Washington  - Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike has died of lung cancer, aged 76, his publicist said Tuesday.

Updike, creator of the memorable small-town character Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom and novelist Henry Bech, drew much of his inspiration from personal experience growing up near Reading in south-western Pennsylvania.

Born March 18, 1932, Updike lived a solitary life as an only child, spending his teenage years on a secluded farm with his parents and grandparents before winning a scholarship to study English at Harvard University.

Updike, considered one of the most important writers in post-war American literature, won the Pulitzer twice - first for Rabbit is Rich and later for Rabbit at Rest. (dpa)