This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1992.
Events July – The Goosebumps series of children's horror fiction, penned by R. L. Stine, is first published in the United States. August – An attempt is made to set fire to the National Library of Abkhazia in Sukhumi during the War in Abkhazia by Georgian forces. August 25 – The National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina is annihilated during the Siege of Sarajevo by the Army of Republika Srpska. September – Michael Ondaatje's historiographic metafiction The English Patient is published in Canada. It will win The Golden Man Booker in 2018.
New books
Fiction Ben Aaronovitch – Transit Tariq Ali – Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree Paul Auster – Leviathan Iain Banks – The Crow Road Clive Barker – The Thief of Always Julian Barnes – The Porcupine Greg Bear – Anvil of Stars Thomas Berger – Meeting Evil Louis de Bernières – The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman James P. Blaylock – Lord Kelvin's Machine Pascal Bruckner – The Divine Child A. S. Byatt – Morpho Eugenia Roger Caron – Dreamcaper Andrew Cartmel – Cat's Cradle: Warhead Patrick Chamoiseau – Texaco Paulo Coelho – The Valkyries Michael Connelly – The Black Echo Hugh Cook The Witchlord and the Weaponmaster The Worshippers and the Way Paul Cornell – Love and War Bernard Cornwell Sharpe's Devil Scoundrel Douglas Coupland – Shampoo Planet Mia Couto – Sleepwalking Land (Terra Sonâmbula) Robert Crais – Lullaby Town L. Sprague de Camp and Christopher Stasheff – The Enchanter Reborn Clarissa Pinkola Estés – Women Who Run with the Wolves Elena Ferrante – Troubling Love (L'amore molesto Tibor Fischer – Under the Frog Leon Forrest – Divine Days John Gardner – Death Is Forever Neil Gaiman – The Sandman: Season of Mists (graphic novel; volume 4 of The Sandman series) Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean – Signal to Noise (graphic novel) Cristina García – Dreaming in Cuban Mark Gatiss – Nightshade Ann Granger – Cold in the Earth Alasdair Gray – Poor Things John Grisham – The Pelican Brief Hella Haasse – Heren van de thee (The Tea Lords) Victor Headley – Yardie Andrew Hunt – Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark Simon Ings – Hot Head P. D. James – The Children of Men Denis Johnson – Jesus' Son (short story collection) John Kessel – Meeting in Infinity Stephen King Dolores Claiborne Gerald's Game Patrick McCabe – The Butcher Boy Cormac McCarthy – All the Pretty Horses (book 1 of The Border Trilogy) Val McDermid – Dead Beat Ian McEwan – Black Dogs Terry McMillan – Waiting to Exhale Javier Marías – A Heart So White (Corazón tan blanco) Andrés L. Mateo – La Balada de Alfonsina Bairán Rohinton Mistry – Tales from Firozsha Baag Caitlin Moran – The Chronicles of Narmo Toni Morrison – Jazz Michael Ondaatje – The English Patient Ellis Peters – The Holy Thief Marc Platt – Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible Terry Pratchett Lords and Ladies Small Gods Anne Rice – The Tale of the Body Thief Mordecai Richler – Oh Canada! Oh Quebec! Jennifer Roberson – Lady of the Forest Robert Schneider – Schlafes Bruder Patricia Schonstein – A Time of Angels W. G. Sebald – The Emigrants (Die Ausgewanderten: Vier lange Erzählungen) Gail Sheehy – Silent Passage Sidney Sheldon – The Stars Shine Down Michael Slade – Cutthroat Danielle Steel Jewels Mixed Blessings Neal Stephenson – Snow Crash Adam Thorpe – Ulverton Sue Townsend – The Queen and I Rose Tremain – Sacred Country Barry Unsworth – Sacred Hunger John Updike – Memories of the Ford Administration Gore Vidal – Live from Golgotha: The Gospel According to Gore Vidal Vernor Vinge – A Fire Upon the Deep Robert James Waller – The Bridges of Madison County Connie Willis – Doomsday Book Timothy Zahn – Dark Force Rising Roger Zelazny and Thomas Thurston Thomas – Flare Juan Eduardo Zúñiga El último día del mundo (The last day of the world) Misterios de las noches y los días (Mysteries of the nights and days; short stories)
Children and young people Pamela Allen – Belinda Chris Van Allsburg – The Widow's Broom Gillian Cross – The Great Elephant Chase Garry Disher – The Bamboo Flute Anne Fine – Flour Babies Jamila Gavin – The Wheel of Surya (first in the Surya trilogy) Rumer Godden Great Grandfather's House Listen to the Nightingale Virginia Hamilton (with Jerry Pinkney) – Drylongso Gordon Korman – The Twinkie Squad William Mayne – Low Tide Gerald McDermott – Zomo The Rabbit: A Trickster Tale From West Africa Hilary McKay – The Exiles Michael Morpurgo – Waiting for Anya Barry Moser – Polly Vaughn: A Traditional British Ballad Jim Murphy – The Long Road to Gettysburg Barbara Park – Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (first in the Junie B. Jones series) Marcus Pfister – The Rainbow Fish (Der Regenbogenfisch) Gloria Jean Pinkney (with Jerry Pinkney) – Back Home Marjorie W. Sharmat (with Marc Simont) – Nate the Great and the Stolen Base Ulf Stark – Can You Whistle, Johanna? (Kan du vissla Johanna?) Christopher Tolkien (with J. R. R. Tolkien and Alan Lee) – Sauron Defeated Judith Vigna – Black Like Kyra, White Like Me Martin Waddell – Owl Babies Nancy Willard (with Barry Moser) – Beauty and the Beast Douglas Wood – Old Turtle Susan Meddaugh – Martha Speaks
Drama Herb Gardner – Conversations with My Father Peter Handke – Die Stunde, da wir nichts voneinander wußten (The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other) David Mamet – Oleanna Louis Nowra – Così Zlatko Topčić – Musa And The Goat (radio version) Michael Wall – Women Laughing Peter Whelan – The School of Night
Poetry
Ben Okri – An African Elegy
Non-fiction Nelson Algren (died 1981) – America Eats (travel book, written 1930s) Karen Armstrong – Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet Bill Bryson – Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe Linda Colley – Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837 Esther Delisle – The Traitor and the Jew (Le Traître et le Juif: Lionel Groulx, le Devoir et le délire du nationalisme d'extrême droite dans la province de Québec, 1929–1939) Daniel Dennett – Consciousness Explained Joan Didion – After Henry Eamon Duffy – The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, c. 1400 to c. 1580 Gerina Dunwich – Secrets of Love Magick Christiane Éluère – The Celts: First Masters of Europe John Gray – Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus Elizabeth Hay – The Only Snow in Havana Nick Hornby – Fever Pitch Charles Jennings – Up North Neil Lyndon – No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism Andrew Morton – Diana: Her True Story Mark E. Neely Jr. – The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties Liza Potvin – White Lies (for My Mother) Léon Werth (died 1955) – 33 Jours (written 1940) Michael Jackson – Dancing the Dream
Anthologies Margaret Busby (ed.) – Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present
Births April 14 – Naoise Dolan, Irish novelist August 12 – Naoki Higashida, Japanese autistic author September 18 – Jidanun Lueangpiansamut, Thai writer October 5 – Rupi Kaur, Indian-born Canadian poet, illustrator, photographer, and author October 30 – Édouard Louis, French writer November 11 – Aya Mansour, Iraqi poet, writer, and journalist
Deaths January 4 – Alejandro Carrión, Ecuadorian poet and journalist (born 1915) January 9 – Bill Naughton, Irish-born English playwright and novelist (born 1910) January 4 – John Sparrow, English literary scholar (born 1906) January 14 – Irakli Abashidze, Georgian poet, literary scholar and politician (born 1909)Martin MacCauley (1997), Who's Who in Russia Since 1900, p. 2. Routledge, . January 28 – Dora Birtles, Australian novelist, poet and children's writer (born 1903) February 10 – Alex Haley, African-American writer (born 1921) February 16 Angela Carter, English novelist (lung cancer, born 1940) George MacBeth, Scottish poet and novelist (motor neurone disease, born 1932) April 4 – Vintilă Horia, Romanian writer (born 1915) April 6 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction author (born 1920) April 21 – Väinö Linna, Finnish novelist (born 1920) April 28 – Iceberg Slim (Robert Beck), American novelist (born 1918) May 22 – Elizabeth David, English cookery writer (born 1913) July 6 – Mary Q. Steele, American novelist (born 1922) July 22 – Reginald Bretnor, American science fiction writer (born 1911) July 23 Robert Liddell, English biographer, novelist and poet (born 1908) Rosemary Sutcliff, English children's historical novelist (born 1902) August 4 – Seichō Matsumoto, Japanese mystery writer and journalist (born 1909) August 29 – Mary Norton, English children's writer (born 1903) September 5 – Fritz Leiber, American writer of fantasy and science fiction (born 1910) November 7 – Richard Yates, American novelist and short-story writer (emphysema, born 1926) November 17 – Audre Lorde, American poet, writer and feminist (born 1934) December 22 – Ted Willis, English TV dramatist (born 1914) December 25 – Monica Dickens, English novelist (born 1915) December 27 – Kay Boyle, American writer, educator and activist (born 1902)
Awards Nobel Prize in Literature: Derek Walcott Camões Prize: Vergílio Ferreira
Australia The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Fotini Epanomitis, The Mule's Foal C. J. Dennis Prize for Poetry: Robert Harris, Jane, Interlinear and Other Poems Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Elizabeth Riddell, Selected Poems Mary Gilmore Prize: Alison Croggon, This is the Stone Miles Franklin Award: Tim Winton, Cloudstreet
Canada See 1992 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards. Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction: Marie Wadden, Nitassinan: The Innu Struggle to Reclaim Their Homeland
France Prix Goncourt: Patrick Chamoiseau, Texaco Prix Décembre: Henri Thomas, La Chasse au trésor and Roger Grenier, Regardez la neige qui tombe Prix Médicis French: Michel Rio, Tlacuilo Prix Médicis International: Louis Begley, Une éducation polonaise
United Kingdom Booker Prize: Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient and Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Anne Fine, Flour Babies James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Rose Tremain, Sacred Country James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: Charles Nicholl, The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe Cholmondeley Award: Allen Curnow, Donald Davie, Carol Ann Duffy, Roger Woddis Eric Gregory Award: Jill Dawson, Hugh Dunkerley, Christopher Greenhalgh, Marita Maddah, Stuart Paterson, Stuart Pickford Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry: Kathleen Raine Whitbread Best Book Award: Jeff Torrington, Swing Hammer Swing! The Sunday Express Book of the Year: Hilary Mantel, A Place of Greater Safety Forward Prizes for Poetry (first awards): Thom Gunn, The Man with Night Sweats (collection); Simon Armitage, Kid (first collection); Jackie Kay, "Black Bottom" (single poem)
United States Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Hunt Hawkins, The Domestic Life Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry: Gwendolyn Brooks American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for Drama: Sam Shepard Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry: Louise Glück for Ararat, and Mark Strand for The Continuous Life Compton Crook Award: Carol Severance, Reefsong Frost Medal: Adrienne Rich / David Ignatow National Book Award for Fiction: to All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy National Book Critics Circle Award: to Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean Nebula Award: Connie Willis, Doomsday Book Newbery Medal for children's literature: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Shiloh PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction: to Mao II by Don DeLillo Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: James Tate, Selected Poems Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Robert Schenkkan, The Kentucky Cycle Whiting Awards: Fiction: R.S. Jones, J. S. Marcus, Damien Wilkins Nonfiction: Eva Hoffman, Katha Pollitt (poetry/nonfiction) Plays: Suzan-Lori Parks, Keith Reddin, José Rivera Poetry: Roger Fanning, Jane Mead
Elsewhere