See also: 1986 in literature, other events of 1987, 1988 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
New Books
- Beloved - Toni Morrison
- Black Dahlia - James Ellroy
- The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe
- The Child in Time - Ian McEwan
- Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks
- Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
- Espedair Street - Iain Banks
- Fine Things - Danielle Steel
- The Forge of God - Greg Bear
- Heaven and Hell - John Jakes
- In the Skin of A Lion - Michael Ondaatje
- The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey - Salman Rushdie
- Kaleidoscope - Danielle Steel
- Legacy - James A. Michener
- Leaving Home - Garrison Keillor
- Misery - Stephen King
- Mort - Terry Pratchett
- Not Without My Daughter - Betty Mahmoody
- L'Obsédante obèse et autres agressions - Gilles Archambault
- Patriot Games - Tom Clancy
- Presumed Innocent - Scott Turow
- The Rules of Attraction - Bret Easton Ellis
- Spycatcher - Peter Wright
- Time Flies - Bill Cosby
- The Tommyknockers - Stephen King
- Weaveworld - Clive Barker
- Windmills of the Gods - Sidney Sheldon
Births
Deaths
- February 2 - Alistair MacLean, British thriller writer, heart attack
- February 22 - Andy Warhol, artist, director, writer
- April 4 - C. L. Moore, science ficton author
- October 31 - Joseph Campbell, author and expert on mythology
Awards
- Booker Prize: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
- See 1987 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Nebula Award: Pat Murphy, The Falling Woman
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Sid Fleischman The Whipping Boy
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Joseph Brodsky
- Prix Goncourt: Tahar ben Jelloun, La Nuit sacrée
- Prix Médicis French: Pierre Mertens, Les Éblouissements
- Prix Médicis International: Antonio Tabucchi, Nocturne indien
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: August Wilson, Fences
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Peter Taylor, A Summons to Memphis
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Rita Dove, Thomas and Beulah
- Whitbread Best Book Award: Christopher Nolan, Under the eye of the clock