1986 in literature
- See also: 1985 in literature, other events of 1986, 1987 in literature, and List of years in literature
Contents |
Events
New books
- Kingsley Amis - The Old Devils
- Piers Anthony - Ghost
- Jeffrey Archer - A Matter of Honour
- Iain Banks - The Bridge
- Thomas Bernhard - Auslöschung
- Anita Brookner - A Misalliance
- Orson Scott Card - Speaker for the Dead
- Tom Clancy - Red Storm Rising
- James Clavell - Whirlwind
- Jackie Collins - Hollywood Husbands
- Pat Conroy - The Prince of Tides
- Hugh Cook - The Wizards and the Warriors
- Bernard Cornwell - Sharpe's Regiment
- Richard Ford - The Sportswriter
- John Gardner - Nobody Lives For Ever
- Jacques Godbout - Une histoire américaine
- Carl Hiaasen - Tourist Season
- Stephen King - It
- W. P. Kinsella - The Fence Post Chronicles
- Judith Krantz - I'll Take Manhattan
- Louis L'Amour - Last of the Breed
- John le Carré - A Perfect Spy
- Robert Ludlum - The Bourne Supremacy
- Amin Maalouf - Leo Africanus
- Robert Munsch - Love You Forever
- Patrick O'Brian - The Reverse of the Medal
- Robert B. Parker - Taming a Sea Horse
- Belva Plain - The Golden Cup
- Anthony Powell - The Fisher King
- Terry Pratchett - The Light Fantastic
- Reynolds Price - Kate Vaiden
- James Purdy - In the Hollow of His Hand
- José Saramago - O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis
- Idries Shah - Kara Kush
- Danielle Steel - Wanderlust
- Peter Taylor - A Summons to Memphis
New drama
Poetry
- Kama Sywor Kamanda - Chants de brumes
Non-fiction
- Martin Amis - The Moronic Inferno and Other Visits to America
- Richard Dawkins - The Blind Watchmaker
- Adrian Edmondson et al - How to be a Complete Bastard
- Flora Fraser - Beloved Emma
- Mark Mathabane - Kaffir Boy
- Farley Mowat - My Discovery of America
- Marc Reisner - Cadillac Desert
- Richard Rhodes - The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- Mary Wilson - Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme
Births
Deaths
- January 1 - Lord David Cecil, critic and biographer
- January 4 - Christopher Isherwood, novelist
- January 24 - L. Ron Hubbard, science fiction writer, founder of Scientology
- February 11 - Frank Herbert, American science fiction author
- February 26 - Robert Penn Warren, poet, author
- March 4 - Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and novelist
- March 18 - Bernard Malamud, novelist
- April 14 - Simone de Beauvoir, philosopher and feminist writer
- May 15 - Theodore White, writer
- June 14 - Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer
- August 3 - Beryl Markham, traveller and author
- August 20 - Milton Acorn, Canadian poet, writer, and playwright
- December 17 - J. F. Hendry, poet
- December 19 - Virginia C. Andrews, novelist
- date unknown
- Lena Kennedy, novelist
Awards
Australia
- The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Robin Walton, Glace Fruits
- C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Rhyll McMaster, Washing the Money and John A. Scott, St. Clair
- Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Robert Gray Selected Poems 1963-83
- Mary Gilmore Prize: Stephen Williams - A Crowd of Voices
Canada
- See 1986 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
France
- Prix Goncourt: Michel Host , Valet de nuit
- Prix Médicis French: Pierre Combescot, Les Funérailles de la Sardine
- Prix Médicis International: John Hawkes, Aventures dans le commerce des peaux en Alaska
United Kingdom
- Booker Prize: Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils
- Cholmondeley Award: Lawrence Durrell, James Fenton, Selima Hill
- Eric Gregory Award: Mick North, Lachlan Mackinnon, Oliver Reynolds, Stephen Romer
- Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Norman MacCaig
- Whitbread Best Book Award: Kazuo Ishiguro, An Artist of the Floating World
United States
- Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Robley Wilson, Kingdoms of the Ordinary
- American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Drama: Sidney Kingsley
- Frost Medal: Allen Ginsberg / Richard Eberhart
- Nebula Award: Orson Scott Card, Speaker For the Dead
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall
- Prometheus Award: Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, The Illuminatus! Trilogy
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: no award given
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Henry Taylor, The Flying Change
Categories
1986 books