1983 in literature
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This article presents lists of the literary events and publications in 1983.
Events
- June 2 – Francophone Senegalese poet and politician Léopold Sédar Senghor becomes the first black African writer elected as a member of the Académie française.
- Barbara Cartland, who reaches the age of 82 in July, writes 23 romantic novels this year.
- Salvage for the Saint by Peter Bloxsom and John Kruse is published. This is the final book in a series of novels, novellas and short stories featuring the Leslie Charteris creation "The Saint" that started in 1928. (An unsuccessful attempt at restarting the series will occur in 1997.)
New books
Fiction
- Isaac Asimov – The Robots of Dawn
- Greg Bear – The Wind from a Burning Woman
- Samuel Beckett – Worstward Ho
- Thomas Berger – The Feud
- Thomas Bernhard – The Loser (Der Untergeher)
- Jorge Luis Borges – Shakespeare's Memory
- Marion Zimmer Bradley – The Mists of Avalon
- Morley Callaghan – A Time for Judas
- Raymond Carver – Cathedral
- Hugo Claus – Het verdriet van België
- J. M. Coetzee – Life and Times of Michael K
- Jackie Collins – Hollywood Wives
- Basil Copper – The House of the Wolf
- Bernard Cornwell – Sharpe's Sword and Sharpe's Enemy
- Bernard and Judy Cornwell (as Susannah Kells) – A Crowning Glory
- György Dalos – 1985
- L. Sprague de Camp – The Reluctant King and The Unbeheaded King
- Jim Dodge – Fup
- Stephen R. Donaldson – White Gold Wielder: Book Three of The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
- Nora Ephron – Heartburn
- Ken Follett – On Wings of Eagles
- Ernest J. Gaines – A Gathering of Old Men
- John Gardner – Icebreaker
- Haidar Haidar – Walimah li A'ashab al-Bahr (وليمة لأعشاب البحر, "A Feast for the Seaweeds")
- Maarten 't Hart – De kroongetuige
- Mark Helprin – Winter's Tale
- Amado V. Hernandez – Luha ng Buwaya
- Susan Hill – The Woman in Black
- Elfriede Jelinek – The Piano Teacher
- William Kennedy – Ironweed
- Stephen King – Christine
- Danilo Kiš – The Encyclopedia of the Dead (Enciklopedija mrtvih)
- Dean R. Koontz – Phantoms
- Louis L'Amour – The Lonesome Gods
- John le Carré – The Little Drummer Girl
- Mary Mackey – The Last Warrior Queen
- Norman Mailer – Ancient Evenings
- James A. Michener – Poland
- R. K. Narayan – A Tiger for Malgudi
- Robert B. Parker – The Widening Gyre
- Ellis Peters
- Tim Powers – The Anubis Gates
- Terry Pratchett – The Colour of Magic
- Satyajit Ray – Shonku Ekai Aksho
- Salman Rushdie – Shame
- Joanna Russ – The Zanzibar Cat
- Danielle Steel – Changes
- Walter Tevis – The Queen's Gambit
- Gore Vidal – Duluth
- Evangeline Walton – The Sword is Forged
- Fay Weldon – The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
- A. N. Wilson – Scandal
- Robert Anton Wilson – Prometheus Rising
- Christa Wolf – Cassandra (Kassandra)
- Roger Zelazny – Unicorn Variations
Children and young adults
- Roald Dahl – The Witches
- Rumer Godden
- Four Dolls
- The Valiant Chatti-Maker
- Dick King-Smith – The Sheep-Pig
- Astrid Lindgren – The Runaway Sleigh Ride!
Drama
- Samuel Beckett – Nacht und Träume (television play, first broadcast)
- David Mamet – Glengarry Glen Ross
- Tom Murphy – The Gigli Concert
- Christina Reid – Tea In A China Cup
- Larry Shue – The Foreigner
- Neil Simon – Brighton Beach Memoirs
Poetry
- Grace Nichols – i is a long memoried woman
- Paul Durcan – Jumping the Train Tracks with Angela
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
- Nawal El Saadawi – Mudhakkirâtî fî sijn an-nisâʾ ("Memoirs from the Women's Prison")
- Shantabai Kamble – Majya Jalmachi Chittarkatha
- Susan Oliver – Odyssey: A Daring Transatlantic Journey
- Renée Richards – Second Serve: The Renée Richards Story
- Anna Rosmus – Widerstand und Verfolgung am Beispiel Passau 1933–1945 ("Resistance and Persecution — The Case of Passau 1933–1939")
- Colin Thubron – Among the Russians
- Julia Urquidi – Lo que Varguitas no dijo ("What little Vargas did not say")
Births
- July 2 – Tao Lin (林韬), Chinese novelist and poet
- November 17 – Christopher Paolini, American novelist
Unknown date
- Sarah Howe, Hong Kong-born poet writing in English
Deaths
- January 5 – Chapman Grant, American historian and publisher (born 1887)
- February 14 – Brita von Horn, Swedish theater director, dramatist and novelist (born 1886)
- February 25 – Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams III), American playwright (born 1911)
- March 3 – Hergé (Georges Prosper Remi), Belgian comics creator (born 1907)
- 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)
- June 19 – Vilmundur Gylfason, Icelandic historian, poet and politician (suicide, born 1948)
- June 27 – Alden Nowlan, Canadian poet, novelist and playwright (born 1933)
- August 12 – Mikey Smith, Jamaican dub poet (stoned to death; born 1954)
- September 16 – Roy Andries De Groot, English-born American food writer (born 1910)
- December 5 – John Robinson, English religious writer and bishop (born 1919)
Awards
Australia
- The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Jenny Summerville, Shields Of Trell
- Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry: Vivian Smith, Tide Country
- Miles Franklin Award: No award presented
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
- Prix Médicis French: Jean Echenoz, Cherokee
- Prix Médicis International: Kenneth White, La route bleue
Spain
United Kingdom
- Booker Prize: J. M. Coetzee -Life and Times of Michael K
- Carnegie Medal for children's literature: Jan Mark, Handles
- Cholmondeley Award: John Fuller, Craig Raine, Anthony Thwaite
- 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
- 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
United States
- Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize: Kate Daniels, The White Wave
- Nebula Award: David Brin, Startide Rising
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Cynthia Voigt, Dicey's Song
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: Marsha Norman, 'Night, Mother
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Alice Walker – The Color Purple
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Galway Kinnell – Selected Poems
Elsewhere
- Hugo Award for Best Novel: Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
- Premio Nadal: Salvador García Aguilar, Regocijo en el hombre
