Tracy Kidder, a wide-ranging journalist and author whose deep reporting and novelistic prose illuminated worlds as diverse as home construction, disease prevention and — as portrayed in his prizewinning 1981 breakthrough book, “The Soul of a New Machine” — the computer industry, died on Tuesday in Boston. Read more
Category: Obituaries
Len Deighton, Author of Espionage Best-Sellers, Dies at 97
Len Deighton, the British author who brought a documentary-style realism to the spy genre in 1960s Cold War thrillers like “The Ipcress File” and “Funeral in Berlin,” the film versions of which helped make Michael Caine an international star, died on Sunday at his home in Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands between England and France. Read more
Dan Simmons Dies at 77
Dan Simmons, 77, award-winning author of 31 novels and short story collections, passed away on February 21, 2026 in Longmont, Colorado. Many of his books won honors ranging from the Hugo Award, science fiction’s most prestigious award, to two World Fantasy Awards, three Bram Stoker Awards for horror, a dozen Locus Awards, and the Shirley Jackson Award. His titles have been translated into at least 20 languages and published in 28 foreign countries. Read more
Edward Hoagland, Lyrical Chronicler of the Natural World, Dies at 93
Widely considered one of the country’s foremost essayists and often described as an heir to Thoreau, Mr. Hoagland was famed for transforming the modern nature essay into a vehicle for autobiographical introspection. Read more
Michael Silverblatt, ‘Genius’ Host of KCRW Literary Show ‘Bookworm,’ Dies at 73
Michael Silverblatt, the longtime host of the KCRW radio show “Bookworm” — known for interviews of authors so in depth that they sometimes left his subjects astounded at his breadth of knowledge of their work — has died. Read more
James Sallis, 81, Dies; Novelist Whose ‘Drive’ Became a Hit Movie
A storyteller of modern America’s underbelly with a literary, ruminative style, he inspired a Ryan Gosling movie and earned critical acclaim. Read more
Joanna Trollope, Bestselling Chronicler of Ordinary Life, Dies Aged 82
Trollope published more than 30 novels during a writing career that began in 1980. Her early works, written under the pseudonym Caroline Harvey, were historical romances, but from the mid-1980s onward, she turned to contemporary fiction, a shift that would define her reputation. Read more
‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ Novelist Sophie Kinsella Dies Aged 55
Madeleine Wickham, known for writing the bestselling novel Confessions of a Shopaholic under her pen name Sophie Kinsella, has died aged 55. Wickham, dubbed “the queen of romantic comedy” by novelist Jojo Moyes, wrote more than 30 books for adults, children and teenagers, which have sold more than 45m copies. Read more
Fern Michaels, Prolific Author of Romance Novels, Dies at 92
Fern Michaels, a mother of five in suburban New Jersey who responded to her husband’s request to get a job by taking up writing, only to blossom into a best-selling author of more than 200 romances and thrillers, died on Nov. 12 at her home in Summerville, S.C. Read more
Daniel Woodrell, ‘Country Noir’ Novelist of ‘Winter’s Bone,’ Dies at 72
Daniel Woodrell, a novelist known for prose as rugged and elemental as the igneous rock of the Ozark Mountains, his birthplace, which he returned to just as his artistic craftsmanship peaked, died on Friday at his home in West Plains, Mo. Read more
