August 9 - Thierry Jonquet, 55, French writer
• August 10
  • Josef Burg, 97, Ukrainian Yiddish writer
  • Merlyn Mantle, 77, American author
• August 16 - Alistair Campbell, 84, New Zealand poet
• August 18
  • Dic Jones, 75, Welsh poet
  • Hugo Loetscher, 79, Swiss author
  • Fernanda Pivano, 92, Italian writer
• August 19 - Donald M. Grant, 82, American science fiction publisher
• August 20 - Karla Kuskin, 77, American children's author
• August 22 - Elmer Kelton, 83, American Western novelist

  

  Elmer Kelton.

• 25 August - Bob Carroll, 73, American historian and author
• 25 August - Sergey Mikhalkov, 96, Russian writer and poet
• 3 September - Christine D'Haen, 85, Belgian poet
• 4 September - Keith Waterhouse, 80, British author and playwright
• 6 September
  • Catherine Gaskin, 80, Irish-born Australian novelist
  • Nada Iveljić, 79, Croatian writer
• 10 September - Lyn Hamilton, 65, Canadian author
• 11 September - Jim Carroll, 60, American author
• 12 September
  • William Hoffman, 84, American novelist
  • Antônio Olinto, 90, Brazilian writer
• 13 September - Sarah E. Wright, 80, American novelist
• 15 September - Trevor Rhone, 69, Jamaican playwright
• 19 September - Milton Meltzer, 94, American historian and author
• 21 September - Junzo Shono, 88, Japanese author
• 22 September - Kole Čašule, 88, Macedonian writer
• 24 September - Nelly Arcan, 35, Canadian novelist
• 25 September - Willy Breinholst, 91, Danish author
• 1 October
  • Otar Chiladze, 76, Georgian writer
  • Cintio Vitier, 88, Cuban poet
• 4 October - Veikko Huovinen, 82, Finnish writer
• 30 November - Milorad Pavić, 80, Serbian writer

See also

• List of literary awards
• List of poetry awards