Joan Didion, the legendary novelist, essayist and proponent of New Journalism, has died at age 87.
The New York Post reports that Didion passed Thursday morning in her Manhattan home. She died from Parkinson's disease, as confirmed by Penguin Random House, her publishing house.
"Didion was one of the country's most trenchant writers and astute observers. Her best-selling works of fiction, commentary, and memoir have received numerous honours and are considered modern classics," Penguin Random House said in a statement.
After winning an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine in 1961, the American writer launched her career. Soon after, Didion rose to prominence throughout the 1960s and is best known for her seminal essay collection documenting the counterculture of this period in Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
Didion is regarded as a highly influential figure in American fiction and political reporting for her numerous works. Much of her most significant work centres on California, her native state, where she offered both incisive critique and praise of the cultural hub. Over the course of her career, Didion accumulated many prestigious awards, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005 for her novel, The Year of Magical Thinking.
Didion's passing is preceded by her husband, fellow writer and editor John Gregory Dunne, and her daughter Quintana Roo.
The New York Post reports that Didion passed Thursday morning in her Manhattan home. She died from Parkinson's disease, as confirmed by Penguin Random House, her publishing house.
"Didion was one of the country's most trenchant writers and astute observers. Her best-selling works of fiction, commentary, and memoir have received numerous honours and are considered modern classics," Penguin Random House said in a statement.
After winning an essay contest sponsored by Vogue magazine in 1961, the American writer launched her career. Soon after, Didion rose to prominence throughout the 1960s and is best known for her seminal essay collection documenting the counterculture of this period in Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
Didion is regarded as a highly influential figure in American fiction and political reporting for her numerous works. Much of her most significant work centres on California, her native state, where she offered both incisive critique and praise of the cultural hub. Over the course of her career, Didion accumulated many prestigious awards, including the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2005 for her novel, The Year of Magical Thinking.
Didion's passing is preceded by her husband, fellow writer and editor John Gregory Dunne, and her daughter Quintana Roo.