See also: 1991 in literature, other events of 1992, 1993 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

• The Bridges of Madison County, originally self-published by author Robert James Waller, will go on to become the largest selling novel in history with more than 60 million copies sold.
• The Goosebumps series of books, penned by R.L. Stine, are first published.

New books

• All Around the Town - Mary Higgins Clark
• Anvil of Stars - Greg Bear
• The Bridges of Madison County - Robert James Waller
• The Children of Men - P.D. James
• The Crow Road - Iain Banks
• Dolores Claiborne - Stephen King
• The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje
• Jazz - Toni Morrison
• Jewels - Danielle Steel
• Lords and Ladies - Terry Pratchett
• Mixed Blessings - Danielle Steel
• Paddy Clarke - Roddy Doyle
• The Pelican Brief - John Grisham
• The Queen and I - Sue Townsend
• Secrets of Love Magick - Gerina Dunwich
• Shampoo Planet - Douglas Coupland
• Silent Passage - Gail Sheehy
• Small Gods - Terry Pratchett
• The Stars Shine Down - Sidney Sheldon
• The Tale of the Body Thief - Anne Rice
• Tales from Firozsha Baag - Rohinton Mistry
• The Thief of Always - Clive Barker
• The Trial of Madame Caillaux - Edward Berenson
• The Valkyries - Paulo Coelho
• Waiting to Exhale - Terry McMillan

Births

Deaths

• February 16 - Angela Carter, author
• April 6 - Isaac Asimov, author
• September 5 - Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr., American writer of fantasy and science fiction
• December 27 - Kay Boyle, writer, educator, political activist

Awards

• Booker Prize: Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient and Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger
• See 1992 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Nebula Award: Connie Willis, Doomsday Book
• Newbery Medal for children's literature: Phyllis Reynolds Naylor , Shiloh
• Nobel Prize for Literature: Derek Walcott
• Prix Goncourt: Patrick Chamoiseau, Texaco
• Prix Décembre: Henri Thomas , La Chasse au trésor and Roger Grenier , Regardez la neige qui tombe
• Prix Médicis French: Michel Rio , Tlacuilo
• Prix Médicis International: Louis Begley , Une éducation polonaise
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Jane Smiley, A Thousand Acres
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: James Tate, Selected Poems
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Robert Schenkkan, The Kentucky Cycle
• Whitbread Best Book Award : Jeff Torrington , Swing Hammer Swing!