Mary Shelley (née Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851)

A British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus (1818). She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her father was the political philosopher William Godwin, and her mother was the philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft.

Recent scholarship has yielded a more comprehensive view of Mary Shelley’s achievements. Scholars have shown increasing interest in her literary output, particularly in her novels, which include the historical novels Valperga (1823) and Perkin Warbeck (1830), the apocalyptic novel The Last Man (1826), and her final two novels, Lodore (1835) and Falkner (1837). Studies of her lesser-known works such as the travel book Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844) and the biographical articles for Dionysius Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia (1829–46) support the growing view that Mary Shelley remained a political radical throughout her life. Mary Shelley's works often argue that cooperation and sympathy, particularly as practised by women in the family, were the ways to reform civil society. This view was a direct challenge to the individualistic Romantic ethos promoted by Percy Shelley and the Enlightenment political theories articulated by her father, William Godwin.

Karen Hesse (born on August 29, 1952-)

An American author of children's literature and literature for young adults, often with historical settings.  Out of the Dust is a story of a girl living through the dust bowl of the depression. The central character is framed for killing her pregnant mother by leaving a bucket of boiling kerosene next to the stove. After the mother dies, Billie Jo and her father try and continue on with their lives. Billy Jo isn't comfortable with her father, but does as what she's told. "I don't know who he is anymore, he looks like my father, smells like my father, but he's like a stranger." Hesse has written this book with much thoughtfulness.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832)

 A German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath.  He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long poem of modern European literature. His other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.

Norah Lofts, née Norah Robinson, (27 August 1904 – 10 September 1983)

A 20th century best-selling British author. She wrote over fifty books specialising in historical fiction, but she also wrote non-fiction and short stories. Many of her novels, including her Suffolk Trilogy, follow the history of a specific house and the residents that lived in it.  Lofts was born in Shipdham, Norfolk in England and died in 1983 in Bury St Edmunds. She also wrote under the pen names Peter Curtis and Juliet Astley. Norah Lofts chose to release her murder-mystery novels under the pen name Peter Curtis because she did not want the readers of her historic fiction to pick up a murder-mystery novel and expect classic Norah Lofts historical fiction. However, the murders still show characteristic Norah Lofts elements.

Zona Gale (August 26, 1874 – December 27, 1938)

American author and playwright. She became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama, in 1921.
She published her first novel, Romance Island, in 1906, and began the very popular series of "Friendship Village" stories. In 1920, she published the novel Miss Lulu Bett, which depicts life in the Midwestern United States. She adapted it as a play, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1921.

Rachael Domenica Ray (born August 25, 1968)

Rachel Ray is an American television personality, celebrity chef and author. She hosts the syndicated talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray and three Food Network series, 30 Minute Meals, Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels and $40 a Day. Ray wrote cookbooks based on the 30 Minute Meals concept, and launched a magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, in 2006. Ray's television shows have won two Daytime Emmy Awards.

Earl Derr Biggers (August 24, 1884 – April 5, 1933)

An American novelist and playwright. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan.  His novel Seven Keys to Baldpate led to seven films of the same title and at least two with different titles (House of the Long Shadows, Haunted Honeymoon) but essentially equivalent plots. George M. Cohan adapted the novel as an occasionally revived stage play of the same name. Cohan starred in the 1917 film version (one of his rare screen appearances) and the film version he later wrote (released in 1935) is perhaps the best known of the seven film versions.  Biggers lived in San Marino, California, and died in a Pasadena, California, hospital after suffering a heart attack in Palm Springs, California.

Edgar Lee Masters (August 23, 1868-March 5, 1950)

American poet, biographer, and dramatist. He is the author of Spoon River Anthology, The New Star Chamber and Other Essays, Songs and Satires, The Great Valley, The Serpent in the Wilderness An Obscure Tale, The Spleen, Mark Twain: A Portrait, Lincoln: The Man, and Illinois Poems. In all, Masters published twelve plays, twenty-one books of poetry, six novels and six biographies, including those of Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Vachel Lindsay, and Walt Whitman.

Ray Douglas Bradbury (born August 22, 1920)

An American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951), Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th and 21st century American writers of speculative fiction and has been described as a Midwest surrealist. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into television shows or films.

Sharon M. Draper (b. Aug 21, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio)

An African-American author who has won multiple awards for her books, including the Coretta Scott King Award (twice) for Forged by Fire (1998) and Copper Sun (2007).  A graduate of Pepperdine University, Draper took up teaching until, in 1991, a student walked into her classroom with an Ebony Magazine ad and asked her to write a short story for that magazine. She accepted, and soon won $5,000 for "One Small Torch." This gave her the idea to write novels. After 24 tries, Tears of a Tiger was finally published in 1994, to instant success. She currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and four children. She's best known for her novel, "Darkness Before Dawn," as well as "The Battle Of Jericho."

Howard Phillips "H. P." Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937)

American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction.  Lovecraft's guiding literary principle was what he termed "cosmicism" or "cosmic horror", the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. Lovecraft is best known for his Cthulhu Mythos, as well as the Necronomicon, a fictional grimoire of magical rites and forbidden lore. His works often challenged the values of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Humanism and Christianity.

Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971)

An American poet well known for his light verse. At the time of his death in 1971, the New York Times said his "droll verse with its unconventional rhymes made him the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry". Nash loved to rhyme. "I think in terms of rhyme, and have since I was six years old," he stated in a 1958 news interview. He had a fondness for crafting his own words whenever rhyming words did not exist, though admitting that crafting rhymes was not always the easiest task. In 1931 he published his first collection of poems, Hard Lines, earning him national recognition. Some of his poems reflected an anti-establishment feeling.

Paula Danziger (August 18, 1945 – July 8, 2004)

A U.S. and E.U. children's author. She grew up in Metuchen, NJ. She lived in New York City and in Bearsville, NY (just outside of Woodstock). For several years, she had a flat in London.  Danziger, who said she knew in the second grade that she wanted to be a writer, wrote more than 30 books, including her 1974 debut The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, Remember Me to Harold Square, The Divorce Expresss and Can You Sue Your Parents for Malpractice? She was also the author of the Amber Brown and Matthew Martin series.  She was a graduate of Montclair State University, earning a bachelor's and master's there before becoming a teacher at John Adams Middle School in Edison, New Jersey. After being injured in an automobile accident, had trouble writing, as she was only able to write backwards. She was able to regain the ability to write normally, but she was able to write backwards for the rest of her life. This sequence of events prompted her to do what she really want to do in life; she began writing. Most of her books are considered Young Adult (YA) books, although some of the Amber Brown books were aimed at younger readers.

Myra Cohn Livingston August 17, 1926

Her family moved to California when she was 12 years old. She studied the French horn from age 12 to age 20, becoming so good that the Los Angeles Philharmonic invited her to join them when she was 16 years old. She had other plans. She knew she wanted to write. In 1961, Mrs. Livingston helped to found a society called The Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People, advocating an increased awareness of children's literature and promoting standards of excellence. Today, this Council gives a Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry each year.

Georgette Heyer (16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974)

An English historical romance and detective fiction novelist. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story for her younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life, she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."









Heyer essentially established the historical romance genre and its subgenre Regency romance. Her Regencies were inspired by Jane Austen, but unlike Austen, who wrote about and for the times in which she lived, Heyer was forced to include copious information about the period so that her readers would understand the setting. To ensure accuracy, Heyer collected reference works and kept detailed notes on all aspects of Regency life. While some critics thought the novels were too detailed, others considered the level of detail to be Heyer's greatest asset. Her meticulous nature was also evident in her historical novels; Heyer even recreated William the Conqueror's crossing into England for her novel The Conqueror.

Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832)

A Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time.
Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of The Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor.

Danielle Steel (born August 14, 1947)

Danielle Fernandes Dominique Schuelein-Steel ,better known as Danielle Steel, is an American romantic novelist and author of mainstream dramas.

Best known for drama and romance novels, Steel has sold more than 800 million copies of her books (as of 2005) worldwide and is the eighth best selling writer of all time, and is currently the bestselling author alive. Her novels have been on the New York Times bestseller list for over 390 consecutive weeks and 22 have been adapted for television.

Will Clarke (born August 13, 1970)

An American novelist who is the author of Lord Vishnu's Love Handles: A Spy Novel (sort of) and The Worthy: A Ghost's Story.


A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Clarke originally self-published both books via the Internet and independent books stores like Book Soup in Los Angeles, BookPeople in Austin, and Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle. Clarke's books eventually became underground hits in the early part of the 2000s. He later republished the books in hardback with Simon & Schuster and sold the movie rights to Hollywood. Both books have been selected as The New York Times Editors' Choice while Clarke was named the "Hot Pop Prophet" by Rolling Stone magazine in 2006. He is also the author of 'the controversial essay, "How to Kill A Boy That Nobody Likes" which was published in the Free Press Anthology, When I Was a Loser: True Stories of (Barely) Surviving High School.

Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876-September 22, 1958)

An American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. She is considered the source of the phrase "The butler did it", although she did not actually use the phrase. She is considered to have invented the "Had-I-But-Known" school of mystery writing. She also created a costumed supercriminal called "the Bat," who was cited by Bob Kane as one of the inspirations for his "Batman."

Alex Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992)

Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Haley was born in Ithaca, New York, and was the oldest of three brothers and a sister. Haley lived with his family in Henning, Tennessee, before he returned to Ithaca with his family when he was five years old. Haley's father was a professor of agriculture at Alabama A&M University. The younger Haley always spoke proudly of his father and the obstacles of racism he had overcome. Alex Haley was enrolled at Alcorn State University at age 15. Two years later he returned to his parents to inform them of his withdrawal from college. Simon Haley felt that Alex needed discipline and growth and convinced his son to enlist in the military when he turned 18. On May 24, 1939, Alex Haley began his twenty-year enlistment with the Coast Guard.

Ward Moore (August 10, 1903 – January 28, 1978)

American author Joseph Ward Moore. Moore grew up in New York City, and later moved to Chicago, and then to California.


Moore began publishing with the novel, Breathe the Air Again (1942), about the onset of the Great Depression. The story is told from multiple viewpoints, and Ward Moore himself appears briefly as a character in the novel. His most famous work is the alternate history novel Bring the Jubilee (1953). This novel, narrated by Hodge Backmaker, tells of a world in which the South won the American Civil War, leaving the North in ruins.

John Dryden (9 August 1631 – 1 May 1700)

An influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden. Walter Scott named him "Glorious John." He was made Poet Laureate in 1667.

Jonathan Kellerman (born August 9, 1949)

An American psychologist, and Edgar Award winning author of numerous bestselling suspense novels. His writings on psychology (and specifically psychopathology) include Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children. Most of his fictional stories feature the character of Alex Delaware, a child psychologist who consults for the police, assisted in his investigations by LAPD gay detective Milo Sturgis. He has also written several essays and children's books.

Terry Nation (8 August 1930 – 9 March 1997)

  A Welsh screenwriter and novelist.  He is probably best known for creating the villainous Daleks in the long-running science fiction television series Doctor Who. Nation also created two science-fiction shows - Survivors and Blake's 7.

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942)

An American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion (also known as Garrison Keillor's Radio Show on United Kingdom's BBC Radio 4 Extra, as well as on RTE in Ireland, Australia's ABC, and Radio New Zealand National in New Zealand).

Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934 in Oxford, England)

An English American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. He is most famous for his long-running novel series set in the fictional realm of Xanth.


Many of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. He has claimed that one of his greatest achievements has been to publish a book for every letter of the alphabet, from Anthonology to Zombie Lover.

Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant[ (5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893

A popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents.


A protégé of Flaubert, Maupassant's stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, effortless dénouement. Many of the stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War of the 1870s and several describe the futility of war and the innocent civilians who, caught in the conflict, emerge changed. He also wrote six novels.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822)

One of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron. The novelist Mary Shelley was his second wife.


He is most famous for such classic anthology verse works as Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Music, When Soft Voices Die, The Cloud, and The Masque of Anarchy, which are among the most popular and critically acclaimed poems in the English language. His major works, however, are long visionary poems which included Queen Mab (later reworked as The Daemon of the World), Alastor, The Revolt of Islam, Adonaïs, and the unfinished work The Triumph of Life. The Cenci (1819) and Prometheus Unbound (1820) were dramatic plays in five and four acts respectively. Although he has typically been figured as a "reluctant dramatist" he was passionate about the theatre, and his plays continue to be performed today. He wrote the Gothic novels Zastrozzi (1810) and St. Irvyne (1811) and the short prose works "The Assassins" (1814), "The Coliseum" (1817) and "Una Favola" (1819). In 2008, he was credited as the co-author of the novel Frankenstein (1818) in a new edition by the Bodleian Library in Oxford and Random House in the U.S. entitled The Original Frankenstein edited by Charles E. Robinson.

 

Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park, OBE, FRSA, FRSL (born 3 August 1920)

Commonly known as P. D. James, is an English crime writer and Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, most famous for a series of detective novels starring policeman and poet Adam Dalgliesh

James was born in Oxford, the daughter of Sidney James, a tax inspector, and educated at the British School in Ludlow and Cambridge High School for Girls. She began writing in the mid-1950s. Her first novel, Cover Her Face, featuring the investigator and poet Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, named after a teacher at Cambridge High School, was published in 1962. Many of James's mystery novels take place against the backdrop of the UK's bureaucracies such as the criminal justice system and the health services, arenas in which James had worked for decades, starting in the 1940s when she went to work in hospital administration to help support her ailing husband and two children. Two years after the publication of Cover Her Face, James's husband died and she took a position as a civil servant within the criminal section of the Home Office. James worked in government service until her retirement in 1979.

James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987

An American novelist, writer, playwright, poet, essayist and civil rights activist.
Most of Baldwin's work deals with racial and sexual issues in the mid-20th century in the United States. His novels are notable for the personal way in which they explore questions of identity as well as the way in which they mine complex social and psychological pressures related to being black and homosexual well before the social, cultural or political equality of these groups was improved.

Herman Melville Born August 1, 1819

Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd. His first three books gained much contemporary attention (the first, Typee, becoming a bestseller), but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, especially Moby-Dick which was hailed as one of the literary masterpieces of both American and world literature. He was the first writer to have his works collected and published by the Library of America.