Books & Authors GK Notes
हिंदी में पढ़ेंFamous books and their authors from India and the world.
31 topics416 MCQs101 previous-year questions66 quizzesUpdated
Books and Authors is one of the most predictable parts of the GK section: famous books and the people who wrote them. The topics here run from Classical Indian Literature and Court Chronicles of the Sultanate and Mughal Period to Books by Freedom Fighters and Leaders, Famous Autobiographies and Biographies, Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi Winners, Hindi Literature and Its Authors, Pen Names of Famous Writers and Recent Books in News.
SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, RRB NTPC, IBPS and state PSC exams usually ask one or two questions from this area, and the pattern rarely changes. You get a title and must name the author, or get an author and must pick their book. Autobiographies of national leaders, Mughal court chronicles and a recently released book by a minister or a cricketer are the usual picks. Bank exams lean on books in news, while SSC leans on the classics.
The topics on this page follow the syllabus order, so you can read the notes from the top and cover the subject without a separate book. Each topic has its own practice MCQs, and the previous-year questions are tagged with the exam and year they appeared in, which shows you what your exam prefers. Mixed quiz sets on GK24 pull from several topics at once, which is how you should revise in the final weeks.
Topic-wise notes
- 1
Classical Indian Literature
Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and Sangam Tamil classics with their authors and royal patrons: the Vedas and epics, Kalidasa and the Gupta court, Arthashastra, Rajatarangini and the Tamil epics.
25 MCQs13 previous-year questions
- 2
Books by Freedom Fighters and Leaders
The books, autobiographies and newspapers of Gandhi, Nehru, Tilak, Azad, Ambedkar, Bose, Naoroji and other leaders of the national movement, paired with their authors the way exams ask them.
21 MCQs9 previous-year questions
- 3
Books by Presidents and Prime Ministers
Book and author pairs from Rashtrapati Bhavan and the Prime Minister's Office: Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, Radhakrishnan, Kalam, Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee, Pranab Mukherjee and others, as exams ask them.
14 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 4
Famous Autobiographies and Biographies
The difference between an autobiography, a memoir and a biography, and the book and author pairs from Indian politics, sport, science and world history that exams repeat.
16 MCQs5 previous-year questions
- 5
Nobel and Booker Winners from India
The Indian and India-born winners of the Nobel Prize and the Booker Prize, the works they were honoured for, the years, the categories of the two prizes and the pairs SSC, Railway and Banking exams ask.
13 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 6
Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi Winners
The Jnanpith Award and the Sahitya Akademi with their founding years, eligibility, prizes and the firsts and landmark winners that SSC, Railway, Banking and State exams ask about.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 7
Hindi Literature and Its Authors
The four periods of Hindi literature, the poets of Adikal, Bhaktikal and Ritikal, Bhartendu to Premchand, Chhayavad, and the famous works matched with the authors exams ask about.
13 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 8
Famous English Novels and Authors
British and American classics, Indian writing in English, the Booker and Pulitzer winners and the memoirs and non-fiction titles that SSC, Railway and State exams pair with their authors.
15 MCQs7 previous-year questions
- 9
Books on Economics and Politics
The classic and Indian books on economics and political thought with their authors, dates and central ideas, and the pairs examiners deliberately mix up in SSC, Railway and State exams.
15 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 10
Books by Sportspersons and Scientists
Autobiographies of Indian cricketers, Olympians and chess players, books by Indian and world scientists, and the treatises of ancient Indian science, as exams ask them.
16 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 11
World Classics and Their Authors
The classic epics, plays, novels and books of ideas of the world and the writers who produced them, arranged by country for quick revision before an exam.
14 MCQs2 previous-year questions
- 12
Recent Books in News
Books discussed in recent years and the authors paired with them: titles by ministers and officials, memoirs and biographies, and the prize-winning books of the last few years.
14 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 13
Regional Literature: Tamil, Bengali and Marathi Classics
Sangam works and the Tirukkural, the Bengali classics from Charyapada to Tagore, and the Marathi saints and novelists, with their authors.
14 MCQs6 previous-year questions
- 14
Urdu and Persian Literature in India
Persian court chronicles from the Sultanate and Mughal ages, the growth of Urdu from Dakhani to Delhi, and the poets, writers and works that exams ask with their authors.
12 MCQs5 previous-year questions
- 15
Court Chronicles of the Sultanate and Mughal Period
The histories written at the courts of Delhi and the Mughals: Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Tarikh-i-Firoz Shahi, Akbarnama, Ain-i-Akbari, Padshahnama and their authors.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
- 16
Accounts of Foreign Travellers to India
Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang, Al-Biruni, Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, Abdur Razzaq and Bernier, with their books and the rulers whose courts they saw.
12 MCQs7 previous-year questions
- 17
Books on Indian History and Culture
Ancient source texts from the Ashtadhyayi to the Rajatarangini, travellers' accounts, medieval chronicles and the modern histories of India, with the book and author pairs exams ask.
14 MCQs8 previous-year questions
- 18
Famous Poems and Poets of India
Sanskrit classics, bhakti and sufi poets, Chhayavad and Urdu poetry, Indian poets in English, the national anthem and song, and the poets who won the Jnanpith.
13 MCQs4 previous-year questions
- 19
Famous Plays and Dramatists
Sanskrit classics and their authors, Shakespeare and world theatre, Hindi and regional dramatists, and the play-to-author pairs that SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 20
Pen Names of Famous Writers
Real names and pen names of Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and world writers, the takhallus of Urdu poetry, and the titles that are not pen names, with the pairs exams ask.
12 MCQs
- 21
Famous Quotes, Slogans and Their Authors
Slogans of the freedom struggle and after, famous quotations of Indian and world leaders and the mottoes of Indian institutions, with the person or text behind each.
17 MCQs7 previous-year questions
- 22
Famous Indian Women Writers and Their Works
Indian women writers and the works they are asked with: nineteenth-century prose, Sarojini Naidu, women Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi winners, and the Booker and Pulitzer names.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 23
Famous Fictional Characters and Their Creators
Indian and world fictional characters paired with the writers who created them and the works they appear in, with the folk figures that have no single author.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 24
Regional Literature: Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu Classics
Pampa and the vachanas, Ezhuthachan and Indulekha, Nannaya and the Telugu trinity, with the Jnanpith winners and works that SSC, Railway, UPSC and State exams ask.
12 MCQs
- 25
Regional Literature: Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia and Assamese Classics
The first poets, landmark books and Jnanpith winners of Gujarati, Punjabi, Odia and Assamese literature, with the author and title pairs that competitive exams ask again and again.
11 MCQs
- 26
Nobel Prize in Literature: Laureates and Their Works
The Nobel Prize in Literature for exams: how it is awarded, Rabindranath Tagore and Gitanjali, the firsts, the refusals, and the laureates with the works they are remembered for.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 27
Books on Partition and Independence
Title and author pairs on Partition and freedom: memoirs, novels in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and English, the great short stories, and the histories, with award years.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
- 28
Books by Film, Music and Art Personalities
Autobiographies, memoirs and poetry by Indian film, music and art personalities, the classical music treatises and the major biographies, as asked in SSC, Railway and State exams.
10 MCQs
- 29
Famous Books Adapted into Films
Book, author and film in one chain: Indian novels and stories filmed by Ray and others, the Shakespeare adaptations, and famous foreign books on screen.
10 MCQs
- 30
Books by Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Memoirs and management books written by Indian and global business leaders, with the author, the company and the traps that SSC, Railway, Banking and State exams set.
10 MCQs
- 31
Children's Literature and Famous Fables
The Panchatantra, Hitopadesha and Jataka tales, the fables of Aesop and La Fontaine, Grimm and Andersen, the classics of children's writing in English, and India's children's authors.
11 MCQs
Frequently Asked Questions
How are Books and Authors questions asked in SSC exams?
SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS usually give you a book title and four author names, or the reverse. The books are mostly well known: autobiographies of freedom fighters and prime ministers, classical Sanskrit works such as those of Kalidasa, and a few recent titles that were in the news in the year before the exam. Reading a topic-wise list once and then solving previous-year questions is enough for this part.
Which books and authors are asked most in bank exams like IBPS PO and SBI Clerk?
Bank exams focus on books in news: a recently released autobiography, a book launched by a minister or a governor, a Booker or Nobel winner announced in the past year, and books by sportspersons. The older classics appear less often. Cover the Recent Books in News topic along with the current affairs of the last six months and revise it again before the mains exam.
Are pen names of writers important for competitive exams?
Yes. Questions on pen names appear in SSC, railway and state exams because they are easy to set and easy to check. You should know the real names behind the popular pen names of Hindi, Urdu and English writers, and the reverse. The Pen Names of Famous Writers topic on this page lists them in one place so you do not have to hunt through several sources.
How should I prepare Books and Authors for SSC CGL and RRB NTPC in limited time?
Start with the topics that give the most questions: Famous Autobiographies and Biographies, Books by Presidents and Prime Ministers, Jnanpith winners and Classical Indian Literature. Read each topic once, attempt its MCQs, then solve the previous-year questions tagged for your exam. Keep the books in news list for the last week. Two or three short sittings a week are enough to keep the facts fresh.
Do exams ask about books written by foreign travellers to India?
Yes, and these questions overlap with history. Megasthenes, Fa-Hien, Hiuen Tsang, Al-Biruni and Ibn Battuta are asked repeatedly, usually as which traveller visited during which ruler's reign and what he wrote. Court chronicles of the Sultanate and Mughal period appear in the same way. Preparing this topic once covers questions in both the history section and the books and authors section.