See also: 1989 in literature, other events of 1990, 1991 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
Births
Deaths
- February 24 - Malcolm Forbes, publisher
- October 23 - Louis Althusser, French Marxist philosopher
- December 14 - Friedrich Dürrenmatt, writer
Awards
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Octavio Paz
- Pulitzer Prize for the Novel: Oscar Hijuelos for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
- National Book Award for Fiction: Charles Johnson for Middle Passage