1969 in literature

Last updated December 11, 2025

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1969.

Events

February 8 – After 147 years, the last issue of The Saturday Evening Post in its original form appears in the United States.
March 23 – German-born writer Assia Wevill, a mistress of the English poet Ted Hughes and ex-wife of the Canadian poet David Wevill, gasses herself and their daughter at her London home.^[1]
April 22 – The first Booker-McConnell Prize for fiction is awarded to P. H. Newby for Something to Answer For .^[2]
August – "Penelope Ashe", purported author of a bestselling novel, Naked Came the Stranger , is revealed as a group of Newsday journalists.^[3]
unknown date – The Times Literary Supplement begins using the abbreviation "TLS" on its title page.^[4]

New books

Poetry

James Schuyler – Freely Espousing

Non-fiction

Dean Acheson – Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department
Maya Angelou – I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Fernand Braudel – Ecrits sur l'Histoire (translated as On History, 1980)
H. Rap Brown – Die Nigger Die!
Henri Charrière – Papillon
L. Sprague de Camp and George H. Scithers (editors) – The Conan Swordbook
Antonia Fraser – Mary Queen of Scots
Søren Hansen and Jesper Jensen – The Little Red Schoolbook (Den Lille Røde Bog For Skoleelever)
Pauline Kael – Going Steady
Anton LaVey – The Satanic Bible
Laurie Lee – As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning ^[20]
Dwight Macdonald – On Movies
Desmond Morris – The Human Zoo
Harold Perkin – The Origins of Modern English Society 1780–1880
Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull – The Peter Principle: Why Things Always Go Wrong^[21]
David Reuben – Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

Births

January – Adrian Goldsworthy, Welsh military historian and novelist^[22]
January 12 – David Mitchell, English novelist^[23]
January 17 – Michael Moynihan, American journalist and publisher
January 21 – M. K. Hobson, American speculative fiction author
March – Jez Butterworth, English dramatist and screenwriter
May 6 – Emmanuel Larcenet, French comics author
May 6 – John Scalzi, American science-fiction author
May 28 – Muriel Barbery, French novelist^[24]
May 29 – Qiu Miaojin (邱妙津), Korean-born novelist (suicide 1995)
June 13 – Virginie Despentes, French writer^[25]
July 5 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
August 4 – Jojo Moyes, English journalist and romantic novelist
September 12 – James Frey, American writer
September 30 – Julianna Baggott, American novelist, essayist, and poet
October 24 – Emma Donoghue, Irish-born Canadian novelist, dramatist, and academic
November 13 – John Belluso, American dramatist (died 2006)
November 28 – Hanne Ørstavik, Norwegian novelist^[26]
November 30 – David Auburn, American dramatist
December 12 – Sophie Kinsella, English novelist (died 2025)
unknown dates
- John Harris, English writer, journalist and critic^[27]
- Tom McCarthy, English novelist

Deaths

January 11 – Richmal Crompton, English children's writer (born 1890)^[28]
January 21 – Giovanni Comisso, Italian writer (born 1895)
March 9 – Charles Brackett, American novelist and screenwriter (born 1892)
March 11 – John Wyndham, English science fiction novelist (born 1903)^[29]
March 24 – Margery Fish, English gardening writer (born 1892)
March 25 – Max Eastman, American writer (born 1883)^[30]
March 26 – John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (suicide, born 1937)
March 27 – B. Traven, presumed German-born novelist (unknown year of birth)
April 6 – Gabriel Chevallier, French writer (born 1895)
April 7 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician, 48th President of Venezuela (born 1884)^[31]
May 4 – Osbert Sitwell, English novelist and poet (born 1892)^[32]
July 24 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish playwright and novelist (born 1904)^[33]
July 27 – Vivian de Sola Pinto, English poet and memoirist (born 1895)^[34]
August 10 – Maurine Dallas Watkins, American journalist/play and screenwriter (born 1896)
August 14 – Leonard Woolf, English political theorist (born 1880)^[35]
August 27 – Ivy Compton-Burnett, English novelist (born 1884)^[36]
September 6 – Gavin Maxwell, Scottish naturalist and author (cancer, born 1914)^[37]
September 17 – Greye La Spina, American dramatist and short story writer (born 1880)
September 20 – Elinor Brent-Dyer, English children's writer (born 1894)
September 22 – Rachel Davis Harris, African American librarian (born 1869)
October 14 – August Sang, Estonian poet and literary translator (born 1914)
October 21 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (internal hemorrhage, born 1922)^[38]
November 6 – Susan Taubes, Hungarian American writer and Jewish intellectual (suicide, born 1928)
November 15 – Ignacio Aldecoa, Spanish writer (born 1925)

Awards

Nobel Prize for Literature: Samuel Beckett ^[39]

Canada

See 1969 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

Prix Goncourt: Félicien Marceau, Creezy
Prix Médicis: Hélène Cixous, Dedans

United Kingdom

Elsewhere

Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels: Alexander Mitscherlich
Miles Franklin Award: George Johnston, Clean Straw for Nothing
Premio Nadal: Francisco García Pavón Las hermanas coloradas
Viareggio Prize: Fulvio Tomizza, L'albero dei sogni

References

↑ "Diary of a Pilgrimage: Marking the Gravesite of Assia and Shura Wevill". Literary Hub. 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2024-02-06.
↑ Who was who. St. Martin's Press. 1996. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-312-29366-6.
↑ "Penelope Ashe". Open Road Integrated Media. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-03-25.
↑ May, Derwent (2001). Critical Times: The History of the "Times Literary Supplement". Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-711449-4.
↑ Contemporary Authors. Gale. 1998. p. 24. ISBN 9780787619978.
↑ Solomon, Philip P. (1992). Understanding Céline. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780872498143.
↑ Israel Shenker (1969-06-08). "Michael Crichton (rhymes with frighten); Michael Crichton". The New York Times . p. BR5. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
↑ Ross McKibbin (2019). Democracy and Political Culture: Studies in Modern British History. Oxford University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780198834205.
↑ Carol Ann Shine. "Review: DE CAMP, L. Sprague. The Golden Wind". Library Journal (Mar. 15, 1969): 1159–1160.
↑ Meic Stephens, ed. (1998). The New Companion to the Literature of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 537. ISBN 9780708313831.
↑ Warburton, Eileen (Spring 1996). "Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall down: Ourika, Cinderella, and The French Lieutenant's Woman". Twentieth Century Literature. 42 (1): 165–186. doi:10.2307/441682. JSTOR 441682.
↑ Glanville, Brian (26 October 1969). "Flashman: From the Flashman Papers 1839-1842. By George Macdonald Fraser. 256 pp. New York: NAL-World Publishing Company. $5.95". The New York Times. p. BR62.
↑ Alan Goble (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 224.
↑ Pfeffer, Judith (2023-01-12). "Arlington micro press announces release of 50th book". Your Arlington. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
↑ A History of Norwegian Literature. University of Nebraska Press. 1993. p. 308. ISBN 0803233175.
↑ Gaetana Marrone (2007). Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies: A-J. Routledge. p. 742.
↑ Kruger, Loren (1999). The drama of South Africa : plays, pageants, and publics since 1910. London New York: Routledge. p. 219. ISBN 9781134680863.
↑ 'Playgoers' Diary', The Stage, 23 January 1969, p.8.
↑ "BFI Screenonline: Son of Man". Screenonline.org.uk. 1969-04-16. Retrieved 2014-08-24.
↑ Ousby, Ian (1996). Cambridge paperback guide to literature in English. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 227. ISBN 9780521436274.
↑ "The Peter Principle Lives". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-27.
↑ "Dr Adrian Goldsworthy". Companies House. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
↑ Editors of Chase's (24 September 2019). Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-1-64143-316-7.
↑ "Meet the Authors". Reading Women Podcast. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
↑ Janis L Pallister; Ruth A Hottell (2005). Francophone women film directors: a guide. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780838640463.
↑ Godal, Anne Marit (ed.). "Hanne Ørstavik". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
↑ "John Harris". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
↑ Contemporary Authors. Gale Research Company. 1975. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-8103-0036-1.
↑ Seed, David (9 June 2008). A Companion to Science Fiction. John Wiley & Sons. p. 387. ISBN 978-0-470-79701-3.
↑ "Max Eastman Dies: Author and Radical" (obituary). The New York Times. March 26, 1969. p. 1.
↑ Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Taylor & Francis. 1997. p. 630. ISBN 9781135314255.
↑ Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. 1969. p. 159.
↑ Ziarek, Ewa Płonowska (January 1995), The Rhetoric of Failure: Deconstruction of Skepticism, Reinvention of Modernism, p. 235, ISBN 9780791427118
↑ W. Rubinstein; Michael A. Jolles (27 January 2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 758. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.
↑ Glendinning, Victoria (2006). Leonard Woolf : a biography. New York: Free Press. p. 435. ISBN 9780743289184.
↑ J. Bhagyalakshmi (1986). Ivy Compton-Burnett and Her Art. Mittal Publications. p. 5.
↑ Oxbury, Harold (1985). Great Britons: twentieth-century lives. Oxford Oxfordshire New York: Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780192115997.
↑ Larson, Jordan. "What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
↑ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969". Nobel Prize. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
↑ "Awards — K M Peyton". kmpeyton.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
↑ "Stevie Smith". www.poetryarchive.org. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

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[1] "Diary of a Pilgrimage: Marking the Gravesite of Assia and Shura Wevill". Literary Hub. 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2024-02-06.

[2] Who was who. St. Martin's Press. 1996. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-312-29366-6.

[3] "Penelope Ashe". Open Road Integrated Media. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2013-03-25.

[4] May, Derwent (2001). Critical Times: The History of the "Times Literary Supplement". Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-711449-4.

[5] Contemporary Authors. Gale. 1998. p. 24. ISBN 9780787619978.

[6] Solomon, Philip P. (1992). Understanding Céline. Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780872498143.

[7] Israel Shenker (1969-06-08). "Michael Crichton (rhymes with frighten); Michael Crichton". The New York Times . p. BR5. Retrieved 2019-06-06.

[8] Ross McKibbin (2019). Democracy and Political Culture: Studies in Modern British History. Oxford University Press. p. 73. ISBN 9780198834205.

[9] Carol Ann Shine. "Review: DE CAMP, L. Sprague. The Golden Wind". Library Journal (Mar. 15, 1969): 1159–1160.

[10] Meic Stephens, ed. (1998). The New Companion to the Literature of Wales. University of Wales Press. p. 537. ISBN 9780708313831.

[11] Warburton, Eileen (Spring 1996). "Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall down: Ourika, Cinderella, and The French Lieutenant's Woman". Twentieth Century Literature. 42 (1): 165–186. doi:10.2307/441682. JSTOR 441682.

[12] Glanville, Brian (26 October 1969). "Flashman: From the Flashman Papers 1839-1842. By George Macdonald Fraser. 256 pp. New York: NAL-World Publishing Company. $5.95". The New York Times. p. BR62.

[13] Alan Goble (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 224.

[14] Pfeffer, Judith (2023-01-12). "Arlington micro press announces release of 50th book". Your Arlington. Retrieved 2023-01-19.

[15] A History of Norwegian Literature. University of Nebraska Press. 1993. p. 308. ISBN 0803233175.

[16] Gaetana Marrone (2007). Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies: A-J. Routledge. p. 742.

[17] Kruger, Loren (1999). The drama of South Africa : plays, pageants, and publics since 1910. London New York: Routledge. p. 219. ISBN 9781134680863.

[18] 'Playgoers' Diary', The Stage, 23 January 1969, p.8.

[19] "BFI Screenonline: Son of Man". Screenonline.org.uk. 1969-04-16. Retrieved 2014-08-24.

[20] Ousby, Ian (1996). Cambridge paperback guide to literature in English. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 227. ISBN 9780521436274.

[21] "The Peter Principle Lives". Bloomberg Businessweek. 2009-04-01. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-27.

[22] "Dr Adrian Goldsworthy". Companies House. Retrieved 19 November 2024.

[23] Editors of Chase's (24 September 2019). Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 82–. ISBN 978-1-64143-316-7.

[24] "Meet the Authors". Reading Women Podcast. 10 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

[25] Janis L Pallister; Ruth A Hottell (2005). Francophone women film directors: a guide. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. p. 123. ISBN 9780838640463.

[26] Godal, Anne Marit (ed.). "Hanne Ørstavik". Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Retrieved 1 December 2021.

[27] "John Harris". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

[28] Contemporary Authors. Gale Research Company. 1975. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-8103-0036-1.

[29] Seed, David (9 June 2008). A Companion to Science Fiction. John Wiley & Sons. p. 387. ISBN 978-0-470-79701-3.

[30] "Max Eastman Dies: Author and Radical" (obituary). The New York Times. March 26, 1969. p. 1.

[31] Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature. Taylor & Francis. 1997. p. 630. ISBN 9781135314255.

[32] Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. 1969. p. 159.

[33] Ziarek, Ewa Płonowska (January 1995), The Rhetoric of Failure: Deconstruction of Skepticism, Reinvention of Modernism, p. 235, ISBN 9780791427118

[34] W. Rubinstein; Michael A. Jolles (27 January 2011). The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History. Palgrave Macmillan UK. p. 758. ISBN 978-0-230-30466-6.

[35] Glendinning, Victoria (2006). Leonard Woolf : a biography. New York: Free Press. p. 435. ISBN 9780743289184.

[36] J. Bhagyalakshmi (1986). Ivy Compton-Burnett and Her Art. Mittal Publications. p. 5.

[37] Oxbury, Harold (1985). Great Britons: twentieth-century lives. Oxford Oxfordshire New York: Oxford University Press. p. 239. ISBN 9780192115997.

[38] Larson, Jordan. "What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 12, 2017.

[39] "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1969". Nobel Prize. Retrieved 17 December 2020.

[40] "Awards — K M Peyton". kmpeyton.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

[41] "Stevie Smith". www.poetryarchive.org. Retrieved 28 December 2016.

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