1956 in literature

See also: 1955 in literature, other events of 1956, 1957 in literature, list of years in literature.

New books

• Aniara (poetry) - Harry Martinson
• Auntie Mame - Patrick Dennis
• Boon Island - Kenneth Roberts
• Cairo Trilogy - Naguib Mahfouz
• A Certain Smile - Françoise Sagan
• Diamonds Are Forever - Ian Fleming
• Don't Go Near the Water - William Brinkley
• Eloise - Kay Thompson
• The Fall (La Chute) - Albert Camus
• Heike Story - Eiji Yoshikawa
• Howl and Other Poems - Allen Ginsberg
• The Last Battle - C. S. Lewis
• The Last Hurrah - Edwin O'Connor
• The Last of the Wine - Mary Renault
• Lucy Crown - Irwin Shaw
• The Mandarins - Simone de Beauvoir
• Minority Report - Philip K. Dick
• Misty of Chincoteague - Marguerite Henry
• The Mysterious North - Pierre Berton
• The Naked Sun - Isaac Asimov
• The Nun's Story - Kathryn Hulme
• Palace Walk - Naguib Mahfouz
• Peyton Place - Grace Metalious
• Les racines du ciel - Romain Gary
• Seize the Day - Saul Bellow
• The Sweet Science - A. J. Liebling
• ' - C. S. Lewis
• The Tribe That Lost Its Head - Nicholas Monsarrat
• ' - Norman Mailer