1990 year of literature
◄◄ | ◄ | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | Literature Year 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | ► | ►►
Overview of the literary years
Further events
Events
Literary prizes
- Nobel Prize
- national
- Peace Prize of the German Book Trade : Karl Dedecius
- Ingeborg Bachmann Prize : Birgit Vanderbeke , eating mussels
- international
- Booker Prize : AS Byatt , Possession: A Romance
- Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award : Western Canada Wilderness Committee , Carmanah
- Floyd S. Chalmers Award in Ontario History : RD Gidney , WPJ Millar , Inventing Secondary Education: The Rise of the High School in Nineteenth Century Ontario
- Georg Brandes Prize : Jens Andersen , Thit - den sidste valkyrie
- Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize : Philip Marchand , Marshall McLuhan: The Medium and the Messenger
- Journey Prize : Cynthia Flood , My Father Took a Cake to France
- Critics' prizes (Denmark) : Gynther Hansen , Danskerne
- Critics' prizes (Norway) : Paal-Helge Haugen , Meditasjonar over Georges de La Tour
- Pat Lowther Award : Patricia Young , The mad and beautiful mothers
- Premio Campiello : Sebastiano Vassalli , La chimera
- Premio Nadal : Juan José Millás , La soledad era esto
- Premio Strega : Sebastiano Vassalli , La chimera
- Prix Goncourt : Jean Rouaud , Les Champs d'honneur
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama : August Wilson , The Piano Lesson
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction : Oscar Hijuelos , The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry : Charles Simic , The World Doesn't End
- Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize : Western Canada Wilderness Committee , Carmanah
- Søren Gyldendal Prize : Søren Mørch
- Trillium Book Award : Alice Munro , Friend of My Youth
- Weekendavisens litteraturpris : Peter Seeberg , Rejsen til Ribe
- William Dean Howells Medal : EL Doctorow , Billy Bathgate
Science fiction and fantasy
- Ursula K. Le Guin , Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea , Tehanu , Category: Best Novel
- Joe Haldeman , The Hemingway Hoax , The Hemingway Scam , Category: Best Short Novel
- Ted Chiang , Tower of Babylon , The Tower of Babel , Category: Best Story
- Terry Bisson , Bears Discover Fire , The Bears Discover Fire , Category: Best Short Story
- Dan Simmons , Hyperion , Hyperion , Category: Best Novel
- Lois McMaster Bujold , The Mountains of Mourning , The Mountains of Mourning , Category: Best Short Novel
- Robert Silverberg , Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another , First Appearance: Soldier. Then: Another , Category: Best Story
- Suzy McKee Charnas , Boobs , Pugs , Category: Best Short Story
- Dan Simmons, Hyperion , Hyperion , Category: Best SF Novel
- Orson Scott Card , Prentice Alvin , The Magic Plow , Category: Best Fantasy Novel
- Dan Simmons, Carrion Comfort , The Power of Evil , Category: Best Horror Novel
- Allen Steele , Orbital Decay , Station of the Last Heroes , Best First Novel
- Lucius Shepard , The Father of Stones , Category: Best Short Novel
- Orson Scott Card, Dogwalker , Category: Best Narration
- Orson Scott Card, Lost Boys , Category: Best Short Story
- Pat Cadigan , Patterns , Category: Best Collection
- Gardner Dozois , The Year's Best Science Fiction: Sixth Annual Collection , Category: Best Anthology
- Wolfgang Jeschke , Midas , Category: Best Novel
- Werner Zillig , Seventeen Sentences , Category: Best Story
- Gisbert Haefs , Wanderlust , Category: Best Short Story
- Lucius Shepard, Life in War , Category: Best Foreign Work
- Irene Holicki , Category: Best Translator
- Walter Froneberg (Lord Mayor of the City of Wetzlar ) for his support of the Fantastic Library Wetzlar , special prize
- Pat Murphy , Points of Departure
New releases
Fiction
- Ah, sweet secret of life - Roald Dahl
- Other freedoms - Pier Vittorio Tondelli
- The Bourne Ultimatum - Robert Ludlum
- Brazzaville Beach - William Boyd
- Use of Arms - Iain M. Banks
- Francis or The Second Memorandum - Peter Berling
- The coyote is waiting - Tony Hillerman
- LA Confidential - James Ellroy
- Mokusei! - Cees Nooteboom
- The talking mask - Tony Hillerman
- The Stand - Stephen King
- The gate from Tokyo - Natsume Sōseki
- The fourth Kennedy - Mario Puzo
- What They Wore - Tim O'Brien
- Who steals the past - Tony Hillerman
drama
Non-fiction
- Little Mr. Hu. A Chinese in Paris - Jonathan Spence
- The last of their kind - Douglas Adams & Mark Carwardine
- Death is a master from Germany - Eberhard Jäckel and Lea Rosh
Born
- January 27: Niviaq Korneliussen , Greenlandic writer
- February 1: Eda Ahi , Estonian poet
- March 7: Lara Elena Donnelly , American writer
- July 27: Victoria Aveyard , American youth author
Exact date unknown
- Afonso Reis Cabral , Portuguese writer and poet
- Teresa Dopler , Austrian playwright
- William Grill , British illustrator and children's author
- Flurin Jecker , Swiss writer and journalist
- Lisa Krusche , German writer and essayist
Died
- January 11th : Orlando Mendes , Mozambican writer (* 1916 )
- January 17 : Manfred Künne , German writer (* 1931 )
- January 27 : Henry Winterfeld , German-American writer and artist (* 1901 )
- February 9 : Heinz Grothe , German editor, dramaturge, theater and film critic, narrator, author and editor (* 1912 )
- February 11 : Ulrich Klever , German non-fiction author and journalist (* 1922 )
- February 18 : Fermín Estrella Gutiérrez , Argentine writer (* 1900 )
- February 28 : Kornel Filipowicz , Polish novelist, novelist, screenwriter and poet (* 1913 )
- March 12 : Philippe Soupault , French poet and writer (* 1897 )
- March 17 : Andō Mikio , Japanese children's author, literary critic and university lecturer (* 1930 )
- March 26 : Christian Meyer-Oldenburg , German-speaking science fiction author (* 1936 )
- April 14 : Martin Kessel , German writer (* 1901 )
- April 29 : Max Bense , German philosopher, writer and publicist (* 1910 )
- May 6 : Irmtraud Morgner , German writer (* 1933 )
- May 28 : Giorgio Manganelli , Italian writer, essayist, journalist and literary scholar (* 1922 )
- June 5 : Frederick Nnabuenyi Ugonna , Nigerian linguist and literary scholar (* 1936 )
- June 28 : Herbert Jobst , German writer (* 1915 )
- July 2 : Silvina Bullrich , Argentine writer (* 1915 )
- July 6 : Měrćin Nowak-Njechorński , Sorbian painter, publicist and writer (* 1900 )
- July 22nd : Manuel Puig , Argentine writer and screenwriter (* 1932 )
- August 5 : Ivan Blatný , Czech poet and writer (* 1919 )
- August 16 : Annik Saxegaard , Norwegian writer (* 1905 )
- August 20 : Werner Lansburgh , German writer and publicist (* 1912 )
- August 24 : Sergei Donatowitsch Dowlatow , Russian writer (* 1941 )
- August 25 : Morley Callaghan , Canadian writer (born 1903 )
- September 26 : Alberto Moravia , Italian writer (* 1907 )
- September 30th : Michel Leiris , French writer and ethnologist (* 1901 )
- September 30 : Patrick White , Australian writer (* 1912 )
- October 12 : Nagai Tatsuo , Japanese writer (* 1904 )
- October 24 : Ernst Zwilling , Austrian travel writer (* 1904 )
- November 11th : Giannis Ritsos , Greek writer (* 1909 )
- November 23 : Roald Dahl , Welsh writer (* 1916 )
- November 30th : Hilde Spiel , journalist and writer (* 1911 )
- December 7th : Horst Bienek , German writer (* 1930 )
- December 9 : Anton Graf Bossi Fedrigotti , Austrian author (* 1901 )
- December 14 : Friedrich Dürrenmatt , Swiss writer, playwright and painter (* 1921 )
- December 23 : Pierre Gripari , French writer (* 1925 )
- December 24th : Thorbjørn Egner , Norwegian children's author (* 1912 )