This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2013.
Events 21 January – An annual Orwell Day is instituted. 26 January – Fleeing Islamist insurgents set fire to library buildings in Timbuktu containing manuscripts, mostly in Arabic, dating back to 1204. 7 March – World Book Day becomes a UNESCO-designated event marked in more than 100 countries. April – J. K. Rowling publishes a detective novel, The Cuckoo's Calling, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, with the U.K. publisher Sphere Books. The author's identity is revealed by the media in July. 23 April – World Book Night. 28 April – The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Simon Stephens' stage adaptation of a novel by Mark Haddon, wins a record seven awards at the 2013 Laurence Olivier Awards in London. 1 July – Publisher Penguin Random House is created by a merger. 3 September – The new Library of Birmingham, the largest public library in the U.K., is opened by Malala Yousafzai. Its public spaces are integrated with those of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre. October – Jo Nesbø reveals himself as Tom Johansen, author of three forthcoming novels. 28 November – Three unpublished works by J. D. Salinger (died 2010), including "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", are leaked onto the internet.
Anniversaries 11 February 50th anniversary of the death of Sylvia Plath in 1963 200th anniversary of the birth of Harriet Jacobs in 1813 28 January – 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice in 1813 5 May – 200th anniversary of the birth of Søren Kierkegaard in 1813 2 June – 100th anniversary of the birth of Barbara Pym"Philip Hensher toasts the novelist Barbara Pym", 2 June 2013. Accessed 23 September 2013. 29 June – 400th anniversary of the burning of the Globe Theatre during a production of Shakespeare and Fletcher's Henry VIII in 1613 2 August – 25th anniversary of the death of US short story writer Raymond Carver 7 November – 100th anniversary of the birth of Albert Camus 22 November – 50th anniversary of the death of Aldous Huxley
New books
Fiction Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah José Eduardo Agualusa – A General Theory of Oblivion (Teoria Geral do Esquecimento) Jacob M. Appel – The Biology of Luck Dan Brown – Inferno Adam Christopher – The Burning Dark J. M. Coetzee – The Childhood of Jesus Troy Denning – Crucible Doug Dorst – S. Richard Flanagan – The Narrow Road to the Deep North Aminatta Forna – The Hired Man Frederick Forsyth – The Kill List Neil Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane Elizabeth Graver – The End of the Point David G. Hartwell (ed.) – Year's best SF 18 Neamat Imam – The Black Coat Reinhard Jirgl – Nichts von euch auf Erden Philip Kerr – A Man Without Breath Stephen King – Doctor Sleep Rachel Kushner – The Flamethrowers Pierre Lemaitre – Au revoir là-haut (The Great Swindle) Eimear McBride – A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing Alex Miller – Coal Creek Haruki Murakami (村上 春樹) – Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (色彩を持たない多崎つくると、彼の巡礼の年, Tsukuru to, kare no junrei no toshi) Adam Nevill – House of Small Shadows Nnedi Okorafor – Kabu-Kabu: Stories Chuck Palahniuk – Doomed Rick Riordan – The House of Hades Veronica Roth – Allegiant J. K. Rowling (as Robert Galbraith) – The Cuckoo's Calling Ahmed Saadawi – Frankenstein in Baghdad (فرانكشتاين في بغداد) M. G. Sanchez – The Escape Artist: a Gibraltarian novel John Scalzi – The Human Division Sjón – Moonstone – The Boy Who Never Was (Mánasteinn – drengurinn sem aldrei var til) Robert Stone – Death of the Black-Haired Girl Donna Tartt – The Goldfinch Zlatko Topčić – Dagmar Peter Watts – Beyond the Rift (collected stories) Tim Winton – Eyrie
Children's and young people David Almond – Mouse Bird Snake Wolf John Barrowman and Carole Barrowman – "Bone Quill" Anthony Horowitz – Russian Roulette Patricia MacLachlan – Cat Talk Rainbow Rowell – Fangirl Maggie Stiefvater – The Dream Thieves (second book in The Raven Cycle)
Drama Annie Baker – The Flick Elfriede Jelinek – Die Schutzbefohlenen Lucy Kirkwood – Chimerica Stefano Massini – The Lehman Trilogy Edward Petherbridge and Kathryn Hunter – My Perfect Mind
Poetry
Non-fiction Saroo Brierley – A Long Way Home Olavo de Carvalho – O Mínimo Que Você Precisa Saber para Não Ser um Idiota Kate Christensen – Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites Pat Conroy – The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son Jared Diamond – The World Until Yesterday Craig Dworkin – No Medium Peter Freeman – The Wallpapered Manse Malcolm Gladwell – David and Goliath Ben Goldacre – Bad Pharma Temple Grandin – The Autistic Brain Gary Greenberg – The Book of Woe Wil Haygood – The Butler: A Witness to History Michael Kimmel – Angry White Men Mark Levin – The Liberty Amendments Peter H. Maguire – Thai Stick Diane Muldrow – Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse – The Neanderthals Rediscovered Thomas Piketty – Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Le Capital au XXIe siècle) Lisa Randall – Higgs Discovery Sheryl Sandberg – Lean In Nina Stibbe – Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life Jeff VanderMeer – The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction
Deaths 2 January Alexei Rudeanu, Romanian writer (born 1939) Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and writer (born 1944) 7 January – Maruša Krese, Slovene poet, writer and journalist (born 1947) 10 January – Evan S. Connell, American novelist, poet and short story writer (born 1924) 11 January – Robert Kee, English writer, journalist and broadcaster (born 1919) 18 January – Jacques Sadoul, French novelist, book editor and non-fiction writer (born 1934) 20 January Yemi Ajibade, Nigerian playwright and actor (born 1929) Dolores Prida, Cuban-American journalist and playwright (born 1943) Toyo Shibata (柴田トヨ), Japanese poet (born 1911) 24 January – Richard G. Stern, American novelist and educator (born 1928) 2 February – Sirajul Haq Memon, Pakistani author, journalist and scholar in Sindhi (born 1933)Siraj Memon, an icon of Sindhi literature, passes away at 79, The Express Tribune. 3 February – Robert Anthony Welch, Irish author and academic (born 1947)Robert Welch obituary, guardian.co.uk. 1 March 2013. 4 February – Margaret Frazer (Gail Lynn Brown), American historical novelist (born 1946)Gail Lynn Frazer obituary, legacy.com, 6 February 2013. 5 February – Leda Mileva, Bulgarian writer, translator, and diplomat (born 1920)На 93 години почина Леда Милева 7 February Niki Marangou, Cypriot writer and painter (born 1948)Σκοτώθηκε στην Αίγυπτο η συγγραφέας Νίκη Μαραγκού lifo.gr Jonathan Rendall, English author (born 1964)Jonathan Rendall dies, The Times, 7 February 2013. 8 February – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American screenwriter and author (born 1934) 10 February – W. Watts Biggers, American novelist (born 1927)W. Watts Biggers, Creator of 'Underdog' Cartoon, Dies at 85 12 February – Barnaby Conrad, American author (born 1922)Barnaby Conrad, Man of Many Hats and a Cape, Dies at 90, The New York Times, 16 February 2013 13 February – Oswald LeWinter, Austrian-born American writer (born 1931)Oswald Le Winter – Holly Hill, thetandd.com, 18 February 2013. 14 February Glenn Boyer, American author (born 1924)Glenn Boyer, author of trilogy on Wyatt Earp dies azcentral.com Mary Brave Bird, American Lakota writer and activist (born 1954)Mary Ellen Bird dies , kvsh.com, 18 February 2013. Friedrich Neznansky, Russian writer (born 1932)ДНИ.РУ ИНТЕРНЕТ-ГАЗЕТА ВЕРСИЯ 5.0/Умер писатель Фридрих Незнанский. 17 February William Bridges, American author and business consultant (born 1933)William Bridges, Larkspur author of books on life changes, dies at 79 Marin Independent Journal. Manoranjan Das, Indian playwright (born 1923)Playwright Manoranjan Das dead, The Times of India, 19 February 2013. Debbie Ford, American motivational author (born 1955)Debbie Ford, Author of Self-Help Books, Is Dead at 57 NY Times. 23 February Maurice Rosy, Belgian comics writer (born 1927)Décès du céramiste Maurice Savoie Sylvia Smith, English writer (born 1945)Sylvia Smith, telegraph.co.uk 24 February – Mahmoud Salem, Egyptian author (born 1931)"Egyptian author Mahmoud Salem dies age 84" Daily News Egypt. 26 February Jan Howard Finder, American science fiction writer (born 1939)Jan Howard Finder, #1 fan, dies at 73. Stéphane Hessel, German-born French author and diplomat (born 1917)Best-selling French author Stephane Hessel dies at 95 themalaysianinsider.com. 27 February Molly Lefebure, English writer (born 1919). Imants Ziedonis, Latvian poet (born 1933)Miris dzejnieks Imants Ziedonis|Diena.lv. 10 March – Robert Chrisman, American poet, scholar, and critic, co-founder of The Black Scholar (born 1937) 1 April – Kildare Dobbs, Canadian author (born 1923) 11 April – Adam Galos, Polish historian (born 1924) 13 April – Nick Pollotta, American science fiction author (born 1954)SF Site News " Obituary: Nick Pollotta. 20 April Jocasta Innes, China-born English non-fiction writer (born 1934)Jocasta Innes. E. L. Konigsburg, American children's novelist and illustrator (born 1930)Award-winning children's author E.L. Konigsburg dies in Virginia at age 83 The Washington Post. 22 April – Clément Marchand, Canadian poet and journalist (born 1912)Décès du poète et éditeur Clément Marchand, ledevoir.com.] 1 May – Gregory Rogers, Australian children's author and illustrator (born 1957) 12 May – Per Maurseth, Norwegian historian (born 1932) 23 May – William Demby, American author (born 1922) 26 May – Jack Vance, American mystery, fantasy, and science fiction writer (born 1916) 6 June – Tom Sharpe, English comic novelist (born 1928)Tom Sharpe, Porterhouse Blue novelist, dies aged 85. 9 June – Iain Banks, Scottish novelist (born 1954) 15 June – Peride Celal, Turkish author (born 1915) 23 June – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (born 1926) 12 July – Elaine Morgan, Welsh writer on anthropology (born 1920) 2 September – Frederik Pohl, American science fiction writer (born 1919) 18 September – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-born German literary critic (born 1920) 19 September – Edilberto K. Tiempo, Filipino novelist and literary critic (born 1913) 21 September – Kofi Awoonor, Ghanaian poet (shot dead, born 1935) 23 September Christopher Koch, Australian novelist (born 1932)Miles Franklin Award winning novelist Christopher Koch dead at 81. Álvaro Mutis, Colombian poet, novelist and essayist (born 1923)Álvaro Mutis muere a la edad de 90 años en México Luciano Vincenzoni, Italian screenwriter (born 1926)Addio a Luciano Vincenzoni, scrisse "Il buono, il brutto e il cattivo" 1 October – Tom Clancy, American thriller writer (born 1947) 25 November – Joel Lane, English author, poet, and critic (born 1963) 11 December – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author (born 1929)
Awards Akutagawa Prize (Early): Kaori Fujino for Tsume to Me (爪と目) "Nails and Eyes" Caine Prize for African Writing: Tope Folarin, "Miracle" Camões Prize: Mia Couto Danuta Gleed Literary Award: (announced 11 June 2013) David Cohen Prize: Hilary Mantel Dayne Ogilvie Prize: Main award, C. E. Gatchalian; honours of distinction, Anand Mahadevan, Barry Webster Dylan Thomas Prize: Battleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins European Book Prize: Eduardo Mendoza, An Englishman in Madrid, and Arnaud Leparmentier, The French, gravediggers of the euro Friedenspreis des Deutschen Buchhandels: Svetlana Alexievich German Book Prize: Terézia Mora, Das Ungeheuer Goldsmiths Prize: A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride Gordon Burn Prize: Pig Iron by Ben Myers Governor General's Award for English-language fiction: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton Governor General's Award for French-language fiction: Quand les guêpes se taisent by Stéphanie Pelletier Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française: Plonger by Christophe Ono-dit-Biot Hugo Award for Best Novel: John Scalzi for Redshirts International Dublin Literary Award: City of Bohane by Kevin Barry