Support Independent Bookstores.
You can find the books relating to our Author Shoutouts at our bookshop, on our list of LitStack Author Shoutouts.

This Week’s Author Shoutouts:

Jerry Pournelle

Jerry Pournelle, born in Shreveport, LA, deserves recognition as an author. While predominantly known for his contributions to science fiction, Pournelle held a PhD in political science, excelled as a journalist, and made valuable contributions to the aerospace industry. Notably, he co-authored the influential textbook, The Strategy of Technology, which has been utilized at prestigious institutions such as West Point, the US Air Force Academy, and other military establishments.

After being a frequent contributor to the computer magazine Byte, he played a significant role in the establishment of the autonomous tech/political website aNewDomain. Regrettably, he passed away peacefully in 2017 at the age of 84 due to heart failure.

Sara Teasdale

Sara Teasdale was born in St. Louis, MO. She gained fame as a lyrical poet, and in 1918, she became the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her collection titled Love Songs.

At the age of 48, she took her own life in 1933, following years of ill health. This occurred fifteen years after she wrote her renowned piece, I Shall Not Care, which delved into the topic of death, and two years after her close friend and poet Vachel Lindsay died by suicide.

Pamela Lyndon (P.L.) Travers

Pamela Lyndon Travers, originally named Helen Lyndon Goff, was born in Maryborough, Queensland, Australia, in 1899. Initially recognized as an actress, she later adopted the pen name P.L. Travers and embarked on her writing career. In 1934, she introduced the timeless masterpiece Mary Poppins.

She kept writing stories inspired by the legendary nanny Mary Poppins until 1989. Despite never getting married, she led an imaginative life until she passed away in 1996 at the age of 96.

Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer was a newspaper publisher born in Makó, Hungary. At the age of 17, he immigrated to America to join the Civil War. Following the war, he found himself destitute and resorted to hopping freight trains until he arrived in St. Louis. After taking on various odd jobs, he embarked on his career as a reporter in 1868. His determination and hard work propelled him forward in the industry, ultimately leading to his purchase of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1879 and the New York World in 1883, where he challenged William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper empire.

In 1911, at the age of 64, he passed away. After six years, Columbia University established the Pulitzer Prizes in his memory, utilizing the funds he left behind to acknowledge achievements in art and journalism.

Alex Haley

Alex Haley, born in Ithaca, New York, deserves an author shoutout as the author of the 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family. This novel vividly portrays his own family’s history in a fictionalized manner and earned him a prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Shortly after, the book was adapted into a widely watched television miniseries called Roots, captivating an unprecedented audience of 130 million viewers.

He also served as the ghostwriter for The Autobiography of Malcolm X. His passing occurred in 1992 when he suffered a heart attack at the age of 80.

William Goldman

William Goldman, born in Highland Park, Illinois, deserves recognition as an accomplished author. While widely acknowledged for his extensive work as a screenwriter, including Academy Award-winning screenplays for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All the President’s Men, Goldman also excelled as a novelist, memoirist, playwright, short story writer, and children’s literature author. One of his notable contributions is the nonfiction book Adventures in the Screen Trade, a must-read for aspiring writers.

The Princess Bride, a novel and screenplay that he authored, stands out as likely his most beloved creation. In 2018, he passed away at the age of 87 as a result of complications stemming from colon cancer and pneumonia.

Alfred Hitchcock

A shoutout to filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock. London, England saw the birth of filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock, to whom we give a special mention. A true genius in the realm of cinema, he excelled as a director and producer, particularly in the realm of suspense and psychological thrillers. He introduced numerous innovative techniques to the art of filmmaking and possessed a unique directorial style that has been widely emulated but never truly duplicated. One of his famous beliefs was that “Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.”

Alfred Hitchcock was also a renowned writer who penned numerous screenplays for his movies, assuming ultimate authority from acclaimed writers. Collaborating with his wife, Alma Reville, who often received recognition as a continuity expert in his films, Hitchcock passed away in Los Angeles in 1980 at the age of 80.

Other LitStack Resources

Please take a look at other Author Shoutouts, a weekly feature on LitStack and be sure and support independent bookstores – buy a book today at LitStack Bookshop, with tons of author shoutout titles on our list of LitStack Author Shoutouts.

As a Bookshop, Malaprop’s, BAM, Barnes & Noble, Audiobooks.com, Amazon, and Envato affiliate, LitStack may earn a commission at no cost to you when you purchase products through our affiliate links.