See also: 1999 in literature, other events of 2000, 2001 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
New books
Births
Deaths
- January 26 - A. E. van Vogt, science fiction author
- January 31 - Gil Kane, comic book writer
- February 12 - Charles M. Schulz, 77, creator of the Peanuts comic strip
- March 28 - Anthony Powell, British novelist
- April 13 - Giorgio Bassani, 84, Italian writer (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis)
- August 25 - Carl Barks, 99, illustrator of Donald Duck
- October 30 - Steve Allen, comedian, composer, talk show host, author
- November 8 - L. Sprague de Camp, 92, American sci-fi and fantasy author
Awards
- Booker Prize: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin
- Business Week Best Book of the Year: Roger Lowenstein, When Genius Failed
- Finlandia Prize: Johanna Sinisalo Not Before Sunset (Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi)
- Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost - tied with: David Adams Richards, Mercy Among the Children
- See 2000 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
- Hugo Award: Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky
- IMPAC Dublin Literary Award: Nicola Barker, Wide Open
- Nebula Award: Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Gao Xingjian.
- Orange Prize for Fiction: Linda Grant, When I Lived in Modern Times
- Prix Femina: Camille Laurens, Dans ces bras-là
- Prix Goncourt: Jean-Jacques Schuhl, Ingrid Caven
- Prix Décembre: Anthony Palou, Camille
- Prix Médicis French: Armelle Lebras-Chopard, Le zoo des philosophes
- Prix Médicis Non-Fiction: Yann Apperry, Diabolus in musica
- Prix Médicis International: Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Donald Margulies, Dinner With Friends
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: C.K. Williams, Repair
- Samuel Johnson Prize: David Cairns, Berlioz: Volume 2
- Viareggio Prize: Giorgio Van Straten, Il mio nome a memoria and Sandro Veronesi, La forza del passato
- Whitbread Best Book Award: Matthew Kneale, English Passengers
