December 31

Born:

1931 - Bob Shaw
Science fiction author from Northern Ireland.

1933 - Edward Bunker
American author of crime fiction.

1945 - Connie Willis
American science fiction author; winner of eleven Hugo and Nebula awards.

1949 - Susan Shwartz
American author of alternate history and fantasy.

1965 - Nicholas Sparks
American author and screenwriter, known for romantic fiction.

1968 - Junot Díaz
Dominican-American writer, winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

1974 - Joe Abercrombie 
British fantasy writer, author of the First Law trilogy.





Died:
1980 - Marshal McLuhan
2008 - Donald Westlake