Posted on February 9, 2020 at 8:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of February 9, 2020.

Alice Walker (February 9, 1944): Walker won the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award for The Color Purple; other famous works of hers include the short-story collection You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down and her recent poetry collection, Hard Times Require Furious Dancing

Charles Lamb (February 10, 1775): Lamb is famous under his own name for Tales from Shakespeare, which were adaptations of the Bard’s work for children, done with his sister, while the essays he published under the pseudonym Elia gained acclaim by adult readers.

Judy Blume (February 12, 1938): Blume’s books for kids (such as the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing series), teens (like Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Tiger Eyes; and Deenie), and adults (including Summer Sisters and In the Unlikely Event) have sold over 85 million copies in over thirty languages.

Georges Simenon (February 13, 1903): Simenon is among the most widely published authors of the twentieth century, releasing over eighty books starring Inspector Maigret and 130-plus other psychological novels. 

Frederick Douglass (February 14, 1817): Douglass wrote his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, to counter claims that he was too articulate a speaker to have ever been a slave; he followed up this literary success by founding his own anti-slavery newspaper.

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

Categories: Today in Books

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