Fiction 1977

The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough - The best selling coming of age story of Meggie who falls in love with a Priest. A chronicle of the Cleary family from 1915 to 1969 in the Australian Outback. It became one of the top mini-series of all time in 1983 starring Richard Chamberlain and Barbara Stanwyck. Thorn Birds Review

The Shining by Stephen King - This story of a family snowed in a haunted hotel in Colorado was King's 3rd book and his first bestseller establishing him at the top of the horror genre. The title came from a John Lennon song "Instant Karma!" which had the words "We all shine on." In 1980 it was made into a hit movie directed by Stanley Kubrik starring Jack Nickelson. The Shining a review

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - The impetus for her 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature this is the history of Michigan resident Macon "Milkman" Dead III and his family following their quest for identity through race and gender in 20th Century America. Song of Solomon review

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson - The supposed true story of George and Kathleen Lutz and their three children who in 1975 moved into a house in Amityville, Long Island were Ronald DeFeo, Jr. had shot six family members members of his family at the house. The family lasted 28 days before they left the house claiming to be terrorized by ghosts. The Lutz's contacted writer Jay Anson who wrote their story for them. Much controversy as to what if any of it was real or fiction. The Amityville Controversy




Richard Adams -The Plague Dogs
Jorge Amado - Tieta do Agreste
Margaret Atwood - Dancing Girls
Richard Bach - Illusions
Richard Bachman - Rage
Gerd Brantenberg - Egalia's Daughters
Terry Brooks - The Sword of Shannara
J. M. Coetzee - In the Heart of the Country
Robert Coover - The Public Burning
Basil Copper - And Afterward, the Dark
Joan Didion - A Book of Common Prayer
Buchi Emecheta - The Slave Girl
Timothy Findley - The Wars
John Fowles - Daniel Martin
Marilyn French - The Women's Room
Pauline Gedge - Child of the Morning
Mark Helprin - Refiner's Fire
Erica Jong - How to Save Your Own Life
John le Carré - The Honourable Schoolboy
Robert Ludlum - The Chancellor Manuscript
Brian Lumley - The Horror at Oakdeene and Others
Ruth Manning-Sanders - A Book of Enchantments and Curses
Iris Murdoch - The Sea, The Sea
Patrick O'Brian - The Mauritius Command
Ruth Rendell - A Judgement In Stone
Alun Richards - Ennal's Point
Harold Robbins - Dreams Die First
Paul Scott - Staying On
Erich Segal - Oliver's Story
Irwin Shaw - Beggarman, Thief
Sidney Sheldon - Bloodline
Elizabeth Smart - A Bonus
Craig Thomas - Firefox
J. R. R. Tolkien - The Silmarillion
Melvin Van Peebles - The True American, A Folk Fable
Christopher Wood -James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me

Comedy 1977

Steve Martin Happy Feet

Best Comedy Recording: Let's Get Small - Steve Martin

Literary News 1977

The Copyright Act of 1976 extends copyright duration for an additional 20 years in the United States.

Nobel Prize for Literature: Vicente Aleixandre

1977 Nobel Prize for Literature: Vicente Aleixandre

The Pulitzer Prize:

Fiction: (No Award)
Drama: The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer
History: The Impending Crisis, 1841-1867 by David M. Potter
Biography or Autobiography: A Prince of Our Disorder: The Life of T. E. Lawrence by John E. Mack
Poetry: Divine Comedies by James Merrill
General Nonfiction: Beautiful Swimmers by William W. Warner

All 1977 Pulitzer Prizes

Non Fiction 1977

The Complete Book of Running by Jim Fixx – At 240 pounds and two packs of cigarettes a day Jim Fixx began running in 1967 at age 35. At the time his book became a best seller he had quite smoking and lost 60 pounds. The book inspired millions to run and is given credit for considerably increasing American life expectancy. Fixx died of a heart attack at the age of 52 during his daily run. The Jim Fixx story.

E. F. Schumacher – A Guide for the Perplexed

Robert Coles – Eskimos, Indians, Chicanos, vol 4 of Children of Crisis and The Privileged Ones: The Well-off and the Rich in America, vol 5 of Children of Crisis

Patrick Leigh Fermor – A Time of Gifts

Bharati Mukherjee & Clark Blaise – Days and Nights in Calcutta

Everett M. Skehan – Rocky Marciano. Biography of A First Son

1977 Tony Awards (theater)

The Shadow Box Site

Best Broadway Play: The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer
Best Actor Broadway Play: Al Pacino, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel
Best Actress Broadway Play: Julie Harris. The Belle of Amherst
Best Actor Featured Role Broadway Play: Johnathan Pryce, Comedians
Best Actress Featured Role Broadway Play: Trazana Beverly, For Colored Girls Who Have Committed Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf
Best Director Broadway Play: Gordon Davidson, The Shadow Box