1983 in literature

Last updated August 15, 2025

This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1983.

Events

April – The Russian samizdat poet Irina Ratushinskaya is sentenced to imprisonment in a labor camp for dissident activity. While there she continues to write poetry clandestinely.^[1]
June 2 – The Francophone Senegalese poet and politician Léopold Sédar Senghor becomes the first black African writer elected as a member of the Académie française.
July – Barbara Cartland, who reaches the age of 82, writes 23 romantic novels this year.
November – Bruce Bethke's short story "Cyberpunk", written in 1980, is published in Amazing Stories magazine in the United States, giving a name to the science fiction subgenre of cyberpunk.
unknown date – Salvage for the Saint by Peter Bloxsom and John Kruse is published, as the final book in a series of novels, novellas and short stories featuring the Leslie Charteris creation "The Saint", which started in 1928. (An attempt to revive the series in 1997 is unsuccessful.)

New books

Poetry

Paul Durcan – Jumping the Train Tracks with Angela
Grace Nichols – I is a long-memoried woman

Non-fiction

Benedict Anderson – Imagined Communities
Pascal Bruckner – The Tears of the White Man
L. Sprague de Camp – The Fringe of the Unknown
L. Sprague de Camp, Catherine Crook de Camp and Jane Whittington Griffin – Dark Valley Destiny
Tom Dardis – Harold Lloyd: The Man on the Clock
Joan Didion – Salvador
Terry Eagleton – Literary Theory: An Introduction
Anthony Grey – The Prime Minister Was a Spy
Susan Oliver – Odyssey: A Daring Transatlantic Journey
Renée Richards – Second Serve: The Renée Richards Story
Colin Thubron – Among the Russians
A. N. Wilson – The Life of John Milton: A Biography

Births

November 17 – Christopher Paolini, American fantasy novelist^[4]
December 6 – Jason Reynolds, African American children's novelist and poet^[5]
unknown date – Sarah Howe, Hong Kong-born poet writing in English^[6]

Deaths

January 5 – Chapman Grant, American historian and publisher (born 1887)
January 18 – Colin Watson, English crime fiction writer (born 1920)
February 14 – Brita von Horn, Swedish theater director, dramatist and novelist (born 1886)
February 18 – Robert Payne, English author, poet and biographer (born 1911)
February 25 – Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams III), American playwright (born 1911)
March 3 – Hergé (Georges Prosper Remi), Belgian comics creator (born 1907)
March 15 – Dame Rebecca West, British writer (born 1892)
April 12 – Desmond Bagley, English novelist (complications from stroke, born 1923)
May 4 – Shūji Terayama (寺山修司), Japanese poet, dramatist, and film director (cirrhosis, born 1935)
May 21 – Amal Abul-Qassem Donqol, Egyptian poet (born 1940)
May 26 – Jack Hilton, British writer (born 1900)
June 19 – Vilmundur Gylfason, Icelandic historian, poet and politician (suicide, born 1948)
June 27 – Alden Nowlan, Canadian poet, novelist and playwright (born 1933)
July 27 – Gladys Mitchell, English crime fiction writer (born 1901)
August 12 – Mikey Smith, Jamaican dub poet (stoned to death; born 1954)
August 18 – Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, German-born British art historian (born 1902)
September 15 – Beverley Nichols, English writer and playwright (born 1898)
September 16 – Roy Andries De Groot, English-born American food writer (born 1910)
November 30 – Richard Llewellyn, British novelist (heart attack, born 1906)
December 5 – John Robinson, English religious writer and bishop (born 1919)
December 13 – Mary Renault, British novelist (born 1905)
December 27 – Wilson Starbuck, American playwright and author (born 1897)

Awards

Nobel Prize for Literature: William Golding ^[7]

Australia

The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Jenny Summerville, Shields Of Trell
Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Vivian Smith, Tide Country^[8]
Miles Franklin Award: No award presented^[9]

Canada

See 1983 Governor General's Awards for a complete list of winners and finalists for those awards.

France

Prix Goncourt: Frédérick Tristan, Les Égarés^[10]
Prix Médicis French: Jean Echenoz, Cherokee
Prix Médicis International: Kenneth White, La Route bleue

Spain

Miguel de Cervantes Prize: Rafael Alberti ^[11]

United Kingdom

Booker Prize: J. M. Coetzee - Life and Times of Michael K ^[12]
Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Jan Mark, Handles
Cholmondeley Award: John Fuller,^[13] Craig Raine,^[14] Anthony Thwaite ^[15]
Eric Gregory Award: Martin Stokes, Hilary Davies, Michael O'Neill, Lisa St Aubin De Teran, Deidre Shanahan
James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Jonathan Keates, Allegro Postillions^[16]
James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: Alan Walker, Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years
Newdigate prize: Peter McDonald
Whitbread Best Book Award: John Fuller, Flying to Nowhere

Elsewhere

Hugo Award for Best Novel: Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Premio Nadal: Salvador García Aguilar, Regocijo en el hombre

References

↑ "Irina Ratushinskaya: Soviet dissident who turned captivity into poetry" . The Independent. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
↑ "Samuel Beckett, the maestro of failure". the Guardian. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
↑ John Le Carré (16 October 2008). The Little Drummer Girl: Soon to be a major TV series. Hodder & Stoughton. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84456-910-6.
↑ "Literary Birthday - 17 November - Christopher Paolini". Writers Write. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
↑ "Jason Reynolds named Library of Congress' national ambassador for young people's literature". CBS News. 2020-01-13. Archived from the original on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
↑ "Sarah Howe - Biography". Sarah Howe. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
↑ "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1983". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
↑ Neil James (1999). Writers on Writing. Halstead Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-875684-27-4.
↑ Australian Book Review. Australian Book Review. 2001. p. 49.
↑ Douglas W. Alden (December 1985). French XX Bibliography. Associated University Presse. p. 9598. ISBN 978-0-933444-45-4.
↑ Lumea. 1984. p. 29.
↑ Luke Strongman (2002). The Booker Prize and the Legacy of Empire. Rodopi. p. 78. ISBN 90-420-1488-1.
↑ The Publishers Weekly. F. Leypoldt. 1984. p. 45.
↑ Ed. Mohit K. Ray (September 2007). The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 435. ISBN 978-81-269-0832-5.
↑ Europa Publications (2 August 2004). International Who's Who in Poetry 2005. Routledge. p. 1551. ISBN 978-1-135-35519-7.
↑ Jenny Stringer; John Sutherland (1996). The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Literature in English. Oxford University Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-19-212271-1.
↑ Elizabeth A. Brennan; Elizabeth C. Clarage (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 542. ISBN 978-1-57356-111-2.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Irina Ratushinskaya: Soviet dissident who turned captivity into poetry" . The Independent. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[2] "Samuel Beckett, the maestro of failure". the Guardian. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2022.

[3] John Le Carré (16 October 2008). The Little Drummer Girl: Soon to be a major TV series. Hodder & Stoughton. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-84456-910-6.

[4] "Literary Birthday - 17 November - Christopher Paolini". Writers Write. 17 November 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[5] "Jason Reynolds named Library of Congress' national ambassador for young people's literature". CBS News. 2020-01-13. Archived from the original on 2020-05-23. Retrieved 2020-05-23.

[6] "Sarah Howe - Biography". Sarah Howe. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

[7] "The Nobel Prize in Literature 1983". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

[8] Neil James (1999). Writers on Writing. Halstead Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-875684-27-4.

[9] Australian Book Review. Australian Book Review. 2001. p. 49.

[10] Douglas W. Alden (December 1985). French XX Bibliography. Associated University Presse. p. 9598. ISBN 978-0-933444-45-4.

[11] Lumea. 1984. p. 29.

[12] Luke Strongman (2002). The Booker Prize and the Legacy of Empire. Rodopi. p. 78. ISBN 90-420-1488-1.

[13] The Publishers Weekly. F. Leypoldt. 1984. p. 45.

[14] Ed. Mohit K. Ray (September 2007). The Atlantic Companion to Literature in English. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. p. 435. ISBN 978-81-269-0832-5.

[15] Europa Publications (2 August 2004). International Who's Who in Poetry 2005. Routledge. p. 1551. ISBN 978-1-135-35519-7.

[16] Jenny Stringer; John Sutherland (1996). The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Literature in English. Oxford University Press. p. 355. ISBN 978-0-19-212271-1.

[17] Elizabeth A. Brennan; Elizabeth C. Clarage (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 542. ISBN 978-1-57356-111-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]