See also: 1999 in literature, other events of 2000, 2001 in literature, list of years in literature.

Events

• January 3 - Final original Peanuts comic strip is published
• September 24 - The American Family Association begins a year-long attack on Robert Clark Young's novel, One of the Guys, in an attempt to persuade the U.S. Congress to defund the National Endowment for the Arts

New books

• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: A Novel - Michael Chabon
• The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
• The Bear And The Dragon - Tom Clancy
• The Beatles Anthology - The Beatles
• Blackberry Wine - Joanne Harris
• The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood
• The Brethren - John Grisham
• Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace - Lawrence Lessig
• Code to Zero - Ken Follett
• Daughter Of Fortune - Isabel Allende
• Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs
• Deck The Halls - Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark
• Drowning Ruth - Christina Schwarz
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J. K. Rowling
• Hayati, My Life - Miriam Cooke
• The Hiding Place - Trezza Azzopardi
• The House On Hope Street - Danielle Steel
• The Human Stain - Philip Roth
• The Indwelling - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
• Ingrid Caven - Jean-Jacques Schuhl
• Journey - Danielle Steel
• The Last Precinct - Patricia Cornwell
• Look to Windward - Iain M. Banks
• The Mark - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
• The Measure Of A Man - Sidney Poitier
• Morgan's Run - Colleen McCullough
• Omertà - Mario Puzo
• The Pagan Book of Halloween - Gerina Dunwich
• The Prayer of Jabez - Bruce Wilkinson & David Kopp
• Parallel journeys - Elanor Ayer
• Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
• The Prometheus Deception - Robert Ludlum
• Roses Are Red - James Patterson
• - Charles Foster
• True History of the Kelly Gang - Peter Carey
• The Truth - Terry Pratchett
• When Genius Failed - Roger Lowenstein
• When I Lived in Modern Times - Linda Grant
• White Teeth - Zadie Smith
• The Will - Reed Arvin
• Winter Solstice - Rosamunde Pilcher
• Winter's Heart - Robert Jordan
• Your Magickal Cat - Gerina Dunwich

Births

Deaths

• January 26 - A. E. van Vogt, science fiction author
• January 31 - Gil Kane, comic book writer
• February 12 - Charles M. Schulz, 77, creator of the Peanuts comic strip
• March 28 - Anthony Powell, British novelist
• April 13 - Giorgio Bassani, 84, Italian writer (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis)
• August 25 - Carl Barks, 99, illustrator of Donald Duck
• October 30 - Steve Allen, comedian, composer, talk show host, author
• November 8 - L. Sprague de Camp, 92, American sci-fi and fantasy author

Awards

• Booker Prize: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin
• Business Week Best Book of the Year : Roger Lowenstein, When Genius Failed
• Finlandia Prize: Johanna Sinisalo Not Before Sunset (Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi)
• Giller Prize for Canadian Fiction: Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost - tied with: David Adams Richards, Mercy Among the Children
• See 2000 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.
• Hugo Award: Vernor Vinge, A Deepness in the Sky
• IMPAC Dublin Literary Award: Nicola Barker, Wide Open
• Nebula Award: Greg Bear, Darwin's Radio
• Newbery Medal for children's literature: Christopher Paul Curtis , Bud, Not Buddy
• Nobel Prize for Literature: Gao Xingjian.
• Orange Prize for Fiction: Linda Grant , When I Lived in Modern Times
• Prix Femina: Camille Laurens , Dans ces bras-là
• Prix Goncourt: Jean-Jacques Schuhl , Ingrid Caven
• Prix Décembre: Anthony Palou , Camille
• Prix Médicis French: Armelle Lebras-Chopard , Le zoo des philosophes
• Prix Médicis Non-Fiction: Yann Apperry , Diabolus in musica
• Prix Médicis International: Michael Ondaatje, Anil's Ghost
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Donald Margulies, Dinner With Friends
• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies
• Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: C.K. Williams , Repair
• Samuel Johnson Prize: David Cairns, Berlioz: Volume 2
• Viareggio Prize: Giorgio Van Straten , Il mio nome a memoria and Sandro Veronesi , La forza del passato
• Whitbread Best Book Award: Matthew Kneale, English Passengers