May 8

Born:

1858 - J. Meade Falkner
English novelist and poet, best known for his 1898 novel Moonfleet, which sounds like scifi but really isn't.

1915 - Milton Meltzer
American author and historian, known for his many children's non-fiction books.

1920 - Sloan Wilson
American author some of whose books were adapted into Hollywood films.

1922 - Mary Q. Steele
American author and naturalist, a Newbery Honor winner for Journey Outside.

1930 - Gary Snyder
American poet associated with the Beat Generation.

1937 - Thomas Pynchon
American author known for his dense and complex novels, as well as his legendary reclusiveness.

1940 - Peter Benchley
American author best known for his novel Jaws.

1943 - Pat Barker
English author of historical fiction such as her Regeneration Trilogy.

1958 - Roddy Doyle
Irish novelist whose novels have been made into movies like The Commitments.

1963 - Robin Jarvis
British author of YA and children's fiction.

1970 - Naomi Klein
Canadian author and social activist known for her criticisms of corporate globalization.




Died:
1880 - Gustave Flaubert
1891 - Helena Blavatsky
1983 - John Fante
1985 - Theodore Sturgeon
1988 - Robert A. Heinlein
1993 - Avram Davidson
2007 - Philip Craig
2009 - Bud Shrake
2012 - Maurice Sendak