1953 in literature
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The year 1953 in literature involved some significant events and new books.
Events
- January 22 - The Crucible, a drama by Arthur Miller, opens on Broadway.
- February 19 - Censorship: The State of Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States.
- After five years as an English Teacher, Frederick Buechner moves to New York to become a full time writer.
- Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin is published. In 2001, the book would be named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century by the editorial board of the American Modern Library.
- April 13 - The face of popular literature is transformed with the publication of Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.
- Ronald Harwood becomes Sir Donald Wolfit's dresser.
- John Dickson Carr writing as "Carter Dickson" publishes his final Sir Henry Merrivale mystery novel.
- Ian Fleming's James Bond was first brought into the world in Casino Royale.
New books
- Sholom Aleichem - Adventures of Mottel the Cantor's Son
- Isaac Asimov - Second Foundation
- James Baldwin - Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Saul Bellow - The Adventures of Augie March
- Alfred Bester - The Demolished Man
- Zealia Bishop - The Curse of Yig
- Ray Bradbury
- Gwendolyn Brooks - Maud Martha
- William S. Burroughs - Junkie
- John Dickson Carr writing as "Carter Dickson" - The Cavalier's Cup
- Raymond Chandler - The Long Goodbye
- Arthur C. Clarke
- Beverly Cleary - Otis Spofford
- Ivy Compton-Burnett - The Present and the Past
- A. J. Cronin - Beyond This Place
- L. Sprague de Camp
- L. Sprague de Camp and Fletcher Pratt - Tales from Gavagan's Bar
- Lloyd C. Douglas - The Robe
- Ian Fleming - Casino Royale
- Ernest K. Gann - The High and the Mighty
- Davis Grubb - The Night of the Hunter
- Mark Harris - The Southpaw
- James Hilton - Time and Time Again
- David Karp - One
- Ira Levin - A Kiss Before Dying
- C. S. Lewis - The Silver Chair
- James A. Michener - The Bridges at Toko-Ri
- Zoe B. Oldenbourg - The Cornerstone
- Mervyn Peake - Mr Pye
- Ellery Queen - The Scarlet Letters
- Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - The Sojourner
- Annemarie Selinko - Désirée
- Samuel Shellabarger - Lord Vanity
- Wilmar H. Shiras - Children of the Atom
- Rex Stout - The Golden Spiders
- Leon Uris - Battle Cry
- Boris Vian - Heartsnatcher
- A. E. van Vogt - The Universe Maker
- Evelyn Waugh - Love Among the Ruins
- Ben Ames Williams - The Unconquered
- John Wyndham - The Kraken Wakes
New drama
- Arthur Adamov - Le Professeur Taranne
- Agatha Christie - Witness for the Prosecution
- Max Frisch - Biedermann und die Brandstifter (The Fire Raisers)
- Witold Gombrowicz - Ślub (The Wedding)
- Arthur Miller - The Crucible
Short stories
Poetry
Non-fiction
- George Dangerfield - The Era of Good Feelings (Bancroft Prize)
- L. Sprague de Camp - Science-Fiction Handbook
- G. R. Elton - The Tudor Revolution in Government
- Heinrich Harrer - Seven Years in Tibet
- Nancy Mitford - Madame de Pompadour
Births
- February 10 - John Shirley, science fiction and horror writer
- March 12 - Carl Hiaasen, author
- March 25 - John Tierney, New York Times journalist
- April 3 - Pieter Aspe, author of the "Inspector Van In" novels
- May 19 - Victoria Wood, comedienne and writer
- July 14 - Bent Lorentzen, novelist
- July 29 - Frank McGuinness, dramatist and poet
- August 10 - Mark Doty, poet
- September 23 - Nicholas Witchell, TV journalist
- November 5 - Joyce Maynard, memoirist and former lover of J. D. Salinger
- date unknown
- Pat Cadigan, science fiction author
- George Dyson, science historian
- Peter Robinson, poet
Deaths
- April 4 - Rachilde (Marguerite Vallette-Eymery), French author
- April 9 - C. E. M. Joad, philosopher
- April 24 - Alfred Vierkandt, sociologist
- June 5 - Moelona, novelist and translator
- June 25 - Richard Jebb, journalist
- July 6 - Julia de Burgos, poet
- July 16 - Hilaire Belloc, humorous poet, essayist and travel writer
- August 30 - Maurice Nicoll, psychologist
- November 8 - John van Melle, South African author
- November 9 - Dylan Thomas, poet and author
- November 27 - Eugene O'Neill, playwright
- November 30 - Francis Picabia, painter, poet
- date unknown
- Idris Davies, poet
- Gordon Hall Gerould, philologist
- Alice Milligan, poet
- T. F. Powys, novelist, brother of John Cowper Powys
- Eirik Vandvik, classicist and translator
Awards
- National Book Award for Fiction: Ralph Ellison: Invisible Man
- Christopher Award: Marie Killilea, Karen
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction: Margaret Kennedy, Troy Chimneys
- James Tait Black Memorial Prize for biography: Carola Oman, Sir John Moore
- Newbery Medal for children's literature: Ann Nolan Clark, Secret of the Andes
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
- Premio Nadal: Luisa Forrellad, Siempre en capilla
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama: William Inge, Picnic
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction: Ernest Hemingway - The Old Man and the Sea
- Pulitzer Prize for Poetry: Archibald MacLeish: Collected Poems 1917-1952
- King's Gold Medal for Poetry: Arthur Waley