2003 in literature

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	Art; Archaeology; Architecture; Literature; Music; Philosophy; Science; +...

This article presents lists of literary events and publications in 2003.

Events

February 12 – An invitation from the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, for some poets to attend a conference at the White House is postponed when one of them, Sam Hamill, organizes a "Poets Against the War" group for poetry readings across the United States on the same date.^[1]
March – The University of Mosul library is damaged and looted during the Iraq War, but many volumes are removed for protection by staff.
April 14 – The Iraq National Library and Archive is burned down during the Battle of Baghdad.^[2]
October – Nicholas Hytner succeeds Sir Trevor Nunn as artistic director of London's Royal National Theatre.
November 7 – UNESCO places among the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity wayang kulit, a shadow puppet theatre and best known of the Indonesian wayang.^[3]

January 5 – Jean Kerr, American author and playwright (born 1923)
January 21 – Paul Haines, American-born Canadian poet and songwriter (born 1933)
February 16 – Aleksandar Tišma, Serbian novelist (born 1924)
February 26 – Quentin Keynes, English explorer, writer and filmmaker (born 1921)
March 11 – Brian Cleeve, English-born Irish writer and broadcaster (born 1921)
March 12 – Howard Fast, American novelist (born 1914)
March 14 – Lucian Boz, Romanian and Australian literary critic (born 1908)
April 3 – Michael Kelly, American journalist (born 1957)
April 7 – Cecile de Brunhoff, French children's writer (born 1903)
June 21
- George Axelrod, American dramatist and screenwriter (born 1922)
- Leon Uris, American novelist (born 1924)
July 6 – Kathleen Raine, English poet, scholar, and translator (born 1908)^[5]
July 10 – Winston Graham, English novelist (born 1908)
July 14 – Éva Janikovszky, Hungarian novelist and children's writer (born 1926)
July 15 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean-born fiction writer (born 1953)
July 16 – Carol Shields, American-born Canadian novelist (breast cancer, born 1935)
September 3 – Alan Dugan, American poet (born 1923)
November 9 – Alan Davidson, Northern Irish historian and food writer (born 1924)
December 12 – Fadwa Toukan, Palestinian poet (born 1917)

^ Knowles, Joe (2003-02-14). "Poets Against the War". In These Times. Retrieved 2014-11-10.
^ Eskander, Saad (December 2004). "The Tale of Iraq's 'Cemetery of Books'". Information Today. 21 (11): 1–54.
^ Indonesian wayang Inscribed in 2003 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
^ Goodreads, Into the Blue, Book review, Retrieved 11/27/2012
^ Watts, Janet (8 July 2003). "Obituary: Kathleen Raine". the Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
^ Faculty of Arts, 2003, Edna Staebler Award Archived 2014-06-06 at Archive-It, Wilfrid Laurier University, Previous winners, Alison Watt, Retrieved 11/27/2012