On this day
September 21 in literary history
Literary history for September 21: 25 writers born, 18 writers who died and 4 literary events from 19 BC to 2026. Born on this day: Craig Thompson, Samantha Power, Suman Pokhrel.
Writers born on September 21
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Craig Thompson | American graphic novelist (born 1975) |
| 1970 | Samantha Power | American academic, author, and diplomat (born 1970) |
| 1967 | Suman Pokhrel | Poet |
| 1965 | Frédéric Beigbeder | French writer (born 1965) |
| 1965 | Johanna Vuoksenmaa | Finnish television and film director, screenwriter, photographer and artist |
| 1960 | Kelley Eskridge | American writer |
| 1958 | Simon Mayo | English radio presenter and author |
| 1947 | Stephen King | American author (born 1947) |
| 1947 | Marsha Norman | American writer |
| 1946 | Rose Garrard | British artist and author |
| 1945 | Kay Ryan | American poet |
| 1944 | Fannie Flagg | American actress, comedian and author |
| 1934 | Leonard Cohen | Canadian singer-songwriter and poet (1934–2016) |
| 1932 | Shirley Conran | English author and designer (1932–2024) |
| 1929 | Edgar Valter | Estonian writer and illustrator |
| 1926 | Fereydoon Moshiri | Persian poet |
| 1918 | Juan José Arreola | Mexican writer, academic, and actor (1918–2001) |
| 1916 | Françoise Giroud | French journalist, writer, and politician (1916–2003) |
| 1912 | György Sándor | Hungarian pianist and writer (1912–2005) |
| 1902 | Luis Cernuda | Spanish poet, a member of the Generation of '27 (1902 – 1963) |
| 1902 | Allen Lane | British publisher (1902–1970) |
| 1866 | H. G. Wells | English writer (1866–1946) |
| 1846 | Mihály Kolossa | Slovene ploughman and writer (1846–1906) |
| 1776 | John Fitchett (poet) | Poet |
| 1760 | Ivan Dmitriev | Russian statesman and poet |
Writers who died on September 21
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Terry Denton | Australian author and illustrator (1950–2026) |
| 2013 | Kofi Awoonor | Ghanaian poet and author (1935–2013) |
| 2012 | Sven Hassel | Danish writer (1917–2012) |
| 2012 | Bill King (Royal Navy officer) | British naval officer, yachtsman, author |
| 2011 | Jun Henmi | Japanese writer and poet |
| 2006 | Tasos Athanasiadis | Greek writer (1913–2006) |
| 2002 | Robert L. Forward | American physicist and writer (1932–2002) |
| 1985 | Gu Long | Taiwanese novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director |
| 1975 | Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu | Turkist painter and poet (1911–1975) |
| 1974 | Jacqueline Susann | American novelist and actress (1918–1974) |
| 1972 | Henry de Montherlant | French writer (1895–1972) |
| 1963 | Paulino Masip | Spanish writer (1899–1963) |
| 1944 | Alexander Koshetz | Ukrainian conductor, composer, ethnographer, writer, and musicologist (1875–1944) |
| 1938 | Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić | Croatian writer (1874–1938) |
| 1933 | Kenji Miyazawa | Japanese writer (1896–1933) |
| 1832 | Walter Scott | Scottish novelist (1771–1832) |
| 1719 | Johann Heinrich Acker | German writer |
| 19 BC | Virgil | 1st-century-BC Roman poet |
Literary events on September 21
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1999 | The first chapter of Naruto, later one of the best-selling manga series, was published. |
| 1937 | J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit is published for the first time. (September 22 is celebrated by some fans as Hobbit Day, however.) |
| 1937 | J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy children's novel The Hobbit, which later served as a prelude to The Lord of the Rings, was first published. |
| 1897 | In response to a letter written by eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon, The New York Sun published an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church stating, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus". |
Featured
Craig Thompson (1975) — Craig Matthew Thompson is an American graphic novelist best known for his books Good-bye, Chunky Rice (1999), Blankets (2003), Carnet de Voyage (2004), Habibi (2011), Space Dumplins (2015), and Ginseng Roots (2025). Thompson has received four Harvey Awards, three Eisner Awards, and two Ignatz Awards.
Samantha Power (1970) — Samantha Jane Power is an Irish-American journalist, diplomat, and government official who served as the United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Power served as the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development from 2021 to 2025.
Suman Pokhrel (1967) — Suman Pokhrel is a Nepali poet, lyricist, playwright, translator and artist. Universities in Nepal and India have included his poetry in their syllabi.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.