1961 in literature

Events

• The Moviegoer[?] by Walker Percy 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.

• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Scottish author Muriel Spark 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.

• V. S. Naipaul's book, A House for Mr. Biswas[?], is published. In 2001, the book would be one of two books by Naipaul to be included on the list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.

• Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is published. In 2001, the book would be on the list 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 Agony and the Ecstasy[?] - Irving Stone[?]
• Call for the Dead[?] - John le Carré
• The Carpetbeggars[?] - Harold Robbins
• Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
• Daughter of Silence[?] - Morris West[?]
• Franny and Zooey[?] - J.D. Salinger
• A House for Mr. Biswas[?] - V. S. Naipaul
• Mila 18[?] - Leon Uris
• The Moviegoer[?] - Walker Percy
• A Passion in Rome[?] - Morley Callaghan
• The Pawnbroker - Edward Lewis Wallant[?]
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
• A Severed Head - Iris Murdoch
• The Stone Angel[?] - Margaret Laurence[?]
• The Wall - John Hersey
• The Winter of Our Discontent[?] - John Steinbeck
• Thunderball[?] - Ian Fleming
• 'Twixt Twelve and Twenty[?] - Pat Boone
• Venusberg[?] - Anthony Powell
• Zima Junction[?] - Yevegeny Yevtushenko[?]

Births

• December 30 - Douglas Coupland, author
• Greg Egan, author

Deaths

• January 10 - Dashiell Hammett, author
• January 21 - Blaise Cendrars, author
• July 2 - Ernest Hemingway, author

Awards

• Newberry Medal for children's literature: Scott O'Dell[?], Island of the Blue Dolphins
• Nobel Prize for literature - Ivo Andric
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Tad Mosel[?], All The Way Home
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Harper Lee - To Kill A Mockingbird
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Phyllis McGinley[?]: Times Three: Selected Verse From Three Decades