2010 in literature

Events

February – The Wheeler Centre, Australia's "literary hub", is officially opened.

April 3 – First release of the Apple iPad electronic book reading device.

April 12 – Little-known author Paul Harding wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his debut novel Tinkers (2009) published by tiny Bellevue Literary Press.

June 24 – Neil Gaiman becomes the first author to win both the Carnegie Medal in Literature and the Newbery Medal for the same book — The Graveyard Book.

July 27 – Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy becomes an international sensation. As of May 2010, a total of 27 million copies have been sold worldwide. On July 27 Amazon says Larsson is first author to sell more than 1 million Kindle e-books.

August 13 – Time magazine puts Jonathan Franzen on its cover for his novel Freedom, the first time an author has appeared here since 2000 with Stephen King.

October 7 – The 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to Mario Vargas Llosa for "his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual's resistance, revolt, and defeat".

October 12 – Howard Jacobson wins the Man Booker Prize for The Finkler Question

November 9 – Johanna Skibsrud wins the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel The Sentimentalists.

November 16 – The 2010 Governor General's Awards are announced. Winners include Dianne Warren for English fiction, Kim Thúy for French fiction, Richard Greene for poetry and Robert Chafe for drama.

November – Mark Twain's Autobiography is published (officially) 100 years after the author's death, the delay instructed by Twain himself. Unofficial copies had been published several times during the 20th century.

Book censorship in the Republic of Ireland by the state ceases as all prior bans expire.

Fiction

Martin Amis – The Pregnant Widow (February 4)

Paul Auster – Sunset Park (November 9)

Paolo Bacigalupi – Ship Breaker (May 1)

Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America (April 20)

Eddie Chuculate – Cheyenne Madonna (June 20)

Robert Coover – Noir (March 4)

Michael Cunningham – By Nightfall (September 28)

Don DeLillo – Point Omega (February 2)

Jennifer Egan – A Visit from the Goon Squad (June 15)

Bret Easton Ellis – Imperial Bedrooms (June 15)

Joshua Ferris – The Unnamed (January 18)

Jonathan Franzen – Freedom (August 31)

Matthew Gallaway – The Metropolis Case (November 8)

Seth Grahame-Smith – Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Sara Gruen – Ape House (September 7)

Michel Houellebecq – The Map and the Territory (La Carte et le territoire, September 4)

Rabee Jaber – دروز بلغراد (Duruz Bilghrad: Hikayat Hanna Yaqub, The Druze of Belgrade: the history of Hanna Yaqub)

Howard Jacobson – The Finkler Question (October 12)

Anjali Joseph – Saraswati Park (July 8)

Stacey Kade – The Ghost and The Goth (July 6)

Stephen King

Blockade Billy (April 20)

Full Dark, No Stars (November 9)

Nicole Krauss – Great House (October 12)

Stieg Larsson – The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (May 10)

John Le Carre – Our Kind of Traitor (October 12)

Dennis Lehane – Moonlight Mile (November 2)

Tao Lin – Richard Yates (September 7)

Ian McEwan – Solar (March 30)

Jon McGregor – Even the Dogs

Yann Martel – Beatrice and Virgil (April 6)

David Mitchell – The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (June 29)

Martin Mosebach – What Was Before

Ben Myers – Richard: A Novel (October 1)

Chuck Palahniuk – Tell All (May 4)

Philip Pullman – The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ (May 20)

Lincoln Peirce – Big Nate: In a Class by Himself (March 23)

Philip Roth – Nemesis (October 5)

Amy Sackville – The Still Point (February 4)

Ashwin Sanghi – Chanakya's Chant

David Sedaris – Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary (September 28)

Sarah Selecky – This Cake Is for the Party

Gary Shteyngart – Super Sad True Love Story (July 27)

Kim Thúy – Ru

Valerie Toranian – Pour en Finir avec la Femme (To Do Away with the Woman)

Mario Vargas Llosa – The Dream of the Celt (November 3)

Children and young people

Swati Avasthi – Split

David Almond

The Boy Who Climbed Into the Moon

My Name is Mina

Slog's Dad

Suzanne Collins – Mockingjay (August 24)

Diane Duane – A Wizard of Mars (April 12)

John Flanagan – The Emperor of Nihon-Ja (November 2010)

Matthew J. Kirby – The Clockwork Three (October 1)

Laura Leiner

Szent Johanna gimi 1 – Kezdet (Start, first in the St. Joan High School series of seven books)

Szent Johanna gimi 2 – Együtt (Together)

Szent Johanna gimi 3 – Egyedül (Alone)

Robert Muchamore – Brigands M. C. (May 6)

Jim Murphy - THE CROSSING: How George Washington Saved the American Revolution

Garth Nix – Lord Sunday (February)

James Patterson – Fang: A Maximum Ride Novel (March 15)

Jerry Pinkney (adaption) - Three Little Kittens

Philip Reeve – A Web of Air (April 5)

Rick Riordan

The Lost Hero (October 12)

The Red Pyramid

Clare Vanderpool – Moon Over Manifest (October 12)

Kiersten White – Paranormalcy (August 31)

N.D. Wilson – The Chestnut King

Drama

Peter Handke – Storm Still

Shahid Nadeem – Dara

Bruce Norris – Clybourne Park

Nina Raine – Tribes

Anya Reiss – Spur of the Moment

Alexis Stamatis – Dakrygona (Tear Gas)

Laura Wade – Posh

Poetry

Stephen Sondheim – Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) (October 26)

See also 2010 in poetry.

Science fiction and fantasy

Jim Butcher – Changes (April 6)

Amish Tripathi – The Immortals of Meluha (February)

Non-fiction

Bill Bryson – At Home: A Short History of Private Life (May 27)

George W. Bush – Decision Points (November 9)

Hans Fredrik Dahl (ed.) – Norsk presses historie 1660–2010

Sam Harris – The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values (October 5)

Laura Hillenbrand – Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (November 16)

Joel Kotkin – The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050

David Lipsky – Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself (April 13)

Nursultan Nazarbayev – The Way of Kazakhstan (May 18)

Sergio Rubin – El jesuita

Niki Segnit – The flavour Thesaurus: Pairings, recipes and ideas for the creative cook

Jane Smiley – The Man Who Invented The Computer (December)

Jon Stewart – Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (September 21)

Darin Strauss – Half a Life (September 21)

Edmund de Waal – The Hare with Amber Eyes. A Hidden Inheritance

John Leigh Walters – A Very Capable Life

Deaths

January 1

Bingo Gazingo, American performance poet (born 1924)

Billy Arjan Singh, Indian author (born 1917)

January 2 – Rajendra Keshavlal Shah, Indian poet (born 1913)

January 3 – Isak Rogde, Norwegian translator (born 1947)

January 4

Knox Burger, American editor, writer and agent (born 1922)

Hywel Teifi Edwards, Welsh historian and writer (born 1934)

January 5 – Bernard Le Nail, French writer and historian (born 1946)

January 6 – George Leonard, American writer and editor (born 1923)

January 8 – Slavka Maneva, Macedonian writer and poet (born 1934)

January 9 – Laura Chapman Hruska, American writer and editor (born 1935)

January 11 – Miep Gies, Austrian-born Dutch biographer (born 1909)

January 14 – P. K. Page, Canadian poet (born 1916)

January 16 – Takumi Shibano (柴野拓美), Japanese novelist (born 1926)

January 17 – Erich Segal, American author and academic (born 1937)

January 18 – Robert B. Parker, American detective writer (born 1932)

January 19 – Vladimir Karpov, Soviet Russian writer (born 1922)

January 20 – Abraham Sutzkever, Polish-born Israeli poet (born 1913)

January 21 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian novelist (born 1953)

January 26 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist (born 1917)

January 27

J. D. Salinger, American novelist (born 1919)

Howard Zinn, American historian (born 1922)

January 31

Kage Baker, American science fiction and fantasy author (born 1952)

Tomás Eloy Martínez, Argentine writer (born 1934)

February 2

Rosa Lobato de Faria, Portuguese writer (born 1932)

Eustace Mullins, American writer, author and biographer (born 1923)

February 5 – Peter Calvocoressi, Pakistani-born English historian and publisher (born 1912)

February 6 – Robert Dana, American poet (born 1929)

February 7 – William Tenn (Philip Klass), American science fiction writer (born 1920)

February 8 – Wahei Tatematsu (立松和平), Japanese novelist (born 1947)

February 10 – H. V. F. Winstone, English biographer and journalist (born 1926)

February 11 – Colin Ward, English anarchist writer (born 1924)

February 13 – Lucille Clifton, American poet (born 1936)

February 14 – Dick Francis, Welsh novelist (born 1920)

February 16 – Jim Harmon, American science fiction writer (born 1933)

February 17 – Arnold Beichman, American writer (born 1913)

February 23 – Mervyn Jones, English novelist and biographer (born 1922)

February 27 – Carlos Montemayor, Mexican writer (born 1947)

March 1 – Barry Hannah, American novelist and short story writer (born 1942)

March 3 – Momo Kapor, Serbian writer (born 1937)

March 8 – Jerry E. Smith, American author (born 1950)

March 9 – Alda Neves da Graça do Espírito Santo, São Tome poet (born 1926)

March 10 – Truddi Chase, American autobiographical author (born c. 1935)

March 11 – Matilde Elena López, Salvadoran poet, essayist and playwright (born 1919)

March 12 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish novelist (born 1920)

March 14 – Vinda Karandikar, Indian poet and writer in Marathi (born 1918)

March 15

Joseph Galdon, Filipino writer (born 1928)

Patricia Wrightson, Australian children's writer (born 1921)

March 16 – Jane Sherman, American writer (born 1908)

March 17 – Sid Fleischman, American children's writer (born 1920)

March 18 – Amanda Castro, Honduran poet (born 1962)

March 20 – Ai Ogawa, American poet (born 1947)

March 21 – Susana, Lady Walton, Argentine writer (born 1926)

March 24 – William Mayne, English children's novelist (born 1928)

March 28 – Zofia Romanowiczowa, Polish writer and translator (born 1922)

April 2 – Carolyn Rodgers, American poet (born 1940)

April 9

Hisashi Inoue (井上 ひさし), Japanese novelist and playwright (born 1934)

Kerstin Thorvall, Swedish author, illustrator and journalist (born 1925)

April 14 – Erika Burkart, Swiss German-language author (born 1922)

April 16 – Carlos Franqui, Cuban writer and activist (born 1921)

April 20 – Myles Wilder, American television comedy writer (born 1933)

April 23 – Peter Porter, Australian-born British poet (born 1929)

April 25 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist (born 1928)

April 28

Evelyn Cunningham, American journalist (born 1916)

Stefania Grodzieńska, Polish writer and actress (born 1914)

May 1 – T. M. Aluko, Nigerian writer (born 1918)

May 3

Mohammed Abed al-Jabri, Moroccan philosopher and writer (born 1935)

Peter O'Donnell, English novelist (born 1920)

May 6 – Hoàng Cầm, Vietnamese poet and playwright (born 1922)

May 7

Rane Arroyo, American poet (cerebral hemorrhage, born 1954)

Anders Buraas, Norwegian journalist (born 1915)

May 12 – Allan Manings, American television writer (born 1924)

May 18 – Edoardo Sanguineti, Italian poet (born 1930)

June 18 – José Saramago, Portuguese writer and Nobel Prize laureate (born 1922)

June 19 – Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer, critic and activist (born 1938)

July 2 – Beryl Bainbridge, English novelist (born 1932)

July 4 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (born 1927)

July 9 – Jessica Anderson, Australian novelist and short story writer (born 1916)

August 6 – Tony Judt, English historian (born 1948)

August 9 – Juan Marichal, Spanish historian (born 1922)

August 10 – Marie de Garis, Guernsey ethnographer and philologist (born 1910)

August 12 – Laurence Gardner, English writer (born 1943)

August 13 – Patrick Cauvin, French novelist (born 1932)

August 14 – Terje Stigen, Norwegian author (born 1922)

August 16 – Narayan Gangaram Surve, Indian poet (born 1926)

August 17

Sir Frank Kermode, Manx-born literary critic (born 1919)

Ludvík Kundera, Czech writer and translator (born 1920)

Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet (born 1920)

August 18 – Efraim Sevela, Russian writer and screenwriter (born 1928)

August 20 – David J. Weber, American historian and author (born 1940)

August 21 – Rodolfo Enrique Fogwill, Argentine writer (born 1941)

August 27

George Hitchcock, American poet (born 1914)

Ravindra Kelekar, Indian author and poet (born 1925)

August 29 – A. C. Baantjer, Dutch author (born 1923)

August 31 – Vance Bourjaily, American novelist, playwright and essayist (born 1922)

September 3 – Micky Burn, English writer and poet (born 1912)

September 5

Elizabeth Jenkins, English author (born 1905)

Lewis Nkosi, South African writer (born 1936)

September 7 – Barbara Holland, American author (born 1933)

September 10 – Edwin Charles Tubb, English science fiction author (born 1919)

September 11 – Fathi Osman, Egyptian author (born 1928)

September 12 – Judith Merkle Riley, American author (born 1942)

September 18 – James Bacon, American author (born 1914)

September 20 – Jennifer Rardin, American author (born 1965)

September 24 – Gilda O'Neill, English novelist and historian (born 1951)

September 29 – Clifford B. Hicks, American writer and editor (born 1920)

October 1 – Mikhail Roshchin, Russian playwright (born 1933)

October 4 – Henrique de Senna Fernandes, Macanese author (born 1923)

October 5

Alba Bouwer, South African writer in Afrikaans (born 1920)

Bernard Clavel, French writer (born 1923)

October 11 – Claire Rayner, English author (born 1931)

October 12 – Belva Plain, American novelist (born 1915)

October 13 – Donald H. Tuck, Australian science fiction bibliographer (born 1922)

October 20

Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-born English novelist (born 1925)

Robert Katz, American writer (born 1933)

Julian Roberts, English scholar and librarian (born 1930)

October 21 – A. Ayyappan, Indian poet in Malayalam (born 1945)

October 22 – Alí Chumacero, Mexican writer and poet (born 1918)

October 23 – George Cain, American author (born 1943)

October 24 – Joseph Stein, American playwright (born 1912)

October 25 – Vesna Parun, Croatian poet (born 1922)

October 29 – Bärbel Mohr, German author (born 1964)

October 30 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch writer (born 1927)

November 1 – Monica Johnson, American novelist (born 1946)

November 3 – P. Lal, Indian writer (born 1929)

November 4 – Ophelia Alcantara Dimalanta, Filipino poet (born 1932)

November 5 – Adrian Păunescu, Romanian author and poet (born 1943)

November 8

Philip Carlo, American crime author (born 1949)

George Solomos, American poet and writer (born 1925)

November 9 – Ektor Kaknavatos, Greek poet (born 1920)

November 11 – Carlos Edmundo de Ory, Spanish poet (born 1923)

November 15

Edmond Amran El Maleh, Moroccan writer (born 1917)

Hugh Prather, American self-help author (born 1938)

November 16 – Ragnhild Magerøy, Norwegian writer (born 1920)

November 21 – Norris Church Mailer, American author (born 1949)

November 25

Alfred Balk, American journalist and author (born 1930)

Yaroslav Pavulyak, Ukrainian poet (born 1948)

November 29 – Bella Akhmadulina, Russian poet (born 1937)

December 5

David French, Canadian playwright (born 1939)

Heda Margolius Kovály, Czech author (born 1919)

December 6 – Martin Russ, American author (born 1931)

December 7 – Elizabeth Edwards, American author (born 1949)

December 14 – Ruth Park, New Zealand children's writer (born 1917)

December 20 – Brian Hanrahan, English journalist (born 1949)

December 24 – Elisabeth Beresford, French-born English children's writer (born 1926)

Awards

Camões Prize: Ferreira Gullar

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award: Gerbrand Bakker, The Twin

Nobel Prize in Literature: to Mario Vargas Llosa

Petrarca-Preis: Pierre Michon, for his body of work

Australia

Miles Franklin Award: Peter Temple, Truth

Canada

Dayne Ogilvie Prize: Main award, Nancy Jo Cullen; honours of distinction, Lisa Foad, George K. Ilsley.

Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction: John Leigh Walters, A Very Capable Life

Governor General's Awards: Multiple categories; see 2010 Governor General's Awards.

Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction: James FitzGerald, What Disturbs Our Blood: A Son's Quest to Redeem the Past

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize: Emma Donoghue, Room

Scotiabank Giller Prize: Johanna Skibsrud, The Sentimentalists

Writers' Trust Engel/Findley Award: Miriam Toews

United Kingdom

Man Booker Prize: to The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

Orange Prize for Fiction: to The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

United States

Lambda Literary Awards: Multiple categories; see 2010 Lambda Literary Awards.

National Book Award for Fiction: to Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

National Book Critics Circle Award: to A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: to War Dances by Sherman Alexie

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: to Tinkers by Paul Harding

Whiting Awards:

Fiction: Michael Dahlie, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Lydia PeelleNonfiction: Elif Batuman, Amy Leach, Saïd SayrafiezadehPlays: David AdjmiPoetry: Matt Donovan, Jane Springer, L.B. Thompson