1976 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1976.

Events

• June 21 – The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, is opened as a multiracial venue by Barney Simon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• September 3 – Novelist Antonio di Benedetto is released from prison after 18 months of imprisonment and torture under the National Reorganization Process (military dictatorship) in Argentina.<ref name="Benedetto2016">Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 9 – The Royal Shakespeare Company starts a noted production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench in the leading roles, directed by Trevor Nunn.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• October 25 – The Royal National Theatre on London's South Bank opens in premises designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, with a performance of Goldoni's 18th-century comedy Il Campiello.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• unknown dates
  • Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers is established in new premises at Nanterre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• • Mary Ronnie became the world's first female national librarian, at the National Library of New Zealand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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New books

Fiction

• Brian Aldiss – The Malacia Tapestry
• Nina Bawden – Afternoon of a Good Woman<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Ann Beattie – Chilly Scenes of Winter<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Peter Benchley – The Deep<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• John Blackburn – The Face of the Lion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Ben Bova
  • City of Darkness
  • The Multiple Man<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• John Braine – Waiting for Sheila<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• William F. Buckley – Saving the Queen (the first Blackford Oakes thriller)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Anthony Burgess – Beard's Roman Women<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Ramsey Campbell – The Height of the Scream<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Rosemary Carter
  • Forests of the Dragon
  • Man of the Wild
• Jack L. Chalker – A Jungle of Stars<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Vera Chapman – The King's Damosel
• Agatha Christie – Sleeping Murder
• Jon Cleary – A Sound of Lightning
• Theodore R. Cogswell (co-writing with Charles A. Spano, Jr.) – Spock, Messiah!
• Michael Crichton – Eaters of the Dead
• Clive Cussler – Raise the Titanic!
• Robert Daley – To Kill a Cop
• Len Deighton – Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy
• Gordon R. Dickson – The Dragon and the George
• Rosalyn Drexler (writing as Julia Sorel)
  • Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (TV film novelization)
  • Rocky (film novelization)
• Lois Duncan – Summer of Fear
• Charles Einstein – The Blackjack Hijack<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• John Farris – The Fury
• Brian Freemantle – The November Man<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Alan Dean Foster (ghostwriting as George Lucas) – Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker
• Paula Fox – The Widow's Children
• Christopher Frank – The Dream of the Mad Monkey
• John Gardner
  • Moriarty
  • To Run a Little Faster
• Brian Garfield – Gundown<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Richard Gordon – Doctor on the Job
• Gerald Green – The Hostage Heart<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Peter Van Greenaway – Suffer! Little Children<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Alex Haley – Roots: The Saga of an American Family
• Frank Herbert – Children of Dune
• James Herbert – The Survivor
• James Herriot – Vets Might Fly (fifth in the James Herriot series)
• Gayl Jones – Eva's Man
• Dean Koontz
  • Prison of Ice (writing as David Axton)
  • Night Chills
• John Lee – The Ninth Man
• Ira Levin – The Boys from Brazil
• Roger Longrigg – The Babe in the Wood<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Richard A. Lupoff
  • The Crack in the Sky
  • Lisa Kane
  • Sandworld
  • The Triune Man
• Ross Macdonald – The Blue Hammer (eighteenth and final novel in the Lew Archer series)
• Barbara Mertz
  • Legend in Green Velvet
  • Patriot's Dream (writing as Barbara Michaels)
• Thomas F. Monteleone – The Time Connection
• Robin Moore
  • Dubai
  • The Establishment (co-written with Harold Shumate)
  • Hotel Tomayne
  • The Kaufman Snatch
  • The Pearl Harbor Cover-Up (co-written with Frank Schuler)
  • The Season (co-written with Patricia Hornung)
  • The Terminal Connection
  • Valency Girl (co-written with Susan Deitz)
• Fănuș Neagu – Frumoșii nebuni ai marilor orașe ("Those Beautiful Lunatics of the Great Cities")<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Christopher Nicole (writing as Andrew York) – Dark Passage
• Gary Paulsen
  • The Death Specialists<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• • The Implosion Effect<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Samuel Anthony Peeples – The Man Who Died Twice<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Denis Pitts – The Predator<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Timothy Powers – The Skies Discrowned<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Terry Pratchett – The Dark Side of the Sun
• Richard Price – Bloodbrothers
• Christopher Priest – The Space Machine
• Manuel Puig – Kiss of the Spider Woman
• Simon Raven – The Survivors
• Anne Rice – Interview with the Vampire
• Tom Robbins – Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
• William Rotsler (writing as John Ryder Hall) – Futureworld (film novelization)
• David Seltzer – The Omen (film novelization)
• Tom Sharpe – Wilt
• Alan Sillitoe – The Widower's Son
• Carolyn Slaughter – The Story of the Weasel
• Guy N. Smith
  • The Ghoul (film novelization)
  • Night of the Crabs (first in the Crabs series)
  • Return of the Werewolf (second in the Werewolf by Moonlight series)
• Christina Stead – Miss Herbert (The Suburban Wife)
• Rosemary Sutcliff – Blood Feud
• Bernard Taylor – The Godsend
• Mildred D. Taylor – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
• Craig Thomas – Rat Trap
• Elleston Trevor (writing as Adam Hall) – The Kobra Manifesto (seventh in the Quiller series)
• William Trevor – The Children of Dynmouth
• Frank Waldman – The Pink Panther Strikes Again (film novelization)
• Angus Wells
  • The Burning Man (writing as Andrew Quiller)
  • Death Wears Grey (writing as Andrew Quiller)
  • The Golden Dead (writing as Andrew Quiller)
  • The Land of Mist (writing as Andrew Quiller)
  • The Return of a Man Called Horse (film novelization)
  • Vengeance Hunt (writing as Andrew Quiller)
• Morris West – The Navigator
• Donald E. Westlake – Dancing Aztecs
• Christopher Wood
  • The Further Adventures of Barry Lyndon by Himself
  • Seven Nights in Japan (writing as John Drew) (film novelization)
• Richard Woodley – The Bad News Bears (film novelization)
• Colin Wilson – The Space Vampires

Children and young people

• Richard Adams – The Tyger Voyage<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Lynne Reid Banks
  • The Adventures of King Midas
  • The Farthest-Away Mountain
• Marc Brown – Arthur's Nose (first in the Arthur Read series)
• Jack Gantos – Rotten Ralph (first in the Rotten Ralph series)
• Roger Hargreaves (Mr. Men)
  • Mr. Bounce
  • Mr. Chatterbox
  • Mr. Dizzy
  • Mr. Impossible
  • Mr. Jelly
  • Mr. Funny
  • Mr. Fussy
  • Mr. Lazy
  • Mr. Mean
  • Mr. Muddle
  • Mr. Noisy
• Judith Kerr – Mog's Christmas (second in the Mog series)
• Alexander Key – Jagger, the Dog from Elsewhere
• Diana Wynne Jones – Power of Three
• Florence Engel Randall – A Watcher in the Woods
• William Rawls – Summer of the Monkeys
• Maurice Sendak (co-writing with Matthew Margolis) – Some Swell Pup or Are You Sure You Want a Dog?
• William Steig
  • Abel's Island
  • The Amazing Bone
• Dr. Seuss
  • The Cat's Quizzer
  • Hooper Humperdink...? Not Him! (writing as Theo. LeSieg)
• Eve Titus – Basil in Mexico (fourth in the Basil of Baker Street series)
• Robert Westall – The Wind Eye

Drama

• Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Mugo – The Trial of Dedan Kimathi<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• Neil Simon – California Suite<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Non-fiction

• Richard Dawkins – The Selfish Gene
• William Stevenson – A Man Called Intrepid

Births

• August 29 - Mieko Kawakami, Japanese novelist and poet
• October 31 – Seth Abramson, American journalist and poet<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• unknown dates
  • Bora Chung, Korean short story writer and novelist<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Deaths

• January 12 – Agatha Christie, English crime writer (born 1890)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• January 25 – Victor Ehrenberg, German historian (born 1891)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 2 – Barbara Euphan Todd, English children's writer (born 1890)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 12 – John Lewis, Welsh philosopher (born 1889)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 5 – Charles Lederer, American screenwriter and film director (born 1910)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• March 7 – Tove Ditlevsen, Danish poet and fiction writer (suicide, born 1917)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• March 13 – Sergiu Dan, Romanian novelist and journalist (born 1903)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• April 2 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian novelist (born 1913)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 28 – Richard Hughes, British novelist (born 1900)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 7 – Alison Uttley, English writer of children's books (born 1884)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 3 – Alexander Lernet-Holenia, Austrian poet, dramatist and fiction writer (born 1897)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• July 15 – Paul Gallico, American novelist, short story and sports writer (born 1897)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• August 9 – José Lezama Lima, Cuban writer and poet (born [1910)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 29 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet (born 1899)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• September 10 – Dalton Trumbo, American novelist and screenwriter (born 1905)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• October 30 – Barbu Solacolu, Romanian poet, translator and economist (born 1897)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• November 4 – Robert Speaight, English actor, biographer and essayist (born 1904)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• November 6 – Patrick Dennis, American novelist (pancreatic cancer, born 1921)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• November 23 – André Malraux, French novelist (born 1901)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• December 21 – Munro Leaf, American children's author (born 1905)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• December 22 – Martín Luis Guzmán, Mexican novelist and journalist (born 1887)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 26 – Yashpal, Hindi novelist (born 1903)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 29 – G. B. Edwards, Guernsey-born writer (born 1899)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Awards

• Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels: Max Frisch<ref>Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels 1976 Max Frisch Template:Webarchive. Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels</ref>