No one familiar with contemporary American literature can claim ignorance of Roth's body of work, particularly his exploration of what it means to be Jewish. His talent has long been celebrated, with honours including the National Book Award (1960, 1995) and the PEN/Faulkner Award (1993, 2000). For the few who haven't read him, there's The Human Stain (2000), the film starring Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman. Guess whose book it was based on?

MURIEL SPARK

Even when she was Muriel Camberg in Scotland, this writer was singled out as promising. By the age of 12, some of her poems had already been published. By the time she became Dame Muriel Spark in 1993, honoured as a Dame Commander of the British Empire, she had collected a fair amount of awards, and a couple of honorary degrees. For more of Spark's work, try the bookstore closest to you.

Photograph: Evening Standard/Getty Images

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