2017 in literature

This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 2017.

Events

• August 30 – A hard disk drive containing unfinished works by English comic fantasy novelist Sir Terry Pratchett (died 2015) is crushed by a steamroller on his instructions.^[1]

Anniversaries

• Tercentenary of Molla Panah Vagif's birth in 1717. Azerbaijani poet.^[2]
• 600th anniversaty of Imadaddin Nasimi's death in 1417. Turkic mystical poet.^[2]
• February 24 – 180th anniversary of Rosalía de Castro's birth. Galician writer.
• March 19 – bicentenary of Jozef Miloslav Hurban's birth. Slovakian writer.^[2]
• May 8 – American novelist Thomas Pynchon turns 80.^[3]
• June 18 – centenary of Titu Maiorescu's death in 1917. Romanian literary critic and former Prime Minister.^[2]
• June 26 – 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (U.K. edition)^[4]
• June 30 – Victor Hugo completes Les Misérables on this date in 1862 (155 years ago)^[5]
• July 12 – the 200th birthday of Henry David Thoreau, author of Walden.
• July 14 – bicentenary of Madame de Staël's death. Early French salonnière.^[2]
• July 18 – bicentenary of Jane Austen's death in 1817. Author of Pride and Prejudice.^[6]
• Nov 30 – 350th anniversary of Jonathan Swift's birth in 1667. Anglo-Irish satirist and author of Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal.^[7]
• December 4 – bicentenary of Nikoloz Baratashvili's birth in 1817, who introduced the European style into Georgian literature.^[2]

New books

Dates after each title indicate U.S. publication, unless otherwise indicated.

Deaths

Birth years link to the corresponding "[year] in literature" article:

• January 2 – John Berger, English novelist, painter, art critic and poet, 90 (b. 1926)^[9]
• January 12 – William Peter Blatty, American author (The Exorcist), 89 (b. 1928)^[10]
• January 25:
  • Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian novelist and children's writer (The Bride Price, The Joys of Motherhood), 72 (b. 1944)^[11]
  • Harry Mathews, American novelist and poet, 86 (b. 1930)^[12]
• January 29 – Howard Frank Mosher, American novelist (Where the Rivers Flow North), 74 (b. 1942)
• February 1 – William Melvin Kelley, African-American novelist, 79 (b. 1937)^[13]
• February 8 – Tom Raworth, English poet, 78 (b. 1938)
• March 10 – Robert James Waller, American novelist (The Bridges of Madison County), 77 (b. 1939)^[14]
• March 16 – Torgny Lindgren, Swedish writer, 78 (b. 1938)^[15]
• March 17 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Laureate in 1992, 87 (b. 1930)^[16]
• April 1 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet, 84 (b. 1933)^[17]
• May 1:
  • Anatoly Aleksin, Russian writer and poet, 92^[18]
  • Mohamed Talbi, Tunisian historian, 95^[19]
• May 24 – Denis Johnson, American poet, novelist (Tree of Smoke), and short story writer (Jesus' Son), 67 (b. 1949).^[20]
• June 2
  • Jaroslav Kořán, Czech translator, writer and politician, 77^[21]
  • Barrie Pettman, British author, publisher and philanthropist, 73^[22]
  • S. Abdul Rahman, Indian poet, 79^[23]
• June 4
  • Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist, 86^[24]
  • Jack Trout, American marketer and author, 82^[25]
• June 5
  • Helen Dunmore, English poet, novelist and children's writer, 64 (b. 1952)
  • Anna Jókai, Hungarian writer, 84^[26]
• June 8 – Naseem Khan, British journalist, 77^[27]
• June 12 – C. Narayana Reddy, Indian poet and writer, Jnanpith Awardee, 85^[28]
• June 27 – Michael Bond, English author (Paddington Bear), 91 (b. 1926)^[29]
• June 28 – Bruce Stewart, New Zealand author and playwright, 80^[30]
• July 2
  • Tony Bianchi, Welsh-language author, 65^[31]
  • Jack Collom, American poet, essayist and poetry teacher, 85^[32]
  • Abiola Irele, Nigerian literary critic, 81^[33]
  • Fay Zwicky, Australian poet, 83^[34]
• July 5 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet, 63 (cancer)^[35]
• July 9 – Anton Nossik, Russian writer and internet entrepreneur, 51 (heart attack)^[36]
• September 23 – Harvey Jacobs, American author, 87^[37]
• December 28 – Sue Grafton, American mystery author, 77^[38]

Awards

The following list is arranged alphabetically:

• Akutagawa Prize:
• Anisfield-Wolf Book Award:
• Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction: Naomi Alderman for The Power^[39]
• Baillie Gifford Prize: David France for How to Survive a Plague^[40]
• Camões Prize: Manuel Alegre^[41]
• Costa Book Awards: Helen Dunmore (d. June 5) for Inside the Wave (poetry)^[42]
• Danuta Gleed Literary Award: Kris Bertin, Bad Things Happen
• Dayne Ogilvie Prize: Kai Cheng Thom^[43]
• Desmond Elliott Prize: Francis Spufford got Golden Hill^[44]
• DSC Prize for South Asian Literature:
• Dylan Thomas Prize: Fiona McFarlane for The High Places^[45]
• Folio Prize: Hisham Matar for The Return^[46]
• German Book Prize: Robert Menasse for Die Hauptstadt^[47]
• Goldsmiths Prize: Nicola Barker for H(a)ppy^[48]
• Gordon Burn Prize: Denise Mina for The Long Drop^[49]
• Governor General's Award for English-language fiction: Joel Thomas Hynes, We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night^[50]
• Governor General's Award for French-language fiction: Christian Guay-Poliquin, Le Poids de la neige^[50]
• Governor General's Awards, other categories: See 2017 Governor General's Awards
• Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française:
• Hugo Award for Best Novel: N. K. Jemisin for The Obelisk Gate^[51]
• International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award: José Eduardo Agualusa for A General Theory of Oblivion^[52]
• International Prize for Arabic Fiction: Mohammed Hasan Alwan for A Small Death^[53]
• James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction:
• James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography:
• Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award:
• Lambda Literary Awards: Various categories, see 29th Lambda Literary Awards
• Man Booker Prize: George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo^[54]
• Man Booker International Prize: David Grossman for A Horse Walks Into a Bar^[55]
• Miguel de Cervantes Prize:
• Miles Franklin Award: Josephine Wilson for Extinctions^[56]
• National Biography Award:
• National Book Award for Fiction:
• National Book Critics Circle Award:
• Nike Award:
• Nobel Prize in Literature: Kazuo Ishiguro
• PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: Imbolo Mbue for Behold the Dreamers^[57]
• PEN Center USA 2016 Fiction Award:
• Premio Planeta de Novela:
• Premio Strega:
• Pritzker Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing:
• Prix Goncourt:
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Colson Whitehead for The Underground Railroad^[58]
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Tyehimba Jess for Olio^[58]
• RBC Taylor Prize: Ross King for Mad Enchantment: Claude Monet and the Painting of the Water Lilies^[59]
• Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize: David Chariandy, Brother^[60]
• Russian Booker Prize:
• Scotiabank Giller Prize: Michael Redhill, Bellevue Square^[61]
• Golden Wreath of Struga Poetry Evenings:
• Walter Scott Prize: Sebastian Barry for Days Without End^[62]
• Whiting Awards:

Fiction:

Nonfiction:

Plays:

Poetry:

• W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction:

References