1976 in literature

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1976.

Events June 21 – The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa, is opened as a multiracial venue by Barney Simon. September 3 – Novelist Antonio di Benedetto is released from prison after 18 months of imprisonment and torture under the National Reorganization Process (military dictatorship) in Argentina. September 9 – The Royal Shakespeare Company starts a noted production of Shakespeare's Macbeth at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench in the leading roles, directed by Trevor Nunn. October 25 – The Royal National Theatre on London's South Bank opens in premises designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, with a performance of Goldoni's 18th-century comedy Il Campiello. unknown dates Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers is established in new premises at Nanterre. Mary Ronnie became the world's first female national librarian, at the National Library of New Zealand.

New books Fiction Brian Aldiss – The Malacia Tapestry Kingsley Amis – The Alteration Isaac Asimov – The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories Margaret Atwood – Lady Oracle Elliott Baker – Klynt's Law Nina Bawden – Afternoon of a Good Woman Martin Bax – The Hospital Ship. Ann Beattie – Chilly Scenes of Winter Peter Benchley – The Deep Jack M. Bickham – Twister Michael Bishop – And Strange at Ecbatan the Trees John Blackburn – The Face of the Lion Lady Caroline Blackwood – The Stepdaughter Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac – La lèpre Ben Bova City of Darkness The Multiple Man Ray Bradbury – Long After Midnight Marion Zimmer Bradley Drums of Darkness The Shattered Chain (tenth in the Darkover series) John Braine – Waiting for Sheila William F. Buckley – Saving the Queen (the first Blackford Oakes thriller) Eleanor Alice Burford The Passionate Enemies (writing as Jean Plaidy) The Plantagenet Prelude (writing as Jean Plaidy) The Pride of the Peacock (writing as Victoria Holt) Saraband for Two Sisters (writing as Philippa Carr) Anthony Burgess – Beard's Roman Women Taylor Caldwell – Ceremony of the Innocent Ramsey Campbell – The Height of the Scream Rosemary Carter Forests of the Dragon Man of the Wild Jack L. Chalker – A Jungle of Stars Vera Chapman – The King's Damosel James Hadley Chase – Do Me a Favour, Drop Dead C. J. Cherryh Brothers of Earth (first in the Hanan Rebellion duology) Gate of Ivrel (first in The Morgaine Cycle) Agatha Christie – Sleeping Murder Arthur C. Clarke (edited by Angus Wells) – The Best of Arthur C. Clarke 1937 – 1955 Jon Cleary – A Sound of Lightning Theodore R. Cogswell (co-writing with Charles A. Spano, Jr.) – Spock, Messiah! Michael Collins – The Blood-Red Dream Catherine Cookson The Slow Awakening (writing as Catherine Merchant) The Tide of Life Michael Crichton – Eaters of the Dead Clive Cussler – Raise the Titanic! Lionel Davidson – The Sun Chemist Dorothy Salisbury Davis – A Death in the Life Len Deighton – Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Spy Samuel R. Delany – Triton Colin Dexter – Last Seen Wearing (second in the Inspector Morse series) Philip K. Dick (co-written with Roger Zelazny) – Deus Irae Peter Dickinson – King and Joker Gordon R. Dickson – The Dragon and the George Jane Donnelly Dark Pursuer The Intruder The Silver Cage Rosalyn Drexler (written as Julia Sorel) Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway (TV film novelization) Rocky (film novelization) Michel Droit – La Mort du connétable Allen Drury – A God Against the Gods Lois Duncan – Summer of Fear Allan W. Eckert – The HAB Theory Clive Egleton – State Visit Charles Einstein – The Blackjack Hijack Buchi Emecheta – The Bride Price Marian Engel – Bear Paul Erdman – The Crash of '79 John Farris – The Fury Dick Francis – In the Frame Brian Freemantle – The November Man Alan Dean Foster (ghostwritten as George Lucas) – Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker Paula Fox – The Widow's Children Dick Francis – In the Frame Christopher Frank – The Dream of the Mad Monkey (Le Rêve du singe fou) Morton Freedgood (written as John Godey) – The Talisman John Gardner Moriarty To Run a Little Faster Brian Garfield – Gundown Hugh Garner – The Intruders Romain Gary (writing as Émile Ajar) – Hocus Bogus (Pseudo) Noel Gerson Neptune Special Agent William Goldman – Magic Richard Gordon – Doctor on the Job (fourteenth in the Doctor series) Winston Graham – The Four Swans (sixth in the Poldark series) Gerald Green – The Hostage Heart Peter Van Greenaway – Suffer! Little Children Sam Greenlee – Baghdad Blues Judith Guest – Ordinary People Joe Haldeman – Mindbridge Alex Haley – Roots: The Saga of an American Family Donald Hamilton – The Retaliators (seventeenth in the Matt Helm series) Harry Harrison – Skyfall Sterling Hayden – Voyage: A Novel of 1896 Marcy Heidish – A Woman Called Moses Frank Herbert – Children of Dune James Herbert – The Survivor James Herriot – Vets Might Fly (fifth in the James Herriot series) George V. Higgins – The Judgment of Deke Hunter Jack Higgins – Storm Warning Reginald Hill – Another Death in Venice Helen Hodgman – Blue Skies Robert Holdstock Eye Among the Blind The Graveyard Cross Magic Man On the Inside The Time Beyond Age Travellers Cecelia Holland Floating Worlds Velda Johnston Deveron Hall The Frenchman Gayl Jones – Eva's Man Thomas Keneally – Season in Purgatory Warren Kiefer – The Pontius Pilate Papers Dean Koontz Prison of Ice (writing as David Axton) Night Chills William Kotzwinkle – Doctor Rat Michael Kurland – Tomorrow Knight Derek Lambert (writing as Richard Falkirk) – Blackstone Underground (fifth in the Blackstone series) Louis L'Amour The Rider of Lost Creek To the Far Blue Mountains Where the Long Grass Blows Ursula K. Le Guin – Orsinian Tales Elsie Lee The Nabob's Widow Roommates John Lee – The Ninth Man Tanith Lee – Don't Bite the Sun Stanisław Lem – The Chain of Chance Elmore Leonard – Swag Rhoda Lerman – The Girl That He Marries Ira Levin – The Boys from Brazil Roger Longrigg – The Babe in the Wood Robert Ludlum – The Gemini Contenders Richard A. Lupoff The Crack in the Sky Lisa Kane Sandworld The Triune Man Ross Macdonald – The Blue Hammer (eighteenth and final novel in the Lew Archer series) Alistair MacLean – The Golden Gate George R. R. Martin – A Song for Lya Eugene McCabe – Victims: A Tale from Fermanagh Helen McCloy – The Changeling Conspiracy Barbara Mertz Legend in Green Velvet (writing as Elizabeth Peters) Patriot's Dream (writing as Barbara Michaels) Nicholas Meyer – The West End Horror James Mills – The Seventh Power Thomas F. Monteleone – The Time Connection Robin Moore Dubai The Establishment (co-written with Harold Shumate) Hotel Tomayne The Kaufman Snatch The Pearl Harbor Cover-Up (co-written with Frank Schuler) The Season (co-written with Patricia Hornung) The Terminal Connection Valency Girl (co-written with Susan Deitz) Michael Moorcock The Adventures of Una Persson and Catherine Cornelius in the 20th Century The End of All Songs Moorcock's Book of Martyrs The Sailor on the Seas of Fate The Time of the Hawklords (co-writing as with Michael Butterworth) Ryū Murakami – Almost Transparent Blue Fănuș Neagu – Frumoșii nebuni ai marilor orașe ("Those Beautiful Lunatics of the Great Cities") Christopher Nicole Dark Passage (writing as Andrew York) Mistress of Darkness Guillotine (writing as Mark Logan) Tricolour (writing as Mark Logan) Larry Niven The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton A World Out of Time Frederick Nolan – The Mittenwald Syndicate Andrew J. Offutt Beautiful Bitch (writing as John Cleve) Chieftain of Andor Disciplined! (writing as Jeff Morehead) The Erogenous Zone (writing as John Cleve) Succulent Line-Up (writing as John Cleve) Serena, Darling (writing as John Cleve) The Submission of Claudine (writing as Turk Winter) Triple Play! (writing as Jeff Morehead) The Undying Wizard (second volume in the Cormac Mac Art continuation series T. V. Olsen Day of the Buzzard Westward They Rode Robert B. Parker – Promised Land James Patterson – The Thomas Berryman Number Gary Paulsen The Death Specialists The Implosion Effect Samuel Anthony Peeples – The Man Who Died Twice Doris Piserchia – A Billion Days of Earth Denis Pitts – The Predator Dudley Pope – Ramage's Diamond (seventh in the Ramage series) Timothy Powers – The Skies Discrowned Terry Pratchett – The Dark Side of the Sun Richard Price – Bloodbrothers Christopher Priest – The Space Machine Bill Pronzini Freebooty (writing as Jack Foxx) Games The Running of Beasts (with Barry N. Malzberg) Manuel Puig – Kiss of the Spider Woman Simon Raven – The Survivors Piers Paul Read – Polonaise Ishmael Reed – Flight to Canada Douglas Reeman Passage to Mutiny (ninth in the Richard Bolitho series, writing as Alexander Kent) Surface with Daring Ruth Rendell A Demon in My View The Fallen Curtain Anne Rice – Interview with the Vampire Harold Robbins – The Lonely Lady Tom Robbins – Even Cowgirls Get the Blues Rosemary Rogers – Wicked Loving Lies William Rotsler (written as John Ryder Hall) – Futureworld (film novelization) Lawrence Sanders The Tangent Factor The Tangent Objective Pamela Sargent – Cloned Lives Elizabeth Savage – The Girls from the Five Great Valleys Hubert Selby Jr. – The Demon David Seltzer – The Omen (film novelization) Tom Sharpe – Wilt Bob Shaw Cosmic Kaleidoscope A Wreath of Stars Sidney Sheldon – A Stranger in the Mirror Anne Rivers Siddons – Heartbreak Hotel Alan Sillitoe – The Widower's Son Robert Silverberg – Shadrach in the Furnace Clifford D. Simak – Shakespeare's Planet George Frederick Sims – The End of the Web Upton Sinclair (died 1968) – The Coal War Carolyn Slaughter – The Story of the Weasel Guy N. Smith The Ghoul (film novelization) Night of the Crabs (first in the Crabs series) Return of the Werewolf (second in the Werewolf by Moonlight series) Wilbur Smith – Cry Wolf Jerry Sohl Blow-Dry (writing by Nathan Butler) I, Aleppo Muriel Spark – The Takeover Judith St. George – The Secret in the Old House Brian Stableford The Face of Heaven (first in The Realms of Tartarus trilogy) The Florians (first in the Daedalus Mission series) The Mind-Riders Christina Stead – Miss Herbert (The Suburban Wife) John Steinbeck – The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights Fred Mustard Stewart – Six Weeks Mary Stewart – Touch Not the Cat David Storey – Saville Jacqueline Susann – Dolores Rosemary Sutcliff – Blood Feud Douglas Sutherland – Strike! Bernard Taylor – The Godsend Elizabeth Taylor (died 1975) – Blaming Mildred D. Taylor – Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry Emma Tennant – Hotel de Dream Paul Theroux – The Family Arsenal Craig Thomas – Rat Trap Arthur Tofte – The Day the Earth Stood Still (film novelization) Glen Tomasetti – Thoroughly Decent People: An Australian Folktale Elleston Trevor (writing as Adam Hall) – The Kobra Manifesto (seventh in the Quiller series) William Trevor – The Children of Dynmouth Leon Uris – Trinity Jack Vance – Maske: Thaery Gore Vidal – 1876 Kurt Vonnegut – Slapstick Frank Waldman – The Pink Panther Strikes Again (film novelization) Alice Walker – Meridian Irving Wallace – The R Document Ian Watson – Orgasmachine Alec Waugh – Married to a Spy Angus Wells The Burning Man (written as Andrew Quiller) Death Wears Grey (written as Andrew Quiller) The Golden Dead (written as Andrew Quiller) The Land of Mist (written as Andrew Quiller) The Return of a Man Called Horse (film novelization) Vengeance Hunt (written as Andrew Quiller) Morris West – The Navigator Donald E. Westlake – Dancing Aztecs Lionel White – Jailbreak Patrick White – A Fringe of Leaves Christopher Wood The Further Adventures of Barry Lyndon by Himself Seven Nights in Japan (written as John Drew) (film novelization)