1985 in literature

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This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1985.

Events

February 25 – Sue Limb's parodic pastiche of the Lake Poets, The Wordsmiths at Gorsemere, begins broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 in the U.K.
March 1 – The GNU Manifesto by Richard Stallman is published for the first time, and becomes a fundamental philosophical source within the free software movement.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
August 11 – A memorial to the poet Hugh MacDiarmid is unveiled near his home at Langholm, Scotland.
unknown dates – Three notable novels in English by female authors are published during the year: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale,<ref name="Deer1994"/> Jilly Cooper's Riders, the first of the Rutshire Chronicles, and Jeanette Winterson's Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit.

New books

Poetry

Carol Ann Duffy – Standing Female Nude

Non-fiction

Bill Bryson – The Palace under the Alps and Over 200 Other Unusual, Unspoiled and Infrequently Visited Spots in 16 European Countries
Roger Caron – Bingo! The Horrifying Eyewitness Account of a Prison Riot
Allen Carr – The Easy Way to Stop Smoking
Timothy J. Cooney - Telling Right From Wrong
Michael Denton – Evolution: A Theory in Crisis
Elaine Dundy – Elvis and Gladys
Julien Gracq – The Shape of a City
G. L. Harriss (editor) – Henry V: The Practice of Kingship
Ernest Hemingway – The Dangerous Summer
Pauline Kael – State of the Art
David Lowenthal – The Past Is a Foreign Country
Walter A. McDougall – ...The Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age
Tim O'Brien – The Nuclear Age
Priscilla Beaulieu Presley – Elvis and Me
David Robinson – Chaplin: His Life and Art
Oliver Sacks – The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Roger Scruton – Thinkers of the New Left
Gary Soto – Living Up the Street
Crawford Young and Thomas Turner – The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State

Births

February 7 - Justina Ireland, American science-fiction and fantasy author of young-adult fiction
April 24 – Alexander Zeldin, British playwright and director
September 24 – Eleanor Catton, New Zealand novelist<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
September 30 – Téa Obreht, Yugoslav-born American novelist writing in English
Alisa Ganieva, Russian fiction writer and critic

Deaths

January 1 – Sigerson Clifford, Irish poet, playwright, and civil servant (born 1913)
January 5 – Alexis Rannit, Estonian-born American poet and critic (born 1914)
February 6 – James Hadley Chase, English thriller novelist (born 1906)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
February 19 – Carl Joachim Hambro, Norwegian novelist, essayist and philologist (born 1914)<ref>Hambro, Johan (1984). C. J. Hambro: Liv og drøm (in Norwegian). Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 67. Template:ISBN.</ref>
March 15 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and philosopher (born 1921)
April 4 – Kate Roberts, Welsh writer (born 1891)
April 7 – Carl Schmitt, German political theorist (born 1888)
April 17
- Basil Bunting, English poet (born 1900)
- D. I. Suchianu, Romanian essayist, translator, social scientist and film theorist (born 1895)
April 25 – Uku Masing, Estonian religious philosopher, linguist and writer (born 1909)
May 1 – Denise Robins, English romantic novelist (born 1897)
May 12 – Josephine Miles, American poet and literary critic (born 1911)
May 18 – Hedley Bull, Australian economist (cancer, born 1932)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
May 25 – Robert Nathan, American novelist and poet (born 1894)
June 8 – Hu Feng (胡风), Chinese novelist (born 1902)
June 16 – Ernst Orvil, Norwegian novelist, poet and playwright (born 1898)
July 16 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist, Nobel laureate (born 1917)
July 8 – Leslie Paul, Anglo-Irish novelist (born 1905)
July 29 – Judah Waten, Australian novelist (born 1911)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
August 14 – Alfred Hayes, English-born American novelist, poet and screenwriter (born 1911)
August 30 – (Janet) Taylor Caldwell, English-born American novelist (born 1900)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
September 1 – Saunders Lewis, Welsh writer and broadcaster (Plaid Cymru) (born 1893)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
September 17 – Fran Ross, African American satirist (born 1935)
September 22 – D. J. Opperman, South African Afrikaans poet (born 1914)
September 27 – Leonard Gribble, English novelist (born 1908)
October 1 – E. B. White, American children's writer and writer on style (born 1899)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
October 11 – Alex La Guma, South African novelist and political activist (born 1925)
October 24 – László Bíró, Hungarian journalist and inventor (born 1899)
October 31 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek poet (born 1903)
November 3 – J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, English historian (born 1916)
November 4 – Hilda Vaughan, Welsh novelist and short story writer (born 1892)
November 6 – Sara Woods, British crime fiction writer (born 1922)
November 11 – James Hanley, English-born novelist and dramatist of Irish extraction (born 1897)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
November 25
- Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (born 1905)
- Elsa Morante, Italian novelist (born 1912)<ref>Santo, Aricò L. (1990). Contemporary Women Writers in Italy: A Modern Renaissance. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.</ref>
November 27 – Fernand Braudel, French historian (born 1902)
December 2 – Philip Larkin, English poet (born 1922)
December 5 – Mihail Celarianu, Romanian poet and novelist (born 1893)
December 7 – Robert Graves, English novelist, poet and critic (born 1895)