See also: 1975 in literature, other events of 1976, 1977 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
New books
Births
Deaths
- January 12 - Agatha Christie, best-selling crime writer
- February 12 - John Lewis, philosopher
- April 28 - Richard Hughes, novelist
- March 24 - E. H. Shepard, book illustrator
- September 10 - Dalton Trumbo, novelist and screenwriter, one of the Hollywood Ten
- December 21 - Munro Leaf, children's author
- date unknown - Yashpal, Hindi novelist
- date unknown - Robert Speaight, actor, biographer and essayist
Awards
- Booker Prize: David Storey, Saville
- See 1976 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Nebula Award: Frederik Pohl, Man Plus
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Susan Cooper, The Grey King
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Saul Bellow
- Prix Goncourt: Patrick Grainville, Les Flamboyants
- Prix Médicis French: Marc Cholodenko, Les États du désert
- Prix Médicis International: Doris Lessing, The Gold Coronet - United Kingdom
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Michael Bennett for concept, choreography, and direction; James Kirkwood for book, Marvin Hamlisch for lyrics, Nicholas Dante for music, A Chorus Line
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Saul Bellow - Humboldt's Gift
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: John Ashbery: Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror
- Viareggio Prize: Mario Tobino, La bella degli specchi