1960s Books: Top Writers, Novels And Reading Trends

The Chatterley trial opens the floodgates, and everything gets louder.

Below: books published in the 1960s, the writers who defined it, what was changing in publishing, and how people actually got hold of a book.

Every title and date is real. Useful for a reading list, a quiz round or a reminiscence session.

Books published in the 1960s

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960).
• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962).
• The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carre (1963).
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964).
• The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1963), and Ariel (1965).
• A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines (1968).
• The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962).
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967).

Writers who defined the decade

• John le Carre, who made spying look like office work.
• Roald Dahl, writing for adults and children at the same time.
• Muriel Spark, with The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961).
• Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, the decade's defining poetry.
• Len Deighton, whose Ipcress File (1962) did Bond in a different accent.
• Nell Dunn, with Up the Junction (1963) and Poor Cow (1967).

Publishing and writing trends

• The 1960 Lady Chatterley trial ends, and publishers test the new limits fast.
• The Booker Prize is founded in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.
• Counterculture presses, underground magazines and poetry readings.
• Latin American and post-colonial writing reaches British readers.
• Paperback originals: books published straight to paperback, no hardback first.

How people read

• Pan and Corgi paperbacks off a spinner rack in the newsagent.
• School libraries stocking contemporary novels for the first time.
• Puffin Club and Puffin paperbacks for children.
• Books read on the bus, dog-eared and stuffed into a coat pocket.

Years covered in the 1960s

• 1960 - Coronation Street began, national service ended and the sixties had not started yet. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1960
• 1961 - The Beatles started playing the Cavern and Yuri Gagarin went into space. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1961
• 1962 - Love Me Do, the first James Bond film and the Cuban missile crisis. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1962
• 1963 - The big freeze, Beatlemania, Doctor Who and the assassination of President Kennedy. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1963
• 1964 - Top of the Pops, pirate radio, mods and rockers, and BBC Two. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1964
• 1965 - Churchill's funeral, the 70mph limit and the Beatles at Shea Stadium. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1965
• 1966 - England won the World Cup, and then Aberfan happened in October. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1966
• 1967 - Sgt. Pepper, Radio 1, colour television and the summer of love. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1967
• 1968 - Manchester United in Europe, Dad's Army and a year of protest. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1968
• 1969 - The moon landing, the Beatles on the roof and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1969
• That is every 1960s year we have written up so far: 1960 to 1969.

How to use this

• Reading list: pick one novel and one non-fiction title from the decade someone was born in.
• Quiz round: read a title and ask for the decade, or read a writer and ask for one book.
• Reminiscence: ask what they were made to read at school, and what they read in secret.
• Anyone born in 1960 turns 50 in 2010, 60 in 2020 and 70 in 2030.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Publication year and the year someone read it are rarely the same - paperbacks arrived a year or two later.
• For a birthday, a first edition is expensive but a decent second-hand copy from their birth year is not.
• Libraries can order almost anything on this list for free.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1960
• Look back to 1961
• Look back to 1962
• Look back to 1963
• Look back to 1964
• Look back to 1965
• Look back to 1966
• Look back to 1967
• Look back to 1968
• Look back to 1969
• 1960s books, films and TV
• 1960s food and recipes
• 1960s films and directors
• 1960s calendar: year by year
• 1960s trivia: fun facts
• The 1960s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1960s
• 1960s party playlist
• Playground games by region
• Knock down ginger
• Conkers rules
• Marbles rules
• School dinners we all remember
• Decade literature: writers and books by era
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade films: best movies and directors by era
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends by era
• Food by decade: dishes and food trends
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Sympathy and bereavement cards
• Sympathy cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best books from the 1960s?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960). The full list above gives the novels and non-fiction worth reading from the decade, with publication years.

Which writers defined the 1960s?

John le Carre, who made spying look like office work. The writers section above names the rest.

What was changing in publishing in the 1960s?

The 1960 Lady Chatterley trial ends, and publishers test the new limits fast. The trends section covers how books were made, priced and sold.

Do you sell books?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read and free to copy - try a library or a second-hand bookshop for the books.