Literature

1952

11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001

Douglas Noël Adams (Cambridge, England, 11 March 1952 – Santa Barbara, California, 11 May 2001) was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter. He wrote *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,* which originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy, before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 14 million copies in his lifetime. He also adapted it into a 1981 television series, a 1984 video game and a posthumously-released 2005 feature film. Douglas died unexpectedly of a sudden heart attack at the age of 49.

18 November 1939

Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published more than 50 books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays, including 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of nonfiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Her work has been published in over 40 countries, and a number of her works have been adapted for film and television. Her best-known work is the 1985 dystopian novel *The Handmaid's Tale,* and her novels also include *Cat's Eye,* shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won…