| History of literature by era |
|---|
| Ancient (corpora) |
| Early medieval |
| Medieval by century |
| Early modern by century |
| Modern by century |
| Contemporary by century |
 Literature portal |
This article gives a chronologicallist of years in literature, with notable publications listed with their respective years and a small selection of notable events. The time covered in individual years coversRenaissance,Baroque and Modern literature, whileMedieval literature is resolved by century.
Note:List of years in poetry exists specifically for poetry.
SeeTable of years in literature for an overview of all "year in literature" pages.
Several attempts have been made to create a list ofworld literature. Among these are thegreat books project including the book seriesGreat Books of the Western World, now containing 60 volumes. In 1998Modern Library, an American publishing company, polled its editorial board to find the best 100 novels of the 20th century:Modern Library 100 Best Novels. These attempts have been criticized for their anglophone bias and disregard of other literary traditions.