Bookish birthdays for the week of October 6, 2019

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of October 6, 2019.

Belva Plain (October 9, 1919): Plain began writing novels — twenty-one of which landed on the New York Times bestseller list — at the age of sixty to counteract Jewish stereotypes, including strong, well-rounded characters in such books as Evergreen and Crescent City.

James Clavell (October 10, 1925): Clavell’s first novel, King Rat, was based on his experiences as a prisoner of the Japanese during World War II, and his later novel Shogun was a hit both on the page and the screen as one of the most popular miniseries ever made.

Harold Pinter (October 10, 1930): Pinter’s complex, challenging plays including The Homecoming, The Dumb Waiter, and The Birthday Party led him to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Elmore Leonard (October 11, 1925): Leonard began his career writing westerns, several of which inspired movies, but hit his popular and critical stride with crime novels like Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and several others that also hit the big screen.

Anatole France (October 12, 1924): France’s output crossed a variety of literary genres, from historical fiction to romance, comedy, short stories, and biographies; his most famous works include Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard, At the Sign of the Reine Pédauque, and a biography of Joan of Arc.

Birthdays sourced from Calendar of Literary Facts; biographical information sourced from Encyclopedia Britannica and the Nobel Prize website. Did we miss someone? Email and let us know!