Notable author deaths of 2012

Writer and radio commentator David Rakoff, a recipient of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, died of cancer on Aug. 9 at age 47. Full obituary
  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Gore Vidal, novelist, essayist, screenwriter and playwright, died July 31 in Los Angeles. He was 86. Full obituary  (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Irish bestselling novelist Maeve Binchy died July 30 at age 72. Full obituary  (Liam White / EPA; Penguin Group)

Stephen R. Covey, author of the bestseller “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” died July 16 at age 79. Full obituary  (Free Press; Ric Feld / AP Photo)

Marion Cunningham, author of “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook,” died July 11 at age 90. Full obituary  (Ben Margot / AP Photo)

Nora Ephron, screenwriter and essayist, died of cancer on June 26 at age 71. Full obituary  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

Ray Bradbury, author of “Fahrenheit 451” and other science fiction classics, died June 5 in Los Angeles at age 91. Full obituary  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Kathi Kamen Goldmark, a much-loved literary escort based in San Francisco and a founding member of the author band The Rock Bottom Remainders, died May 24 of cancer. She was 63. Full obituary  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of “Where the Wild Things Are” and many other books for children, had won a Caledcott Medal and the National Book Award, among other honors. He died May 8 at the age of 83. Full obituary  (Patrick Downs / Los Angeles Times)

Controversial conservative writer Andrew Breitbart died of an apparent heart attack March 1. He was 43. Full obituary  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996. She died Feb. 1 at age 88. Full obituary  (Czarek Sokolowski / AP Photo)