Today in Bookish and Literary History, September 21

1937 The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (UK)

The journey through Middle-earth begins here with J.R.R. Tolkien's classic prelude to his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

2021 The Trees by Percival Everett

An uncanny literary thriller addressing the painful legacy of lynching in the US

• Shortlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize
• Winner of the 2022 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award
• Finalist for the 2022 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award
• Finalist for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award
• Longlisted for the 2022 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction

2021 Bewilderment by Richard Powers

The novel is set in the near future amid the environmental degradation of the planet. It follows widowed astrobiologist Theo Byrne and his volatile nine-year-old son Robin, who is diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

• Shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize
• Longlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction
• Longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize

2021 The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

A boy who hears the voices of objects all around him; a mother drowning in her possessions; and a Book that might hold the secret to saving them both—the brilliantly inventive new novel from the Booker Prize-finalist Ruth Ozeki

• Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction

2023 Ocean Stirrings by Merle Collins

A mix of fictive narrative, letters and poetry, with episodes of great warmth, exuberant humour, drama, and heartbreak, telling a story of Louise Little.

2023 Absolutely and Forever by Rose Tremain (UK)

A piercing short novel of thwarted love and true friendship from one of our greatest living writers.