1954 in literature

Events

• Under the Net[?] by Iris Murdoch is published. In 2001, the book would be named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.

• Lord of the Flies by William G. Golding is published. In 2001, the book would be listed as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century as selected by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.

New Books

• The Acrobats[?] - Mordecai Richler
• Benton's Row[?] - Frank Yerby[?]
• The Bridge on the River Kwai (Le pont de la rivière Kwai) - Pierre Boulle
• The Egyptian - Mika Waltari
• Histoire d'O (The Story of O) - Pauline Reage
• The Horse and His Boy[?] - C. S. Lewis
• Ideas and Opinions[?] - Albert Einstein
• Katherine[?] - Anya Seton
• Lord of the Flies - William G. Golding
• Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien
• Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien
• Love Is Eternal[?] - Irving Stone[?]
• Lucky Jim[?] - Kingsley Amis
• Mandarins[?] - Simone de Beauvoir
• Mary Anne[?] - Daphne du Maurier
• Nectar in a Sieve[?] - Kamala Markandaya[?]
• Never Victorious, Never Defeated[?] - Taylor Caldwell
• No Time for Sergeants[?] - Mac Hyman[?]
• Not as a Stranger[?] - Morton Thompson[?]
• The Royal Box[?] - Frances Parkinson Keyes[?]
• Sayonara - James A. Michener
• Sweet Thursday[?] - John Steinbeck
• Under Milkwood[?] (Poetry) - Dylan Thomas
• Under the Net[?] - Iris Murdoch
• The View from Pompey's Head[?] - Hamilton Basso[?]

Births

• January 29 - Oprah Winfrey, actress, talk show host, producer, publisher
• February 6 - Argusto Emfazie, occultist, author

Deaths

• August 3 - Colette, French novelist

Awards

• Newberry Medal for children's literature: Joseph Krumgold[?], And Now Miguel
• Nobel Prize for Literature: Ernest Miller Hemingway
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama: John Patrick[?], The Teahouse of the August Moon
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: no award given
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Theodore Roethke: The Waking