Before we turn the page on 2024, let’s pause to remember the authors we lost this year; their books are sure to live on. Here are just a few of the most notable:
Joan Acocella, 78. The essays of the longtime New Yorker arts critic were collected in the books Twenty-Eight Artists and Two Saints and The Bloodied Nightgown.
Robie Harris, 83. Her children’s book on sexuality and health, It’s Perfectly Normal, was a frequent target of school book bans; she was a vocal advocate for the freedom to read.
N. Scott Momaday, 89. The first Native American writer to win the Pulitzer Prize, he was the author of the novel House Made of Dawn and several works of nonfiction.
Maryse Condé, 90. The French novelist and critic, born in Guadeloupe, was the author of Segu; I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem; and other works.
John Barth, 93. The influential postmodern novelist was known for The Sot-Weed Factor, Giles Goat-Boy, and other works.
Faith Ringgold, 93. The artist acclaimed for her work in painting, quilt art, and sculpture was the author of Tar Beach, Cassie’s World Quilt, and other books for children.
Paul Auster, 77. Celebrated for his noir-inflected existentialist New York Trilogy, he was also the author of such novels as 4 3 2 1 and The Book of Illusions.
Alice Munro, 92. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, she was considered a master of short stories, collected in books such as Friend of My Youth and Runaway.
Ismail Kadare, 88. The Albanian writer, who criticized political oppression in his homeland, was the author of The Palace of Dreams, A Dictator Calls, and other novels.
Edna O’Brien, 93. Her 1960 debut, The Country Girls, was banned in her native Ireland for its frank depictions of sex; she went on to write many novels about girls and women.
Francine Pascal, 92. The creator of the Sweet Valley High series of YA novels, ultimately encompassing 181 books, enchanted a generation of young readers.
Elias Khoury, 76. The Lebanese author, known for his political novels and support of Palestine, was the author of The Kingdom of Strangers, Yalo, and other books.
Nelson DeMille, 81. The bestselling author and Vietnam vet penned numerous thrillers and suspense novels, including The General’s Daughter (made into a film) and Plum Island.
Robert Coover, 92. A leading figure of American postmodern fiction, he was the author of the novels The Public Burning, Gerald’s Party, and more.
Lore Segal, 96. A Jewish refugee who left Vienna as part of the Kindertransport, she was the author of the novel Her First American and, just last year, the story collection Ladies’ Lunch.
Gary Indiana, 74. The acid-tongued New York art critic and novelist was known for the dark themes of sex and crime he explored in such books as Horse Crazy, Rent Boy, and Resentment.
Dorothy Allison, 75. The lesbian feminist activist and writer won acclaim for her novel Bastard Out of Carolina; her other books included Trash, Skin, and Cavedweller.
Barbara Taylor Bradford, 91. The prolific author was known for her bestselling debut novel, A Woman of Substance, which spawned six more books and a miniseries.
Nikki Giovanni, 81. The acclaimed poet, children’s book author, and professor was one of the most recognizable figures of the Black Arts Movement.
Tom Beer is the editor-in-chief.
Photo credits: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images for the New Yorker, Ulf Andersen/Getty Images, Louis Monier/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images, Alex Gotfryd/Corbis via Getty Images, Louis Monier_Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images, Leonardo Cendamo/Getty Images, Patrick McMullan via Getty Images, EuropaNewswire/Gado/Getty Images, Hedi El Kholti, Robin Marchant/Getty Images, Derek Shapton, Colin McPherson/Corbis via Getty Images, Random House Children’s Books, Anthony Barboza/Getty Images, Ellen Dubin
