Bookish birthdays for the week of September 20, 2020

Here are the literary birthdays to celebrate over the week of September 20, 2020.

George R.R. Martin (September 20, 1948): Martin has won six Locus Awards for work including his fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, upon which the TV series Game of Thrones was based.

H.G. Wells (September 21, 1866): Wells earned the reputation as a prophet thanks to his early and enduring sci-fi novels such as The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds.

Fannie Flagg (September 21, 1941): Flagg won screenwriting awards for her adaptation of her hit novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and is also beloved for Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, and several other books.

Stephen King (September 21, 1947): Though his oeuvre includes some crime fiction and nonfiction, King’s fame and reputation rest on his many horror novels, including but not limited to Carrie, It, Dolores Claiborne, The Shining, The Dark Tower, Pet Sematary, and more.    

Rosamunde Pilcher (September 22, 1924): Pilcher’s breakthrough novel — The Shell Seekers — was her fourteenth book; it spent nearly a year on bestseller lists, sold more than 10 million copies, and was adapted for television.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896): This Side of Paradise paved the way for Fitzgerald’s commercial success — in magazine writing — which in turn allowed him to write novels that earned more acclaim after his death: The Great Gatsby and Tender Is The Night.

Francine du Plessix Gray (September 25, 1930): Gray is best known for her semi-autobiographical novel Lovers and Tyrants; she continued to earn acclaim as a writer and literary critic for the next few decades, including her win of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Them: A Memoir of Parents.

Jane Smiley (September 26, 1949): Smiley’s A Thousand Acres grabbed attention from all corners, netting the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a movie deal.

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