2015 In Literature
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - 2015 In Literature
OR:
2015 In Literature on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2015.


Events

*
January 7 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – The Senate of the Roman Republic, Senate of Rome says that Caesar will be declared a public enemy unless he disbands his army, prompting the tribunes who support him to flee to where Caesar is waiting in Ravenna ...
– ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting: An attack on the leading Franch satirical weekly kills 12 and wounds 11. This week's cover features
Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas on 26 February 1956) is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. H ...
, whose novel ''Submission'' is published that day. *
January 21 Events Pre-1600 * 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa. * 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded wh ...
– The
British Broadcasting Corporation The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...
(BBC) launches a six-part television miniseries of
Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
's Booker Prize-winning novels ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
'' and '' Bring Up the Bodies''. *
March 8 Events Pre-1600 * 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem '' Shahnameh''. * 1126 – Following the death of his mother, queen Urraca of León, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of León. * 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between ...
– The BBC launches a new television series of Winston Graham's '' Poldark'' novels. *
March 10 Events Pre-1600 * 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end. * 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes ...
–
Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (pronounced: ; born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. His fiction explores such themes as alternate history, alternative physics and logic, human nature, religion, the relationship between science a ...
's
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...
novel '' The Old Axolotl'' is published in its original Polish version as ' as purely
electronic literature Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or Generative literature, algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature ar ...
including
hypertext Hypertext is E-text, text displayed on a computer display or other electronic devices with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can immediately access. Hypertext documents are interconnected by hyperlinks, which are typic ...
and 3D printable character models. *
March 19 Events Pre-1600 * 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire. * 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen en ...
– Kim Thúy's novel '' Ru'' wins the 2015 edition of ''
Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Fre ...
''. * July 7 – Jeff Lindsay releases his final novel in the "Dexter" series, writing off
Dexter Morgan Dexter Morgan (born Dexter Moser), also known as The Bay Harbor Butcher, is a fictional serial killer and the antihero protagonist of the ''Dexter'' book series written by Jeff Lindsay (writer), Jeff Lindsay, as well as the Dexter (TV series), tel ...
two years after the final episode in the
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
. *c.
October 14 Events Pre-1600 *1066 – The Norman conquest of England begins with the Battle of Hastings. *1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at the Battle of Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's in ...
– Start of Causeway Bay Books disappearances: Five staff of the political bookseller Causeway Bay Books in
Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, go missing, apparently detained by mainland Chinese authorities. *
November 10 Events Pre-1600 * 474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. * 937 – Ten Kingdoms: Li Bian usurps the throne and deposes Emperor Y ...
– The
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
acquires its twelve millionth book, a unique copy of Shelley's subversive '' Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things'' "by a Gentleman of the University of Oxford", published in
1811 Events January–March * January 8 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes, in St. Charles and St. James Parishes, Louisiana. * January 17 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Calderón ...
. *
November 25 Events Pre-1600 *571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Ancient Rome, Rome, celebrates the first of his three Roman triumph, triumphs for his victory over the Etruscans. *1034 – Máel Coluim II of Scotland, Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, Ki ...
–
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
's Media Development Authority lifts prohibitions on 240 publications under the Undesirable Publications Act. *''unknown date'' – English author
Iain Pears Iain George Pears (born 8 August 1955) is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. Personal life Pears was born on 8 August 1955 in Coventry, England. He was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick. He st ...
' novel ''Arcadia'' is accompanied as an electronic book by an interactive app allowing readers to switch between multiple narratives.


Anniversaries

*
January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading (871), Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred the Great, Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasi ...
– 50th anniversary of the death of Anglo-American poet T. S. Eliot *
April 23 Events Pre-1600 * 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene. *599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in so ...
– Centenary of the death of English poet Rupert Brooke, on active service *
June June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...
– Centenary of the publication of T. S. Eliot's " The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" *
June 10 Events Pre-1600 * 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock ( clepsydra) called ''Rokoku''. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu. * 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederic ...
– Centenary of
Saul Bellow Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915April 5, 2005) was a Canadian-American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts. He is the only write ...
's birth *
June 13 Events Pre-1600 * 313 – The decisions of the Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius, granting religious freedom throughout the Roman Empire, are published in Nicomedia. * 1325 – Ibn ...
– 150th anniversary of
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...
, who was born on this date in 1865 *
September 26 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar dedicates a temple to Venus Genetrix, fulfilling a vow he made at the Battle of Pharsalus. * 715 – Ragenfrid defeats Theudoald at the Battle of Compiègne. * 1087 – William II is c ...
– 75th anniversary of his death of
Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...
*October – Centenary of the publication of
Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...
's ''
The Metamorphosis ''The Metamorphosis'' (), also translated as ''The Transformation'', is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''The Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inex ...
'' (''Die Verwandlung''). *
November 26 Events Pre-1600 * 783 – The Asturian queen Adosinda is held at a monastery to prevent her nephew from retaking the throne from Mauregatus. * 1161 – Battle of Caishi: A Song dynasty fleet fights a naval engagement with Jin dy ...
– 150th anniversary of the publication of
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...
's ''
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (also known as ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English Children's literature, children's novel by Lewis Carroll, a mathematics university don, don at the University of Oxford. It details the story of a ...
'' *
October 21 Events Pre-1600 *1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fights off the People's Crusade at the Battle of Civetot. * 1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toul ...
– 75th anniversary of the publication of
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
's '' For Whom the Bell Tolls'' *
December 21 Events Pre-1600 *AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian Roman emperor, emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. *1124 – Pope Honorius II is consecrated, having been elected after the controversial dethroning ...
– 75th anniversary of the death of American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald * December 23 – Bicentenary of the publication of
Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...
's '' Emma''


New books

''The date in brackets after a title refers to U.S. publication unless otherwise stated.''


Fiction

* Rabai al-Madhoun – ''Destinies: Concerto of the Holocaust and the Naqba'' *
André Alexis André Alexis is a Canadian writer who was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in Ottawa, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario.
– '' Fifteen Dogs'' * Isabel Allende – '' El amante japonés'' * Claudia Amengual – '' Cartagena'' (April 28) *
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and an inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight chi ...
– '' The Heart Goes Last'' *
Leigh Bardugo Leigh Bardugo (; born April 6, 1975) is an American fantasy author. She is best known for her young adult Grishaverse novels, which include the '' Shadow and Bone'' trilogy and the ''Six of Crows'' and '' King of Scars'' duologies. She also rec ...
– ''
Six of Crows ''Six of Crows'' is a fantasy novel written by the Israeli–American author Leigh Bardugo and published by Henry Holt and Co. in 2015. The story follows a thieving crew and is primarily set in the city of Ketterdam, which is loosely inspire ...
'' *
Paul Beatty Paul Beatty (born June 9, 1962) is an American author and professor of writing at Columbia University.The Sellout'' (March 3) *
Pierce Brown Pierce Brown (born January 28, 1988) is an American science fiction author who writes the ''Red Rising'' series, consisting of '' Red Rising'' (2014), '' Golden Son'' (2015), '' Morning Star'' (2016), '' Iron Gold'' (2018), '' Dark Age'' (2019), ...
– '' Golden Son'' (January 6) *
Graeme Macrae Burnet Graeme Macrae Burnet (born October 1967) is a Scottish writer. His first novel, ''The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau'', earned him the Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award in 2013, and his second novel, '' His Bloody Project'' (2015), was shor ...
– '' His Bloody Project'' (UK, November 6) * Mark Z. Danielewski **'' The Familiar, Volume 1: One Rainy Day in May'' (May 12) **'' The Familiar, Volume 2: Into the Forest'' (Oct 27) *
Mathias Énard Mathias Énard (born 1972) is a French novelist. He studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several aw ...
– ''Boussole'' (Compass) *
Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He published his first collection of stories, '' Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?'', in 1976. His breakout collection, '' What We Talk About ...
– ''
Beginners ''Beginners'' is a 2010 American romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Mike Mills. Based on the coming out of Mills' father at the age 75, five years before his death, it tells the story of a man reflecting on the life and death of ...
'' (September 15) *
Anne Enright Anne Teresa Enright (born 11 October 1962) is an Irish writer. The first Laureate for Irish Fiction (2015–2018) and winner of the Man Booker Prize (2007), she has published eight novels, many short stories, and a non-fiction work called ''Mak ...
– '' The Green Road'' *
Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'' drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, earned a Jame ...
– ''Purity'' (September 1) * Paula Hawkins – '' The Girl on the Train'' (January 13) *
Lawrence Hill Lawrence Hill (born January 24, 1957) is a Canadian novelist, essayist, and memoirist. He is known for his 2007 novel '' The Book of Negroes'', inspired by the Black Loyalists given freedom and resettled in Nova Scotia by the British after the A ...
– '' The Illegal'' *
Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas on 26 February 1956) is a French author of novels, poems, and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker, and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. H ...
- ''Submission'' (France, January 7) *
John Irving John Winslow Irving (born John Wallace Blunt Jr.; March 2, 1942) is an American and Canadian novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of his fourth novel '' Th ...
– '' Avenue of Mysteries'' (November 3) *
Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...
– ''
The Buried Giant ''The Buried Giant'' is a fantasy novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British writer Kazuo Ishiguro, published in March 2015. The novel follows an elderly Briton couple, Axl and Beatrice, living in a fictional post-Arthurian England in which no-o ...
'' (March 3) *
Miranda July Miranda July (born Miranda Jennifer Grossinger; February 15, 1974) is an American film director, screenwriter, actress and author. Her body of work includes film, fiction, monologue, digital presentations and live performance art. She wrote, di ...
– ''The First Bad Man'' (January 13) *
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
**''
Finders Keepers Finders keepers, sometimes extended as the children's rhyme finders keepers, losers weepers, is an English adage with the premise that when something is unowned or abandoned, whoever finds it first may claim it for themselves to own, by the “f ...
'' (June 2) **''
The Bazaar of Bad Dreams ''The Bazaar of Bad Dreams'' is a short fiction collection by Stephen King, published on November 3, 2015. This is King's sixth collection of short stories and his tenth collection overall. One of the stories, "Obits", won the 2016 Edgar Award f ...
'' (November 3) *
Harper Lee Nelle Harper Lee (April 28, 1926 – February 19, 2016) was an American novelist whose 1960 novel ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize and became a classic of modern American literature. She assisted her close friend Truman ...
– ''
Go Set a Watchman ''Go Set a Watchman'' is a novel by Harper Lee that was published in 2015 by HarperCollins (US) and Heinemann (publisher), Heinemann (UK). Written before her only other published novel, ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1960), ''Go Set a Watchman'' was ...
'' (July 14; written c.1955) * Sarah J. Maas – ''
A Court of Thorns and Roses ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' is a fantasy romance series by American author Sarah J. Maas, which follows the journey of 19-year-old Feyre Archeron after she is brought into the faerie lands of Prythian. The first book of the series, ''A Court ...
'' *
Michael Livingston Michael Livingston is an American historian, a professor of medieval literature, and a historical fantasy novelist. His 2015 debut novel, '' The Shards of Heaven'', has been followed by two sequels. Education and career Originally from Colorad ...
– '' The Shards of Heaven'' (November 24) *
Attica Locke Attica Locke (born 1974 in Houston, Texas) is an American fiction author and writer/producer for television and film. Career Locke graduated from Northwestern University School of Communication in 1995, and was a fellow at the Sundance Institute ...
– ''Pleasantville'' * Tom McCarthy – '' Satin Island'' (UK) * Ian McDonald – '' Luna: New Moon'' (September 17) *
Lisa McInerney Lisa McInerney is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor and screenwriter. She is best known for her novel, '' The Glorious Heresies'', which was the 2016 winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction. Biography McInerney was ...
– '' The Glorious Heresies'' (April) *
Henning Mankell Henning Georg Mankell (; 3 February 1948 – 5 October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a ...
(d. October 15) – ' (Sweden; translated as ''After the Fire'', 2017) *
Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...
– '' God Help the Child'' (April 21) *
Ottessa Moshfegh Ottessa Charlotte Moshfegh (; born May 20, 1981) is an American author and novelist. Her debut novel, ''Eileen (novel), Eileen'' (2015), won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and was a fiction finalist for ...
– ''
Eileen Eileen ( or ) is an Irish feminine given name anglicised from Eibhlín, an Irish form of the Norman French name Aveline, which is derived from the Germanic ''Avi'', possibly meaning ''desire'' in combination with the diminutive suffix ''el'' a ...
'' (August) *
Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been best-sellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for hi ...
(村上 春樹) – ''Wind/Pinball: Two Novels'' (August 4) *
Viet Thanh Nguyen Viet Thanh Nguyen (; born March 13, 1971) is a South Vietnamese-born American professor and novelist. He is the Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California ...
– ''
The Sympathizer ''The Sympathizer'' is the 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese-American professor and writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. It is a best-selling novel, and recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The novel received generally positive reviews from cr ...
'' *
Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (1986) was born in Akure, Nigeria. He is the author of three novels The ''Fishermen'' (2015), An ''Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019) and ''The Road to the Country'' (2024). The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities were final ...
– '' The Fishermen'' * Max Porter – '' Grief is the Thing with Feathers'' (UK, September 17) *
Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; ) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him ...
– ''
A Strangeness in My Mind ''A Strangeness in My Mind'' () is a 2014 novel by Orhan Pamuk. It is the author's ninth novel. Knopf Doubleday published the English translation by Ekin Oklap in the U.S.,Sunjeev Sahota – ''
The Year of the Runaways ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' (UK, June) *
John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been n ...
– '' The End of All Things'' (August 11) *
Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton, (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher, writer, and social critic who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of Conservatism in the United Kingdom, c ...
– '' The Disappeared'' (March 5) *
Joss Sheldon Joss Sheldon (born 7 April 1982, Barnet, UK) is an author who has released six novels: ''Other Worlds Were Possible'' (2023), ''Individutopia'' (2018), ''Money Power Love'' (2017), ''The Little Voice'' (2016), ''Occupied'' (2015) and ''Involution & ...
– ''Occupied'' (UK, October 20) *
Neal Stephenson Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known for his works of speculative fiction. His novels have been categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, cyberpunk, and baroque. Stephenson's work explores mathemati ...
– ''
Seveneves ''Seveneves'' is a science fiction novel by Neal Stephenson published in 2015. The story tells of the desperate efforts to preserve ''Homo sapiens'' in the wake of apocalyptic events on Earth after the unexplained disintegration of the Moon an ...
'' (May 19) *
Anne Tyler Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-five novels, including '' Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'' (1982), '' The Accidental Tourist'' (1985), and '' Breathi ...
– '' A Spool of Blue Thread'' *
Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Ca ...
– ''Daddy Lenin and Other Stories'' *Sarai Walker – '' Dietland'' (May 26) *
Hanya Yanagihara Hanya Yanagihara (born 1974) is an American novelist, editor, and travel writer. She grew up in Hawaii. She is best known for her bestselling novel ''A Little Life'', which was shortlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize, and for being the editor-in-c ...
– ''
A Little Life ''A Little Life'' is a 2015 novel by American writer Hanya Yanagihara. Lengthy and tackling difficult subject matter, it garnered critical acclaim, was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and the National Book Awards, and became a best sel ...
''


Children and young people

*Kevan Atteberry – '' Bunnies!!!'' *Bob Barner - '' Sea Bones'' *
Janeen Brian Janeen Brian (born 1948) is a South Australian writer of children's books. A primary school teacher prior to 1990, when she started writing full time, she published her 100th book in September, 2016. Brian's work for middle school children ''Yo ...
- ''
I’m A Hungry Dinosaur ''I'm a Hungry Dinosaur'' is a 2015 children's picture book written by Janeen Brian and illustrated by Ann James. It is about a small dinosaur that makes a mess baking and eating a cake. Publication history *2015, Australia, Penguin Books *201 ...
'' *
Sarah Crossan Sarah Crossan is an Irish author. She is best known for her books for young adults, including ''Apple and Rain'' and ''One'', for which she has won several awards. Biography Crossan graduated from University of Warwick in 1999 with a degree in ...
– ''
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
'' (verse, UK, August 27) * Brian Falkner - '' Battlesaurus: Rampage at Waterloo'' *
Nadia Fink Nadia Fink is an Argentine author, journalist, and editor known for writing the works in the ''Anti-Princess Series and Anti-Hero Series, Anti-Princess Series'' of picture book biographies of Latin American women. After studying proofreading, sh ...
(illustrated by Pitu Saá) – ''Frida Kahlo for Girls and Boys (Frida Kahlo para chicas y chicos)'' (Argentina, June, first in '' Anti-Princess Series (Colección antiprincesas)'') * Peter Goes – ''Timeline'' *
Jane Godwin Jane Godwin (born 1964 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian author, and is a publisher at Penguin Books Australia for children and young adult books. She was inducted into the Australian Book Industry Awards Hall of Fame on 9 May 2024; sh ...
– '' The True Story of Mary'' *
Frances Hardinge Frances Hardinge (born 1973) is a British children's writer. Her debut novel, '' Fly by Night'', won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the ''School Library Journal'' Best Books. She has also been shortlisted for and receive ...
– ''
The Lie Tree ''The Lie Tree'' is the seventh children's historical fantasy novel by Frances Hardinge, published in 2015 by Macmillan Publishers. The book won the 2015 Costa Book of the Year. Premise Faith Sunderly, the novel's 14-year old protagonist, li ...
'' (UK, May 7) *Moriah McStay – '' Everything That Makes You'' *
Carol Morley Carol Anne Morley (born 14 January 1966) is an English film director, screenwriter and producer. She is best known for her semi-documentary '' Dreams of a Life'', released in 2011, about Joyce Carol Vincent, who died in her North London bedsit ...
– ''7 Miles Out'' *
Barry Moser Barry Moser (born 1940) is an American visual artist and educator, known as a printmaker specializing in wood engravings, and an illustrator of numerous works of literature. He is also the owner and operator of the Pennyroyal Press, an engraving a ...
– ''We Were Brothers'' *
Lesléa Newman Lesléa Newman (born November 5, 1955, in Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the ...
– '' Ketzel, the Cat who Composed'' *
Jerry Pinkney Jerry Pinkney (December 22, 1939 – October 20, 2021) was an American illustrator and writer of children's literature. Pinkney illustrated over 100 books since 1964, including picture books, nonfiction titles and novels. Pinkney's works addresse ...
– '' The Grasshopper & the Ants'' *
Rick Riordan Richard Russell Riordan Jr. ( ; born June 5, 1964) is an American author, best known for writing the ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'' series. Riordan's books have been translated into forty-two languages and sold more than thirty million cop ...
**''
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes ''Camp Half-Blood Chronicles'' is a media franchise created by author Rick Riordan, encompassing three five-part novel series, two short-story collections, two myth anthology books, a stand-alone short story, three crossover short stories, an es ...
'' (August 18) **''
The Sword of Summer ''The Sword of Summer'' is a young-adult fantasy novel based on Norse mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on October 6, 2015, by Disney Hyperion, and is the first novel in the '' Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asg ...
'' (October 6) *R. A. Spratt - '' Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion'' *Yasmine Surovec – '' My Pet Human''


Poetry


Drama

*
Annie Baker Annie Baker (born April 1981) is an American playwright and film director. She is known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play ''The Flick'' (2013). She has written a string of plays which are set in the fictional town of Shirley: '' Body Awareness' ...
– ''John'' * David Hare – ''
The Moderate Soprano ''The Moderate Soprano'' is a 2015 play by the British playwright David Hare. It is a historical play dealing with John Christie, his founding of Glyndebourne Opera and his romance and marriage with Audrey Mildmay, the eponymous soprano. The ...
'' *
Lynn Nottage Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are black. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for he ...
– ''
Sweat Perspiration, also known as sweat, is the fluid secreted by sweat glands in the skin of mammals. Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: eccrine glands and Apocrine sweat gland, apocrine glands. The eccrine sweat glands are distribu ...
'' *
Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
– '' The Hard Problem'' (UK, February 5)


Non-fiction

* Elizabeth Alexander – ''The Light of the World: A Memoir'' *
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
– ''Archives'' *
Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatu ...
– ''Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl'' *
Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American professor and public intellectual known for his work in linguistics, political activism, and social criticism. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is also a ...
– ''Because We Say So'' *
Kate Christensen Kate Christensen (born August 22, 1962) is an American novelist. She won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for her fourth novel, ''The Great Man'', about a painter and the three women in his life. Her tenth and eleventh novels are forthcom ...
– '' How To Cook A Moose: A Culinary Memoir'' * Alexa Clay and Kyra Maya Phillips – '' The Misfit Economy'' *
Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...
- ''
Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It was written by Coates as a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of what the feelings, symbolism ...
'' (July) *
Isaac Deutscher Isaac Deutscher (; 3 April 1907 – 19 August 1967) was a Polish Marxist writer, journalist and political activist who moved to the United Kingdom before the outbreak of World War II. He is best known as a biographer of Leon Trotsky and Joseph S ...
– ''The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky'' *
Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...
– ''Girl in a Band'' *
Greg Grandin Greg Grandin (born 1962) is an American historian and author. He is a professor of history at Yale University. He previously taught at New York University. He is author of several books, including '' Fordlândia: The Rise and Fall of Henry For ...
– ''Kissinger's Shadow: The Long Reach of America's Most Controversial Statesman'' *
Chris Hedges Christopher Lynn Hedges (born September 18, 1956) is an American journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister. In his early career, Hedges worked as a freelance war correspondent in Central America for ''The Christian Science Monit ...
– ''Wages of Rebellion: The Moral Imperative of Revolt'' * Tameka Hobbs - '' Democracy Abroad, Lynching At Home'' * Robert Hughes – ''The Spectacle of Skill: Selected Writings'' (November 17) * W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne – ''
Blue Ocean Strategy ''Blue Ocean Strategy'' is a book published in 2005 written by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, professors at INSEAD, and the name of the marketing theory detailed on the book. They assert that the strategic moves outlined in the book create ...
'' (expanded edition) *
B. B. Lal Braj Basi Lal (2 May 1921 – 10 September 2022) was an Indian writer and archaeologist. He was the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) from 1968 to 1972 and has served as Director of the Indian Institute of Advance ...
– '' The Rigvedic People: Invaders? Immigrants? or Indigenous?'' *
Zachary Leader Zachary Leader (born 1946) is an Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Roehampton. He was an undergraduate at Northwestern University, and did graduate work at Trinity College, Cambridge and Harvard University, where he was ...
– ''The Life of Saul Bellow: To Fame and Fortune, 1915–1964'' *
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show '' The Mark Levin Show'', as well as '' Life, ...
– ''Plunder and Deceit'' *
Bethany McLean Bethany Lee McLean (born December 12, 1970) is an American journalist and contributing editor for '' Vanity Fair'' magazine. She is known for her writing on the Enron scandal and the 2008 financial crisis. Previous assignments include editor-at-l ...
– ''Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants'' *
Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine Canadian, Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former director of the National Library of Argentina. He is a cosmopolitan and polyglo ...
– ''Curiosity'' (literary criticism) *
John Marenbon John Alexander Marenbon FBA (born 26 August 1955) is a British philosopher and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. His principal area of specialization is medieval philosophy. Career He obtained BA, MA, PhD, and DLitt degrees from the Unive ...
– '' Pagans and Philosophers'' (March 22) * Minae Mizumura (translated by
Mari Yoshihara is an American academic. She is a professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and specializes in American cultural history and US-Asian relations. She is also an amateur pianist. Biography Yoshihara was born in New Y ...
and
Juliet Winters Carpenter Juliet Winters Carpenter (born 1948) is an American translator of modern Japanese literature. Born in the American Midwest, she studied Japanese literature at the University of Michigan and the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies ...
) – '' The Fall of Language in the Age of English'' *
Maggie Nelson Maggie Nelson (born 1973) is an American writer. She has been described as a genre-busting writer defying classification, working in autobiography, art criticism, theory, feminism, queerness, sexual violence, the history of the avant-garde, aest ...
– ''The Argonauts'' *
Jay Parini Jay Parini (born April 2, 1948) is an American writer and academic. He is known for novels, poetry, biography, screenplays and criticism. He has published novels about Leo Tolstoy, Walter Benjamin, Paul the Apostle, Herman Melville, and a noveli ...
– ''Empire of Self: A Life of Gore Vidal'' *
Marilynne Robinson Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and th ...
– ''The Givenness of Things: Essays'' (October 27) *
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...
– ''Gratitude'' *
Ruth Scurr Ruth Scurr, aka Lady Stothard, is a British writer, historian and literary critic. She is a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Education Scurr was educated at St Bernard's Convent, Slough; Oxford University, Cambridge Univers ...
– ''John Aubrey: My Own Life'' * James Shapiro – ''The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606'' *
Steve Silberman Stephen Louis Silberman (December 23, 1957 – August 29, 2024) was an American writer for ''Wired (magazine), Wired'' magazine and was an editor and contributor there for more than two decades. In 2010, Silberman was awarded the American Associ ...
– ''NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity'' *
Aaron Swartz Aaron Hillel Swartz (; November 8, 1986January 11, 2013), also known as AaronSw, was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivism, hacktivist. As a programmer, Swartz helped develop the we ...
– ''The Boy Who Could Change the World: The Writings of Aaron Swartz'' (November 26, UK) *
Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is an English contemporary artist, Pottery, potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or ...
– ''The White Road. A Pilgrimage of Sorts'' (porcelain) *
Jim Wallis James E. Wallis Jr. (born June 4, 1948) is an American theologian, writer, teacher and political activist. He is best known as the founder and former editor of ''Sojourners'' magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.–based Christi ...
– '' America's Original Sin'' *
Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, writer, and director. He starred as Dwight Schrute on NBC's American adaptation of ''The Office'' from 2005 to 2013, and received t ...
- ''
The Bassoon King ''The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith, and Idiocy'' is a nonfiction book by American actor Rainn Wilson, published in November 2015 by Dutton. It is a combination of a coming-of-age memoir discussing his career and celebrity status coupled w ...
''


Films

*
The Danish Girl ''The Danish Girl'' is a novel by American writer David Ebershoff, published in 2000 by the Viking Press in the United States and Allen & Unwin in Australia. The novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Lili Elbe, one of the first tra ...


Deaths

*
January 1 January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in the Gregorian Calendar; 364 days remain until the end of the year (365 in leap years). This day is also known as New Year's Day since the day marks the beginning of the year. __TOC__ Events ...
–
Miller Williams Stanley Miller Williams (April 8, 1930January 1, 2015) was an American contemporary poet, as well as a university professor, translator and editor. He produced over 25 books and won several awards for his poetry. His accomplishments were chronic ...
, American poet, 84 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
) *
January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading (871), Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred the Great, Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasi ...
–
Michele Serros Michele Marie Serros (February 10, 1966 – January 4, 2015) was an American author, poet and comedic social commentator. Hailed as "a Woman to Watch in the New Century" by ''Newsweek'',1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
) *
January 10 Events Pre-1600 *49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. * 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and th ...
– Robert Stone, American novelist, 77 (born
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
) *
January 12 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine Emperor Zeno (emperor), Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire. *1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crow ...
– John Bayley, novelist and critic, 89 (born
1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
) *
January 25 Events Pre-1600 * 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman emperor by the Senate. * 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to the overthrow of the dyn ...
–
John Leggett John Ward Leggett (November 11, 1917 – January 25, 2015) was an American writer who served as the third director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop from 1970 to 1987. Biography Leggett was born in Manhattan to Bleecker Noel Leggett, a real estate ma ...
, American author and academic, 97 (born
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
) *
January 27 Events Pre-1600 * 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor. * 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes sole emperor of the ...
–
Suzette Haden Elgin Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Suzette Wilkins; November 18, 1936 – January 27, 2015) was an American researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages and poetry and science fiction writer. She founded t ...
, American linguist and science fiction author, 78 (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
) *
January 28 Events Pre-1600 *AD 98, 98 – On the death of Nerva, Trajan is declared Roman emperor in Cologne, the seat of his government in lower Germany. * 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accessi ...
–
Lionel Gilbert Lionel Arthur Gilbert CF (8 December 1924 – 28 January 2015) was an Australian historian, author, curator, lecturer, and biographer, specializing in applied, natural, and local history. Born in Burwood, New South Wales, he studied at Syd ...
, Australian historian, author, and academic, 90 (born
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...
) *
January 29 Events Pre-1600 * 904 – Sergius III is elected pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher. * 946 – Caliph al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Mu'izz al-Dawla, ruler ...
–
Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Lif ...
, Australian author, 77 (born
1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...
) *
February 6 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Hormizd IV, king of the Sasanian Empire, is overthrown and blinded by his brothers-in-law Vistahm and Vinduyih. * 1579 – The Diocese of Manila is erected by papal bull, with Domingo de Salazar appointe ...
**
André Brink André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town. In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...
, South African novelist and professor of literature, (born
1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
) **
Assia Djebar Fatima-Zohra Imalayen (; 30 June 1936 – 6 February 2015), known by her pen name Assia Djebar (), was an Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker. Most of her works deal with obstacles faced by women, and she is noted for her feminist stance ...
, Algerian novelist, translator and filmmaker, (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
) *
February 13 Events Pre-1600 * 962 – Emperor Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I and Pope Pope John XII, John XII co-sign the ''Diploma Ottonianum'', recognizing John as ruler of Rome. *1258 – Siege of Baghdad (1258), Siege of Baghdad: Hulegu Kh ...
–
Faith Bandler Faith Bandler (27 September 1918 13 February 2015; née Ida Lessing Faith Mussing) was an Australian civil rights activist of South Sea Islander and Scottish- Indian heritage. A campaigner for the rights of Indigenous Australians and South S ...
, Australian author and civil rights activist, 96 (born
1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
) *
February 14 It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day. Events Pre-1600 * 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...
– Philip Levine, American poet laureate, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
) *
February 23 Events Pre-1600 * 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution. * 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I lays the foundation stone o ...
–
James Aldridge Harold Edward James Aldridge (10 July 1918 – 23 February 2015) was an Australian-British writer and journalist. His World War II despatches were published worldwide and he was the author of over 30 books, both fiction and non-fiction works, ...
, Australian-born British novelist and journalist, 96 (born
1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
) *
February 26 Events Pre-1600 * 747 BC – According to Ptolemy, the epoch (origin) of the Nabonassar Era began at noon on this date. Historians use this to establish the modern BC chronology for dating historic events. * 320 – Chandragupta ...
** Fritz J. Raddatz, German
feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of , the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criticism, a chronicle ...
writer, essayist and biographer (suicide, born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) **
Avijit Roy Avijit Roy (; 12 September 1972 – 26 February 2015) was a Bangladeshi-American engineer, online activist, writer, and blogger known for creating and administrating the Mukto-Mona, an Internet blogging community for Bangladeshi freethinkers, ...
, Bangladeshi-American writer, 42 (stabbed, born
1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
) *
February 28 Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople (Roman Catholic), Fourth Council of Co ...
–
Yaşar Kemal Yaşar Kemal (; born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a leading Turkish writer of Kurdish descent, who wrote in Turkish and a human rights activist. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candid ...
, Turkish writer and intellectual (born
1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...
) *
March 12 Events Pre-1600 * 538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city to the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius. * 1088 – Election of Urban II as the 159th Pope of th ...
– Sir
Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...
, English author of fantasy novels, 66 (
posterior cortical atrophy Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also called Benson's syndrome, is a rare form of dementia which is considered a visual variant or an atypical variant of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The disease causes atrophy of the posterior part of the cerebral ...
, born
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
) *
March 18 Events Pre-1600 * 37 – Roman Senate annuls Tiberius' will and proclaims Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ''(aka Caligula = Little Boots)'' emperor.Tacitus, ''Annals'' V.10. * 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Ar ...
–
Grace Ogot Grace Emily Ogot (née Akinyi; 15 May 1930 – 18 March 2015) was a Kenyan author, nurse, journalist, politician and diplomat. Together with Charity Waciuma she was the first Anglophone female Kenyan writer to be published.Mike Kuria, ed. ''T ...
, Kenyan writer, 84 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
) *
March 24 Events Pre-1600 *1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6. * 1387 – English victory over a Franco- Castilian- Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margat ...
–
Alan Seymour Alan Seymour (6 June 192723 March 2015) was an Australian playwright and author. He is best known for the play ''The One Day of the Year'' (1958). His international reputation rests not only on this early play, but also on his many screenplays, ...
, Australian playwright, 87 (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
)Marc McEvoy, obituary: "The one day of the year became a defining moment in writer's life". ''The Age'', 30 March 2015, p. 34 *
March 26 Events Pre-1600 * 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. * 624 – First Eid al-Fitr celebration. * 1021 – The death of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, kept secret ...
–
Tomas Tranströmer Tomas Gösta Tranströmer (; 15 April 1931 – 26 March 2015) was a Swedish poet, psychologist and translator. His poems captured the long winters in Sweden, the rhythm of the seasons and the palpable, atmospheric beauty of nature. Tranströmer' ...
, Swedish poet, translator, and Nobel prizewinner, 83 (born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) *
April 9 Events Pre-1600 * 193 – The distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum. * 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (''Enkyklikon'') to the bishops of his empire, ...
–
Ivan Doig Ivan Doig (; June 27, 1939 – April 9, 2015) was an American author and novelist, widely known for his sixteen fiction and non-fiction books set mostly in his native Montana, celebrating the landscape and people of the post-war American West. W ...
, American novelist, 75 (born
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
). *
April 13 Events Pre-1600 * 1111 – Henry V, King of Germany, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor. * 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. * 1455 – Thirteen Years' War: ...
**
Eduardo Galeano Eduardo Germán María Hughes Galeano (; 3 September 1940 – 13 April 2015) was a Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist considered, among other things, "a literary giant of the Latin American left" and "global soccer's pre-eminent man of le ...
, Uruguayan journalist, writer and novelist, 74 (lung cancer, born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
) **
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
, German novelist, poet, playwright, and Nobel prizewinner, 87 (lung infection, born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
) *
April 15 Events Pre-1600 * 769 – The Lateran Council ends by condemning the Council of Hieria and anathematizing its iconoclastic rulings. * 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guisca ...
–
Rosemary Tonks Rosemary Tonks (17 October 1928 – 15 April 2014) was an English poet and author. After publishing two poetry collections, six novels, and pieces in numerous media outlets, she disappeared from the public eye following her conversion to Fundamen ...
, English poet and novelist, 85 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
) *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
–
Ruth Rendell Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, (; 17 February 1930 – 2 May 2015) was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries. Rendell is best known for creating Chief Inspector Wexford.The Oxford Companion ...
, English crime and thriller writer, 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
) *
May 2 Events Pre-1600 * 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first royal charter. * 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great. * 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and impris ...
– William Zinsser American journalist and critic (born
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...
) *
May 20 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church. * 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose h ...
– J. S. Harry, Australian poet, 76 (born
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
) *
May 23 Events Pre-1600 * 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured at the Siege of Compiègne by troops from the Burgundian faction. * 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy. *1533 – The marriage of King Henry ...
–
Moyra Caldecott Moyra Caldecott (1 June 1927 – 23 May 2015)Kevan Manwaring"Moyra Caldecott obituary" ''The Guardian'', 8 June 2005. was a British author of historical fiction, fantasy, science fiction and non-fiction. Her works include ''Guardians of the Tall ...
, English writer, 87 (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
) *
June 19 Events Pre-1600 * 325 – The original Nicene Creed is adopted at the First Council of Nicaea. * 1179 – The Battle of Kalvskinnet takes place outside Nidaros (now Trondheim), Norway. Earl Erling Skakke is killed, and the battle cha ...
–
James Salter James Arnold Horowitz (June 10, 1925 – June 19, 2015), better known as James Salter, his pen name and later-adopted legal name, was an American novelist and short-story writer. Originally a career officer and pilot in the United States Air F ...
, American novelist and short-story writer, 90 (born
1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...
) *
July 21 Events Pre-1600 * 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson. * 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope. After being exiled to Sardinia, he became th ...
–
E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama, including the ...
, American novelist, 84 (born
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) *
July 31 Events Pre-1600 *30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide. * 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Tr ...
–
Alan Cheuse Alan Stuart Cheuse (January 23, 1940 – July 31, 2015) was an American writer, editor, professor of literature, and radio commentator. A longtime NPR book commentator, he was also the author of five novels, five collections of short stories and ...
, American writer and radio reviewer, 75 (born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
) *
August 30 Events Pre-1600 * 70 – Titus ends the siege of Jerusalem after destroying Herod's Temple. * 1060 – The Mirdasids defeat the Fatimid Caliphate at the Battle of al-Funaydiq, signalling the definitive loss of Aleppo for the Fatimi ...
–
Oliver Sacks Oliver Wolf Sacks (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurology, neurologist, Natural history, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in London, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford ...
, British neurologist and author (''
Awakenings ''Awakenings'' is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max ...
''), 82 (born
1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...
) *
October 2 Events Pre-1600 * 829 – Theophilos succeeds his father Michael II as Byzantine Emperor. * 939 – Battle of Andernach: Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, crushes a rebellion against his rule, by a coalition of Eberhard of Franconia an ...
–
Brian Friel Brian Patrick Friel (c. 9 January 1929 – 2 October 2015) was an Irish dramatist, short story writer and founder of the Field Day Theatre Company. He had been considered one of the greatest living English-language dramatists. (subscription requ ...
, Irish playwright and short-story writer, 86 (born
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
) *
October 5 Events Pre-1600 * 610 – Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor. * 816 – King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope. * 869 – The Fourth Co ...
–
Henning Mankell Henning Georg Mankell (; 3 February 1948 – 5 October 2015) was a Swedish crime writer, children's author, and dramatist, best known for a series of mystery novels starring his most noted creation, Inspector Kurt Wallander. He also wrote a ...
, Swedish novelist, children’s author and playwright, 67 (born
1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...
) *
October 7 Events Pre-1600 * 3761 BC – The epoch reference date (start) of the modern Hebrew calendar. * 1403 – Venetian–Genoese wars: The Genoese fleet under a French admiral is defeated by a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon. * 1477 ...
– W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
) *
October 18 Events Pre-1600 * 33 – Heartbroken by the deaths of her sons Nero and Drusus, and banished to the island of Pandateria by Tiberius, Agrippina the Elder dies of self-inflicted starvation. * 320 – Pappus of Alexandria, Greek phil ...
**
Gamal El-Ghitani Gamal al-Ghitani (, ; 9 May 1945 – 18 October 2015) was an Egyptian author of historical and political novels and cultural and political commentaries and was the editor-in-chief of the literary periodical '' Akhbar Al-Adab'' ("Cultural News") ...
, Egyptian novelist and cultural critic, 70 (born
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...
) ** Paul West, English-born American novelist, poet and essayist, 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
) *
October 27 Events Pre-1600 *312 – Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of Constantine, Vision of the Cross. *1275 – Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam. *1524 – French troops Italian campaign of 152 ...
–
Mitzura Arghezi Mitzura Domnica Arghezi (also spelled Mițura, born Domnica Theodorescu; 10 December 1924 – 27 October 2015) was a Romanian actress, visual artist and politician, also active as a ballerina, book editor, and museum curator. She was the daughter ...
, Romanian book editor, illustrator, and politician (born
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...
) *
November 30 Events Pre-1600 * 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900 *1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of t ...
: **
Dan Fante Daniel Smart Fante (February 19, 1944 – November 23, 2015) was an American author and playwright. He was born in Los Angeles. Biography Fante was the son of novelist John Fante whose writing came back into vogue after Charles Bukowski declar ...
, American author and playwright, 71 (born
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
) **
Hazel Holt Hazel Holt (nee Young, 3 September 1928 – 23 November 2015) was a British novelist. She studied at King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, and then Newnham College, Cambridge. She went on to work at the International Afric ...
, English novelist, 87 (born
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...
) *
November 30 Events Pre-1600 * 978 – Franco-German war of 978–980: Holy Roman Emperor Otto II lifts the siege of Paris and withdraws. 1601–1900 *1707 – Queen Anne's War: The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of t ...
–
Fatema Mernissi Fatema Mernissi (; 27 September 1940 – 30 November 2015) was a Moroccan feminist writer and sociologist. Biography Fatema Mernissi was born on 27 September 1940 in Fez, Morocco. She grew up in the harem of her affluent paternal grandmother al ...
, Moroccan scholar and writer, 75 (born
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
) *
December 5 Events Pre-1600 *63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations. * 633 – Fourth Council of Toledo opens, presided over by Isidore of Seville. *1033 – The 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake, Jordan Rift Val ...
–
William McIlvanney William Angus McIlvanney (25 November 1936 – 5 December 2015) was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works ''Laidla ...
, Scottish novelist, short-story writer and poet, 79 (born
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...
) *
December 9 Events Pre-1600 * 536 – Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital. * 730 – Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, ...
–
Akiyuki Nosaka was a Japanese novelist, journalist, singer, lyricist, and member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he used the name and his alias as a chanson singer was . He wrote the short story " Grave of the Fireflies" based on his exp ...
, Japanese writer (''
Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese Anime, animated war film written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced by Studio Ghibli. It is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical Grave of the Fireflies (short story), short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka ...
''), 85 (born
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
) *
December 16 Events Pre-1600 * 714 – Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the Merovingian palace, dies at Jupille (modern Belgium). He is succeeded by his infant grandson Theudoald, while his widow Plectrude holds actual power in the Frankish Kingdom. * ...
-
Peter Dickinson Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson OBE FRSL (16 December 1927 – 16 December 2015) was an English author and poet, best known for children's books and detective stories. Dickinson won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association ...
, English author and poet (born
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...
)


Awards

*
Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the considerable attention the winner receives from the media, it is, along with the Naoki Prize, one of Japan's most sought after literary prizes. History Th ...
, Japan:
Masatsugu Ono is a Japanese writer. He resides in Ōita Prefecture and is associate professor at the Rikkyo University. He was awarded the 152nd Akutagawa Prize The is a Japanese literary award presented biannually. Because of its prestige and the con ...
for ' (''A Prayer Nine Years Ago'') *
Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...
, U.S.: ''
A Brief History of Seven Killings ''A Brief History of Seven Killings'' is the third novel by Jamaican author Marlon James. It was published in 2014 by Riverhead Books. The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976 and ...
'' by Marlon James *
Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...
: ''
How to Be Both ''How to Be Both'' is a 2014 novel by Scottish author Ali Smith, first published by Hamish Hamilton. It was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize and the 2015 Folio Prize. It won the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize, the Novel Award in the 2014 Cost ...
'' by
Ali Smith Ali Smith CBE FRSL (born 24 August 1962) is a Scottish author, playwright, academic and journalist. Sebastian Barry described her in 2016 as "Scotland's Nobel laureate-in-waiting". Early life and education Smith was born in Inverness on 24 A ...
*
Caine Prize for African Writing The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...
:
Namwali Serpell Namwali Serpell (born 1980) is an American and Zambian writer who teaches in the United States. In April 2014, she was named on Hay Festival's Africa39 list of 39 sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with the potential and talent to define t ...
, ''The Sack'' *
Camões Prize The Camões Prize (, ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most prestigious prize for literature in the Portuguese language. The prize was established in 1989 and is supported by the governments of Brazil and Portugal. It is awarded annually to ...
, Portugal:
Hélia Correia Hélia Correia (born 1949) is a Portuguese novelist, playwright, poet and translator. Early life Correia was born in Lisbon in February 1949, and raised in Mafra, her mother's home town. Her father was an anti-fascist who was arrested before her ...
*
David Cohen Prize The David Cohen Prize for Literature (est. 1993) is a British literary award given to a writer, novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist or dramatist in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language. The prize is funde ...
:
Tony Harrison Tony Harrison (born 30 April 1937) is an English poet, translator and playwright. He was born in Beeston, Leeds and he received his education in Classics from Leeds Grammar School and Leeds University. He is one of Britain's foremost verse ...
*
Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...
, Canada: Alex Leslie *
Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...
, U.K.: ''
Our Endless Numbered Days ''Our Endless Numbered Days'' is the second studio album from Iron & Wine. Released on March 23, 2004 on Sub Pop, it was the first non-solo effort by Sam Beam under his Iron & Wine moniker. Limited edition copies of the vinyl LP came with a bon ...
'' by
Claire Fuller Claire Fuller (born 9 February 1967 in Oxfordshire) is an English author. She won the 2015 Desmond Elliott Prize for her first novel, '' Our Endless Numbered Days'', the BBC Opening Lines Short Story Competition in 2014, and the Royal Academy & ...
*
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature is an international literary prize awarded annually to writers of any ethnicity or nationality writing about South AsiaNote: South Asia for the purposes of the prize is defined as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka ...
: ''The Lowland'' by Jhumpa Lahiri, India *
Folio Prize The Writers' Prize, previously known as the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting ...
, U.K.: ''Family Life'' by
Akhil Sharma Akhil Sharma (born July 22, 1971) is an Indian-American author and professor of creative writing. His first published novel ''An Obedient Father'' won the 2001 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, PEN/Hemingway Award. His second, ''Family Life ( ...
*
European Book Prize The European Book Prize () is a European Union literary award established in 2007. It is organized by the association Esprit d'Europe in Paris. It seeks to promote European values, and to contribute to European citizens' better understanding of t ...
: Jean-Pierre Orban, ''Vera'' and, Robert Menasse, ''Der Europäische Landbote'' *
German Book Prize The German Book Prize () is awarded annually, in October, by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association () to the best new German-language novel of the year. The books, published in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, are nominated by their ...
: ''Die Erfindung der Roten Armee Fraktion durch einen manisch-depressiven Teenager im Sommer 1969'' by Frank Witzel *
Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings Struga Poetry Evenings (SPE) (, СВП; tr. ''Struški večeri na poezijata'', ''SVP'') is an international poetry festival held annually in Struga, North Macedonia. During the several decades of its existence, the Festival has awarded its most ...
, Macedonia:
Bei Dao Bei Dao (, born August 2, 1949) is the pen name of the Chinese-American writer Zhao Zhenkai (). Among the most acclaimed Chinese-language poets of his generation, he is often regarded as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. In addition ...
(China) *
Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...
, U.K.: ''Beatlebone'' by
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier and medical student who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in a ...
*
Gordon Burn Prize The Gordon Burn Prize was launched in 2013 as a vehicle by which "to reward fiction or non-fiction written in the English language, which in the opinion of the judges most successfully represents the spirit and sensibility of nowiki/>Gordon Burn ...
, U.K.: ''In Plain Sight: The Life and Lies of Jimmy Savile'' by Dan Davies *
Governor General's Award for English-language fiction The Governor General's Award for English-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in English.Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Ca ...
, ''Daddy Lenin and Other Stories'' *
Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...
, Canada:
Nicolas Dickner Nicolas Dickner (born 1972 in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. He is best known for his 2005 novel '' Nikolski'', which has won numerous literary awards in Canada both in its original French and translated ...
, ''Six degrés de liberté'' *
Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française The is a French literary award, created in 1914, and given each year by the Académie Française. Along with the Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the ...
: ''Les Prépondérants'' by
Hédi Kaddour image:Hédi Kaddour 2015 (cropped).jpg, Hédi Kaddour (born 1 July 1945 in Tunis) is a French poet and novelist. Biography Hédi Kaddour was born of a Tunisian father and a French mother. Received 1st at the Agrégation in France, aggregation ...
; '' 2084: la fin du monde'' by
Boualem Sansal Boualem Sansal (, born 15 October 1949 in Theniet El Had) is an Algerian author who writes in French. In 2024, he became a French citizen. He holds an engineering degree from the National Polytechnic School and a PhD in economics. Sansal has wo ...
*
International Prize for Arabic Fiction The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) (), also known as "the Arabic Booker", is regarded as the most prestigious and important literary prize in the Arab world. Its aim is to reward excellence in contemporary Arabic creative writing ...
: ''The Italian'' by Shukri Mabkhout, Tunisia *
International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...
: ''
Harvest Harvesting is the process of collecting plants, animals, or fish (as well as fungi) as food, especially the process of gathering mature crops, and "the harvest" also refers to the collected crops. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulses fo ...
'' by
Jim Crace James Crace (born 1 March 1946) is an English novelist, playwright and short story writer. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999, Crace was born in Hertfordshire and has lectured at the University of Texas at Austin. His ...
*
Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is an annual award for Irish authors of fiction, established in 1995. It was previously known as the Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year Award (1995–2000), the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Award ...
: ''Blue Is the Night'' by
Eoin McNamee Eoin McNamee (1961 in Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland) is a writer of novels and screenplays. Career McNamee studied Law at Trinity College Dublin and then worked in various occupations besides being a full-time writer. He has taught a ...
*
Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
: ''
A Brief History of Seven Killings ''A Brief History of Seven Killings'' is the third novel by Jamaican author Marlon James. It was published in 2014 by Riverhead Books. The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976 and ...
'' by Marlon James *
Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize () is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' calls it "most prestigious and remunerative award given for Spanish-languag ...
:
Fernando del Paso Fernando del Paso Morante (April 1, 1935 – November 14, 2018) was a Mexican novelist, essayist and poet. Biography Del Paso was born in Mexico City and took two years in economics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He ...
*
Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...
: '' The Eye of the Sheep'' by
Sofie Laguna Sofie Laguna is an Australian writer. Early life and education Sofie Laguna was born in Sydney. She studied law. Career After deciding that being a lawyer was not for her, worked as an actor for a while, before becoming a writer and playwri ...
*
National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...
, U.S.: ''Fortune Smiles'' By Adam Johnson *
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
:
Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to s ...
,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
*
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living Americans, Green Card holders or permanent residents. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of ...
: ''Preparation for the Next Life'' by
Atticus Lish Atticus Lish (born 1972) is an American novelist. His debut, ''Preparation for the Next Life'', caught its independent publisher, Tyrant, "off guard" by becoming a surprise success, winning a number of awards including the PEN/Faulkner Award for ...
*PEN Center USA 2015 Fiction Award: Robert Thomas, ''Bridge'' *
Premio Planeta de Novela The Premio Planeta de Novela is a Spanish literary prize, awarded since 1952 by the Spanish publisher Grupo Planeta to an original unpublished novel written in Spanish. It is one of about 16 literary prizes given by Planeta. Financially, it is t ...
, Spain: ''Hombres desnudos'' by Alicia Giménez-Bartlett; ''La isla de Alice'' by Daniel Sánchez Arévalo * Premio Strega, Italy:
Nicola Lagioia Nicola Lagioia (born 18 April 1973) is an Italian writer. Born in Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first m ...
*
Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing The Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing (formerly Pritzker Military Library Literature Award 2007-2013) is a literary award given annually by the Pritzker Military Museum & Library.David Hackett Fischer David Hackett Fischer (born December 2, 1935) is University Professor of History Emeritus at Brandeis University. Fischer's major works have covered topics ranging from large macroeconomic and cultural trends ('' Albion's Seed,'' '' The Great Wave ...
*
Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...
: ''Boussole'' by
Mathias Énard Mathias Énard (born 1972) is a French novelist. He studied Persian and Arabic and spent long periods in the Middle East. He has lived in Barcelona for about fifteen years, interrupted in 2013 by a writing residency in Berlin. He won several aw ...
*
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...
, U.S.: ''
All the Light We Cannot See ''All the Light We Cannot See'' is a 2014 war novel by American author Anthony Doerr. The novel is set during World War II. It revolves around the characters Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind French girl who takes refuge in her great-uncle's hous ...
'' by
Anthony Doerr Anthony Doerr is an American author of novels and short stories. He gained widespread recognition for his 2014 novel '' All the Light We Cannot See'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Early life and education Doerr grew up in Cleveland ...
*
Pulitzer Prize for Poetry The Pulitzer Prize for Poetry is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually for Letters, Drama, and Music. The award came five years after the first Pulitzers were awarded in other categories; Joseph Pulitzer's will had not ment ...
: U.S.: ''Digest'' by
Gregory Pardlo Gregory Pardlo (born November 24, 1968) is an American poet, writer, and professor. His book '' Digest'' won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His poems, reviews, and translations have appeared in ''The American Poetry Review'', ''Callaloo'', '' ...
*
RBC Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It was named for Charles P. B. Taylo ...
, Canada: ''They Left Us Everything'' by
Plum Johnson Plum Johnson is a Canadian writer and publisher, who won the RBC Taylor Prize in 2015 for her memoir ''They Left Us Everything''. Born in Richmond, Virginia, she spent her early childhood living in Asia until her parents moved to Oakville, Ontar ...
*
Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers ...
, Canada:
André Alexis André Alexis is a Canadian writer who was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in Ottawa, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario.
, '' Fifteen Dogs'' *
Russian Booker Prize The Russian Booker Prize (, ''Russian Booker'') was a Russian literary award modeled after the Booker Prize. It was awarded from 1992 to 2017. It was inaugurated by English Chief Executive Sir Michael Harris Caine. It was awarded each year to ...
: ''Vera'' by Alexander Snegirev *
SAARC Literary Award SAARC Literary Award is an annual award conferred by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature ( FOSWAL) since 2001 Shamshur Rahman, Mahasweta Devi, Jayanta Mahapatra, Abhi Subedi, Mark Tully, Sitakant Mahapatra, Uday Prakash, Suman Po ...
:
Sitakant Mahapatra Sitakant Mahapatra (born 17 September 1937) is an Indian poet and literary critic in Odia as well as English. He served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1961 until he retired in 1995, and has held ''ex officio'' posts such as the ...
,
Selina Hossain Selina Hossain (born 14 June 1947) is a Bangladeshi novelist. Her major works include ''Hangor Nodi Grenade'' (1976) and ''Poka Makorer Ghor Boshoti'' (1996). She earned all major national awards – Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1980, Ekushey ...
,
Suman Pokhrel Suman Pokhrel (; born 21 September 1967) is a Nepali people, Nepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist. Universities in Nepal and India have included his poetry in their syllabi. Pokhrel is the only writer to have received the SAA ...
, Nisar Ahmad Chaudhary, Aryan Aroon *
Samuel Johnson Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its m ...
for Non-fiction, U.K.: ''Neurotribes: The Legacy of Autism and How to Think Smarter About People Who Think Differently'' by
Steve Silberman Stephen Louis Silberman (December 23, 1957 – August 29, 2024) was an American writer for ''Wired (magazine), Wired'' magazine and was an editor and contributor there for more than two decades. In 2010, Silberman was awarded the American Associ ...
*
Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...
, Canada:
André Alexis André Alexis is a Canadian writer who was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, grew up in Ottawa, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario.
, '' Fifteen Dogs'' *
Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter S ...
for Historical Fiction, U.K.: ''The Ten Thousand Things'' by John Spurling *
Whiting Awards The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, ...
, U.S.: Fiction: Leopoldine Core,
Dan Josefson Dan Josefson (March 8, 1974) is an American writer. His accomplishments include a 2015 Whiting Award in fiction. Life Dan Josefson was born on March 8, 1974, in Mount Kisco, New York. A few months later, Dan moved to Chappaqua, New York. He grad ...
,
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi (born 1983 in Los Angeles) is an Iranian American writer. She won the 2015 Whiting Award for Fiction and the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Early life and education Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi was born in 1 ...
; Nonfiction:
Elena Passarello Elena Passarello is an American writer, actor, and professor. In 2018, she became the announcer for the PRX variety show and podcast '' Live Wire'' with Luke Burbank. Career Originally from Charleston, South Carolina, Passarello studied nonf ...
; Plays:
Lucas Hnath Lucas Hnath ( ) is an American playwright. He won the 2016 Obie Award for excellence in playwriting for his plays ''Red Speedo'' and ''The Christians''. He also won a Whiting Award. Biography Hnath grew up in Orlando, Florida. He moved to New Yo ...
,
Anne Washburn Anne Washburn is an American playwright. Life Washburn graduated from Reed College and from New York University, with an M.F.A. Her plays have been produced in New York City by Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Vineyard Theat ...
; Poetry:
Anthony Carelli Anthony Carelli is an American poet. He won a Whiting Award. Life He grew up in Poynette, Wisconsin. He graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison, and from New York University. He teaches at New York University. He works in Brooklyn ...
,
Aracelis Girmay Aracelis Girmay (born December 10, 1977) is a poet, teacher, and editor. Girmay also works with collage and essays, and has collaborated with film and sound artists. She is the author of the poetry collections ''the black maria'' (2016), ''Kingdo ...
, Jenny Johnson, Roger Reeves * W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, U.S.: ''
Redeployment Military deployment is the movement of armed forces and their logistical support infrastructure around the world. United States There are numerous groups within the military, these groups include (1) Army, (2) Navy, (3) Air Force, (4) Marine ...
'' by
Phil Klay Phil Klay ( ; born 1983) is an American writer. He won the National Book Award for fiction in 2014 for his first book-length publication, a collection of short stories, '' Redeployment''. In 2014 the National Book Foundation named him a 5 under ...
*
Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award The Zbigniew Herbert International Literary Award (Polish: ''Międzynarodowa Nagroda Literacka im. Zbigniewa Herberta'') is a Polish international literary award, literature prize established in 2013 in Warsaw and named after a Polish poet, essa ...
:
Ryszard Krynicki Ryszard Krynicki (Polish: ; born 28 June 1943) is a Polish poet and translator, member of the Polish "New Wave" Movement. He is regarded as one of the most prominent post-war contemporary Polish poets. In 2015, he was awarded the Zbigniew Herber ...


See also

*
2015 in Australian literature This is a list of the historical events and publications of 2015 in Australian literature. Major publications Literary fiction * Tony Birch – ''Ghost River'' * Lisa Birman — '' How to Walk Away'' * Geraldine Brooks – ''The Secret Chord'' ...
* 2015 in Japanese literature


References


External links


Books in 2015: the essential literary calendar
from Books ,
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
, January 2, 2015
The most eagerly awaited fiction of 2015
from Books, The Guardian, December 29, 2014 {{Year in literature article categories 2015-related lists