Literature in the 1970s

Literature in the 1970s saw a return to old-fashioned storytelling, exemplified by Erich Segal's Love Story, and a decline in the popularity of experimental writers such as Saul Bellow and Peter De Vries. Racism remained a key literary subject, with works exploring race relations in South Africa and New York. John Updike emerged as a major literary figure, while Joyce Carol Oates and Wright Morris reflected on the 1960s experience. The paperback became a popular medium due to rising hardcover costs and increased readership of genre fiction. Criminal non-fiction, horror novels, and satire were common elements. Stephen King became a popular novelist with Carrie, The Shining, and The Stand. Biographical works about literary figures such as Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie, and J. R. R. Tolkien were popular in non-fiction, alongside exposés such as All the President's Men. Self-help and diet books replaced cookbooks and home fix-it manuals on bestseller lists.