What is the first literature book written and who wrote it? And, when was it written?

The first work of literature with a known author is Hymns to Innana, by the High Priestess En-hedu-ana. They were written over four thousand years ago (2285-2250 BCE) and you can still find them on Amazon today!

If you mean the first novel, there are some Ancient Greek novels, the earliest of which involves a voyage to the moon. It's called A True Story (2nd century CE), by Lucian. That pretty much counts as the first, to my knowledge.

I would have to say I think the cave drawings are the first literature/book ever written...prehistoric humans were recording their lives and events on rock and paint long before papyrus or goathide came along :)

I think Arthur is right. But really, how do you gage when the first was written? How do we know something wasn't lost to history?

I think the first real "book" of literature is the

Epic of Gilgamesh. It's still available in a modern translation. A very moving story about the loss of a dear friend, grief, and coming to terms with the reality of death.

It comes from the fertile crescent, the area between the rivers Nile and Euphrates, where civilization originated.

My copy, a translation by Stephen Mitchell, says in the introduction that it "is the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older than the Bible or the Iliad (by Homer). Its hero was a historical king who reigned in the Mesopotamian city of Uruk in about 2750 B.C.E." That's pretty darn old!

I believe it was Beowolf author unknown

Most scholars consider "The Tale of Genji" to be the first 'real' novel ever written. It was authored by a woman named Murasaki Shikibu in the Japanese court of the 11th century, and is taught in many/most World Literature classes as the first actual novel.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Porters-Ghost

This is such a broad question that it is hard to answer. When literature comes to mind diverse languages and cultures and countries come to mind. Older cultures like the Asian cultures, the African cultures have had their own literature. American literature is a different genre as is English literature. So I guess when it comes to English literature it has to be "Beowulf".