Edward Albee was an American playwright who was born in Virginia in 1928. He wrote the play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf", about an acerbic middle-aged couple, and was known for his incisive dialogue. He was a highly acclaimed writer and earned many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the National Medal of Arts.
He died in Montauk, New York in 2016 at age 88.
2. Chinua Achebe
Answer: Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe wrote "Things Fall Apart," which is about Nigeria during the colonial area. Achebe was born in Nigeria and was a writer and professor; he taught at Brown University as well as Bard College. In 2007, he was awarded the Man Booker International Prize.
3. Douglas Adams
Answer: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams was born in Cambridge and later attended college there as well, earning a B.A. in English Literature in 1974. Always a talented writer, he wrote for Monty Python before publishing "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in 1979. Adams was a highly influential contributor to the arts, including writing for radio, tv, film, and video games.
4. Aesop
Answer: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
"The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is attributed to Aesop though no one is entirely sure who Aesop was or what he actually wrote. Nonetheless, the Greek storyteller from the 500s BCE is credited with creating such long-standing fables as "The Ant and the Grasshopper", "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse", and "The Lion and the Mouse", as well as "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
5. Isabel Allende
Answer: The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende was persistent when submitting her first book, "The House of Spirits", to publishers; several rejected it before it was published in 1982. She has gone on to have a highly successful literary career, publishing her 17th novel in 2017.
6. Mitch Albom
Answer: Tuesdays with Morrie
"Tuesdays with Morrie" was Mitch Albom's breakout book. He had started as a sports writer and became successful at that, winning a number of journalism awards, before he published his book about meeting regularly with Morrie Schwartz, who had been one of Albom's favorite professors at Braindeis.
7. Louisa May Alcott
Answer: Little Women
Louisa May Alcott grew up surrounded by the American intellectuals of the era, including Emerson and Thoreau. Her parents were very smart but not necessarily financially so, and it often fell to Louisa to keep the family afloat. She wrote "Little Women", a wholesome story about a mother and her daughters, but she also wrote thrillers under a pseudonym, A.M. Barnard.
8. Hans Christian Andersen
Answer: The Emperor's New Clothes
Hans Christian Andersen was born to modest means in Odense, Denmark in 1805 and published his first story as just as a teenager. He went on to write fairy tales that have become famous worldwide, including "The Princess and the Pea", "Thumbelina", and "The Little Mermaid", in addition to "The Emperor's New Clothes".
9. Maya Angelou
Answer: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou rose from a traumatic childhood to become one of the world's most influential poets. She created autobiographies, poetry, essays, cookbooks, plays, children's books, spoken word albums, and tv and film projects. In "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", she demonstrates how storytelling and literature can heal injury and pain.
10. Margaret Atwood
Answer: The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood was born and raised in Canada before earning a Masters degree from Harvard in 1962. In addition to her novels, including the dystopian "The Handmaid's Tale", Atwood has written a chamber opera, a graphic novel, and essays.
11. Isaac Asimov
Answer: I, Robot
Isaac Asimov, author of "I, Robot" and many other works, was born to millworkers in Soviet Russia, and emigrated to the United States at age three. He studied biochemistry and earned a PhD in that subject in 1948. His writing career started when he wrote science fiction stories and then he moved in to writing about about popular science. He is credited with coining the word "robotics."
12. Jane Austen
Answer: Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice" is about a family of girls and their pursuit of love and marriage set in the early 19th century. She was born in Hampshire, England, where her father was a rector. She was a prolific writer in her relatively short life. She died at age 41 after publishing seven novels, several volumes of children's books, a play, and many poems.
13. Jay Asher
Answer: Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher, author of "Thirteen Reasons Why", was born in Arcadia, California in 1975. He nearly finished his degree from Cal Poly before leaving to focus on writing full-time. "Thirteen Reason Why" was his first novel.
14. Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Answer: The Charge of the Light Brigade
"The Charge of the Light Brigade" is a poem by by Alfred, Lord Tennyson about a British calvary force in the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. He wrote it while he was Poet Laureate. Generations of children were tasked with memorizing the poem, which begins with:
"Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred."
15. Agatha Christie
Answer: And Then There Were None
British mystery writer Agatha Christie wrote 66 novels; "And Then There Were None" was the best-selling. Set on a small island off the coast of Devon, the book chronicles what happens when eight guests are invited to the island by their mysterious hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Owen.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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