In Memoriam: 2020 Author Deaths
Created by Linda Tripp, collection development librarian
“No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.” ― Terry Pratchett (1948 – 2015), “Reaper Man”
Looking back at 2020, we remember the many authors who passed away. Here are some who will live on, long past death, through their writing.
- Rudolfo Anaya – ‘godfather’ of Chicano literature
- M.C. Beaton (pen name of Marion Chesney) – Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth mysteries
- Ben Bova – science fiction author
- Betsy Byars – children’s author and Newbery Medal winner
- Mary Higgins Clark – author of suspense fiction
- Joanna Cole – children’s book author of Magic School Bus books, plus many more
- Stanley Crouch – biographer and jazz critic
- Clive Cussler – prolific author of suspense and adventure fiction
- Tomie dePaola – author and illustrator of many beloved children’s books
- Terry Goodkind – author of epic fantasy series
- Winston Groom – author of fiction and nonfiction books, including “Forrest Gump”
- A.E. Hotchner – biographer and writer of fiction
- Donna Kauffman – contemporary romance novelist
- John le Carré – premiere author of cold war thrillers, including the George Smiley series
- Alison Lurie – Pulitzer Prize winner, fiction
- Sam McBratney – children’s book author
- Jan Morris – journalist and historian
- Gail Sheehy – pop sociologist and journalist
- Maj Sjöwall – Scandinavian noir crime fiction
- Jill Paton Walsh – author of mysteries plus more