American indigenous literature began over 30,000 years ago when indigenous people started writing stories of trickery and heroism, quest and journey, and creation and emergence. American literature is literature written in English in the United States and its previous colonies.
Prior to the founding of the United States of America, the colonies were heavily influenced by British literature making American literary a part of English literature. Also, American literature consists of a rich tradition of writing stories and storytelling that existed amongst Native American tribes. Throughout history, American literature was divided into five major periods, each of which has unique characteristics, representative works, and notable authors.
Below you'll find a list of book summaries from authors that influenced American literature and left their mark in the writing world.
Alice Sebold
An American writer and the recipient of many awards. Her book The Lovely Bones remained on the New York Times bestseller list for over a year.
E.B. White
Elwyn Brooks White was an American writer who won a Pulitzer, and a short animated movie adaption of his work was nominated for an Oscar.
Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was a writer of American realism, that wrote mystical works, and poems in a mystical romantic mood with bizarre motives.
- The Black Cat
- The Fall of the House of Usher
- The Masque of the Red Death
- The Murders in the Rue Morgue
- The Raven
- William Wilson
Ernest Hemingway
Famous American storyteller from 20th century. His most famous works: The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls. He got a Nobel prize in 1954.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
She was an American writer and abolitionist who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, one of the most powerful novels of it's kind in American literature.
Jack London
He was an American writer famous by the fact that he never finished school. He wrote novels, stories, and published approx 50 books.
John Knowles
He was an American author that published 12 books in his lifetime. His most famous novel draws from his own childhood attending academy.
John Steinbeck
John Ernst Steinbeck was an American novelist and a short-story writer that wrote 27 books and won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Harper Lee
A famous American writer, who wrote To Kill A Mockingbird, and won the Pulitzer Prize as well as sold more than 30 million copies in his lifetime.
Herman Melville
Great American novelist, short story writer, and poet. His work explored psychological and metaphysical themes.
Nancy Farmer
She is an American writer that started writing when she was 40. She wrote science fiction novels and books for children and youth.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Great American novelist. He wrote short stories and novels. His works are seen as a some of the most important works of early American history.
Pearl S. Buck
Pearl Sydenstricker Buck was an American novelist who grew up in China. She received a Pulitzer Prize for her book The Good Earth and Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938.
Richard Wright
An American author whose outspoken protest against racial prejudice made him a spokesperson for a generation of black people in America.
Scott O'Dell
An American writer who wrote mostly for young people, but he also wrote 3 adult novels, and a few non-fiction books.
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist and poet. He had been writing since he was four years old, and was published at sixteen.
Sue Monk Kidd
An American writer, who wrote memoirs about her own experiences with Christianity and her journey from evangelical Christianity to feminism.
Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Marie Collins, an American writer, has become a household name and a best-selling Young Adult author many times over.
Tennessee Williams
He was an American playwright, regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the 20th century. Tennessee won two Pulitzer prizes.
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was one of the greatest American novelists, known for his astounding portrayal of 20 novels of the conflict between the old south and the new south. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
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