1978 in literature
See also: 1977 in literature, other events of 1978, 1979 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
New Books
- The World According to Garp - John Irving
- Eye of the Needle - Ken Follett
- Chesapeake - James A. Michener
- Mommie Dearest - Christina Crawford
- In My Father's House - Ernest J.Gaines
- The Memoirs of Richard Nixon - Richard Nixon
- War and Remembrance - Herman Wouk
- Fools Die - Mario Puzo
- Bloodlines - Sidney Sheldon
- Empire: A Visual Novel - Samuel R. Delany
- Evergreen - Belva Plain
- The Stories of John Cheever - John Cheever
- Scruples - Judith Krantz
- Illusions - Richard Bach
- The Holcroft Covenant - Robert Ludlum
- A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle
- Second Generation - Howard Fast
- Hail The Conquering Hero - Frank Yerby
- Bright Flows The River - Taylor Caldwell
- Beggar Maid - Alice Munro
- Young Adolf - Beryl Bainbridge
- An Imaginary Life - David Malouf
- Running Dogs - Don DeLillo
- Coup - John Updike
Births
Deaths
- March 24 - Leigh Brackett, science fiction writer
Awards
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Isaac Bashevis Singer
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: James Alan McPherson, Elbow Room
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Howard Nemerov, Collected Poems
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Donald L. Coburn, The Gin Game
- Newberry Medal for children's literature: Katherine Paterson, Bridge to Terabithia
- Booker Prize: Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea