You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'literary birthdays' category.
Please excuse the lack of HTML coding and date-ordering, and please pretend there’s Google links here, so that I can start fresh tomorrow…
From various sources…
January 6 – Wright Morris (1910 – 1998)
January 6 – Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (1931 – )
January 6 – Carl Sandburg (1878 – 1967)
January 8 – Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor (1917 – 1994)
1/6
S. Fowler Wright, 1874
Eric Frank Russell, 1905
Ahrvid Engholm, 1959
1/7
Charles Addams, 1902
Barbi Johnson, 1923
Christine Moskowitz, 1924
Graham Stone, 1926
Hayford Peirce, 1942
Margo Bratton, 1955
Moshe Yudkowsky, 1956
Gene DiModica
1/8
William Wilkie Collins, 1824
Dennis Wheatley, 1897
Robert G. Briggs, 1930
Terry Brooks, 1944
Jack Womack, 1956
1/6
Vera Cleaver
1/7
Kay Chorao
Eleanor Clymer
Rosekrans Hoffman
1/8
Stephen Manes
1/8
Wilkie Collins (1824-1889)
Dennis Wheatley (1897-1977)
Daniel Farson (1927-1997)
Boris Vallejo (1941)
Terry Brooks (1944)
Don Bendell (1947)
JANUARY 6
Kay Reynolds (1951)
Bruce Douglas Patterson (1953)
JANUARY 7
Werner Wejp-Olsen (1938)
Jay Lynch (1945)
Kevin J. Dooley (1953)
Bob Wiacek (1953)
Karl Kesel (1959)
Aaron A. Lopresti (1964)
JANUARY 8
John Wellington
Boris Vallejo (1941)
Ken Steacy (1955)
James Pruett (1966)
Joe Pruett (1966)
Lee J. Ames (1921)
1/6
Doctorow, Edgar Lawrence. (1931- ) American writer.
Gibran, Khalil. (1883-1931) Lebanese writer: mystic poet.
Gudmundsson, Tomas. (1901- ) Icelandic writer: poet.
Morris, Wright. (1910-1998) American writer: novelist, short-story writer, and photographer.
Sandburg, Carl. (1878-1967) American writer: poet.
Vilakazi, Benedict Wallet. (1906- ) South African Zulu writer: poet, novelist and educator.
Watts, Alan. (1915-1973) British writer.
1/7
Durrell, Gerald Malcolm. (1925-1995) British writer.
Harrington, James. (1611-1677) British writer: political author.
Hurston, Zora Neale. (1903-1960) American writer: novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist. (“Their Eyes Were Watching God,” “Dust Tracks on the Road,” and “Road, Mules and Men”).
Péguy, Charles. (1873-1914) French writer: philosopher and poet
1/8
Collins, Wilkie. (1824-1889) British writer: mystery novelist.
Jameson, Margaret Storm. (1891-1986) British writer: novelist.
Ousmane, Sembene. (1923- ) Senegalese writer: novelist and screenwriter.
January 6
Carl Sandburg, 1878
Sherlock Holmes, 1854
January 7
Kay Chorao, 1936
January 8
Arthur Ransome, 1884
January 9
Karel Capek, 1890
Algis Budrys, 1931
Joyce Worley Katz, 1939
Greg Ketter
January 10
Elizabeth Anne Hull, 1937
George Alec Effinger, 1947
January 11
Jerome Bixby, 1923
Diana Gabaldon, 1952
Jasper Fforde, 1961
John Myers Myers
Victor J. Raymond
Alethea Kontis
January 9
Clyde Robert Bulla
January 10
Remy Charlip
January 11
Robert C. O’Brien
Mary Rodgers
JANUARY 9
M.J. Cullumber
Daniel Wilson (1957)
Fred Burke (1965)
JANUARY 10
Ernest Edwards (1967)
JANUARY 11
Brad Joyce
Terry Beatty (1958)
Bob Harras (1959)
Miyako Matsuda Graham (1960)
Sam Kieth (1963)
Trevor Tamlin (1968)
January 9
Beauvoir, Simone de. (1908-1986) French writer.
Capek, Karel. (1890- ) Czech writer: novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and essayist.
Fuller, Henry Blake. (1857- ) American writer: realistic novelist.
Robertson, Thomas William. (1829-1871) British writer: comedic playwright and actor.
Warton, Thomas. (1728-1790) British writer: poet and historian.
January 10
Acton, John Dalberg. (1634-1902) British writer: historian.
Jeffers, Robinson. (1887-1962) Irish writer: poet, critic, and essayist.
Levine, Philip. (1928-) American writer: poet.
Vere, Aubrey Thomas Hunt de. (1814-1902)
January 11
James, William. (1870- ) American writer.
Paton, Alan. (1903- ) South African writer. (“Cry, the Beloved Country”).
Rice, Alice Caldwell Hegan. (1870- ) American writer: novelist.
Voto, Bernard Augustine De. (1897- ) American writer: novelist, historian and critic.
Thanks for your patience, Gentle Readers.
—pmc2
Natal day round-up for 1/5.
Non-genre authors whose birthdays should be marked for today:
* Rudolf Christoph Eucken – bibliography here.
* Umberto Eco – site here.
* Khristo Botev
* Friedrich Durrenmatt – bibliography here.
* W. D. Snodgrass – bibliography here.
* Ngugi wa Thiong’o – site here.
* Miklos Zrinyi – biography here
Speculative fiction authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last two days:
* Stephen Gilbert – bibliography here
* John S. Drew – bibliography here
Children’s and young adult authors whose birthdays should be marked for today:
* Lynne Cherry – site here
Comics creators whose birthdays should be marked for today:
* Sandy Hausler
Felicitations to you all, whether you celebrate in this world or the next.
—pmc2
Natal day round-up for 1/3 and 1/4.
Non-genre authors whose birthdays should be marked for today:
* Gao Xingjian – bibliography here.
* Jacob Grimm – bibliography here.
Speculative fiction authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last two days:
* George Manville Fenn – bibliography here
* J. R. R. Tolkien – The Tolkien Society
* Doris Pitkin Buck – bibliography here
* Esmé Dodderidge – bibliography here
* Mark Owings – bibliography here
* Patricia Anthony – bibliography here
* A. R. Morlan – bibliography here
* Ramsey Campbell – bibliography here
* Langdon Smith – bibliography here
* Chaz Brenchley – bibliography here
* Dia Calhoun – bibliography here
* Joshua Palmatier [hi, !] – bibliography here
Children’s authors whose birthdays should be marked for today:
* Francesca Lia Block” – bibliography here
* Carolyn Haywood – bibliography here
* Patricia Lee Gauch – bibliography here
* Phyllis Reynolds Naylor – bibliography here
Playing catchup on this part…
Comics creators whose birthdays should be marked for the last four days:
JANUARY 1
* Jack Enyart – site here
* Walter Antonio McDaniel – bibliography here
JANUARY 2
* Don Heck – biography here
* John Heebink – site here
* Ernie Stiner – bibliography here
* Kevin Bricklin – bibliography here
JANUARY 3
* Tom Artis
JANUARY 4
* Chic Stone – bibliography here
* Denis McFarling – site here
* Bob Almond – site here
Felicitations to you, whether you celebrate in this world or the next.
—pmc2
Natal day round-up for 1/1 and 1/2.
Speculative fiction authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last two days:
* Seabury Quinn – bibliography here
* Robert Nathan – bibliography here
* Isaac Asimov – bibliography here
* Charles Beaumont – bibliography here
* Patrick Nielsen Hayden – bibliography here
* David Levy – bibliography here
* Marietta Chudakova – bibliography here
* James Lowder – bibliography here
Children’s authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last two days:
* Jean Little – Her homepage at HarperCollins
* Crosby Bonsall – www.crosbybonsall.com
Felicitations to you, whether you celebrate in this world or the next.
—pmc2
Natal day round-up for 12/29, 12/30, and 12/31.
Literary authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last three days of 2008:
* William Gaddis, whose books THE RECOGNITIONS and CARPENTER’S GOTHIC made for memorable reading during my first post-college summer.
* Rudyard Kipling – if I need to tell you who he is, Gentle Readers, you shall make me sad.
Speculative fiction authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last two days:
* Charles E. Carryl – bibliography here.
* L. P. Hartley – bibliography here.
* Jane Langton – bibliography here.
* Lewis Shiner – bibliography here.
* S. P. Somtow – bibliography here.
* David L. Travis – bibliography here.
* Fitz-James O’Brien – bibliography here
* George Viereck – bibliography here
* Dal Stivens – bibliography here
* Bob Shaw – bibliography here
* Cecelia Holland – bibliography here
* Connie Willis – bibliography here
* Ellen Datlow – bibliography here
* Joe Abercrombie – bibliography here
* Susan Shwartz – bibliography here
Children’s authors whose birthdays should be marked for the last three days:
* Molly Bang – http://www.mollybang.com
* E. W. Hildick – a fansite for the McGurk stories
* Mercer Mayer – the author & illsutrator’s gallery
Felicitations to you, whether you celebrate in this world or the next.
—pmc2
Natal day round-up for 12/28.
Science fiction authors whose birthdays are today:
* Nichelle Nichols – not merely the actress who brought Lt. Uhura to life, but a wordsmith in her own right. A partial bibliography can be found here.
* George Zebrowski – a writer of many credits in short fiction and novel-length works, as can be seen here.
Children’s authors whose birthdays are today:
* Carol Ryrie Brink, best known for the Newbery Award winner CADDIE WOODLAWN.
* Emily Cheney Neville, whose book IT’S LIKE THIS, CAT had a profound influence on me, for reasons not least of which was its New York City setting.
Felicitations to you, whether you celebrate in this world or the next.
—pmc2
Getting back to doing these in a timely fashion.
=================================
Commemorating the birthdays of the following:
March 1st
Ralph Ellison, 1914
Wyman Guin, 1915
Deke Slayton, 1924
Michael Kurland, 1938
Steve Barnes, 1952
Dave Weingart, 1962
March 2nd
Dr. Seuss [Theodor Seuss Geisel], 1904
Dave Fox, 1920
Leo Dillon, 1933
John Irving, 1942
Peter Straub, 1943
Jeffrey Beeler, 1960
Happy birthday to all, to those on Earth and those who’ve travelled further…
—pmc2
After some Googling, I’ve found some excellent sites for author birthdays for literary fiction, juvenile fiction and for science fiction and fantasy fiction.
I’m implementing the observance of author birthdays as an exercise to make sure I write something for this blog as close to every day as possible, much as I do with “The Anti-Apollyon Diaries” in my personal journal when appropriate.
[Side note - I thought I was being so clever by making the connection that "Apollyon" is very nearly an anagram of "Pollyanna", but I've had to explain it too many times to too many people. Sigh.]
Hopefully, my Gentle Readers, you will like this feature as much as the nonsense I post in my personal journal.
—pmc2
[Cannibalized slightly from my personal journal, and updated through the kind offices of Chris Roberson.]
A birthday that I missed this week was that of Robert E. Howard, born on January 22, 1906. I had all good intentions of writing an eloquent post on his works and his lasting creations. But since I’ve missed that deadline, I am instead going to direct you to a marvelous biography called BLOOD AND THUNDER, written by Mark Finn and published by Chris Roberson’s MonkeyBrain Books. A synopsis can be found at http://www.monkeybrainbooks.com/Blood_and_Thunder.html.
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I am, however, on time for two birthdays today.
The first is that of Jules Feiffer, one of my favorite illustrators of works of his own and that of others. He is the illustrator for my favorite book of all time, THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH… in my eyes, his drawings are as integral to the story as Norton Juster’s words.
The second is that of Philip Jose Farmer, an author whose works opened my eyes in much the same way that Harlan Ellison’s and Theodore Sturgeon’s did.
The first Riverworld book remains burned on the retina of my mind’s eye. I’ve always had a fascination with stories where the worlds described are just as vital characters in the story as the protagonists and antagonists.
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Natal greetings to all, in flesh and in spirit.
—pmc2
