1980s Books: Top Writers, Novels And Reading Trends

Big novels, big advances, and British fiction going international.

Below: books published in the 1980s, the writers who defined it, what was changing in publishing, and how people actually got hold of a book.

Every title and date is real. Useful for a reading list, a quiz round or a reminiscence session.

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Shop prints and posters Look back to 1980 Look back to 1981 Look back to 1982

Cards and art prints, made by us

Funny and warm greeting cards, art prints and pin badges, printed in the UK. Order on a working day and it usually goes out the same day.

You Old Bastard (Funny Birthday Card) You Old Bastard (Funny Birthday Card) £3.87 Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Him Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Him £3.87 Fifty & Even More Fabulous Than Ever (50th Birthday Card) Fifty & Even More Fabulous Than Ever (50th Birthday Card) £3.87 Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Her Cheeky Wordsearch Valentines Day Card For Her £3.87 I Wish You Looked At Me Like Any Can of Strongbow Dark Fruits Ever (Valentines Day Card) I Wish You Looked At Me Like Any Can of Strongbow Dark Fruits Ever (Valentines Day Card) £3.87 Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card) Happy Valentines Day, Bab (Valentines Day Card) £3.87

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Books published in the 1980s

  • Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981), which won the Booker.
  • The Colour Purple by Alice Walker (1982).
  • The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985).
  • The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett (1983), the first Discworld.
  • Perfume by Patrick Suskind (1985).
  • The BFG by Roald Dahl (1982) and Matilda (1988).
  • A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking (1988).
  • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989).

Writers who defined the decade

  • Salman Rushdie, celebrated then in hiding after the 1989 fatwa.
  • Martin Amis, with Money (1984), and the 'Granta Best of Young British' generation.
  • Terry Pratchett, building Discworld a book or two a year.
  • Jeanette Winterson, with Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1985).
  • Kazuo Ishiguro and Ian McEwan, both in their thirties and already central.
  • Catherine Cookson, the most borrowed author in British libraries.

Publishing and writing trends

  • The Booker becomes a televised event and a sales machine.
  • Six-figure advances and the author as a marketed personality.
  • Bookshop chains expand: Waterstones founded in 1982, Dillons everywhere.
  • Post-colonial and international fiction takes the major prizes.
  • Comics grow up: Watchmen (1986-87) and the graphic novel as a term.

How people read

  • Book clubs by post, with four books for 99p and a commitment you regretted.
  • Library budgets squeezed, and the first talk of closures.
  • Audiobooks on cassette, mostly for long drives.
  • Puffin and Point Horror paperbacks passed round school.

Years covered in the 1980s

  • 1980 - The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1980
  • 1981 - A royal wedding, riots in several cities and the first London Marathon. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1981
  • 1982 - The Falklands, the launch of Channel 4 and the arrival of the Spectrum. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1982
  • 1983 - Breakfast television, the pound coin and a general election landslide. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1983
  • 1984 - The miners' strike, the Brighton bombing and Band Aid at Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1984
  • 1985 - Live Aid, the first EastEnders and a very bad year in football. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1985
  • 1986 - The Hand of God, Chernobyl and Neighbours arriving on daytime television. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1986
  • 1987 - The great storm, Black Monday and a third election win. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1987
  • 1988 - Acid house, Kylie's first number one and a grim run of disasters. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1988
  • 1989 - Hillsborough, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the decade. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1989
  • That is every 1980s year we have written up so far: 1980 to 1989.

How to use this

  • Reading list: pick one novel and one non-fiction title from the decade someone was born in.
  • Quiz round: read a title and ask for the decade, or read a writer and ask for one book.
  • Reminiscence: ask what they were made to read at school, and what they read in secret.
  • Anyone born in 1980 turns 50 in 2030, 60 in 2040 and 70 in 2050.

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Found your words? Now find the card

Shop prints and posters Look back to 1980 Look back to 1981 Look back to 1982

How to write it so it lands

  • Publication year and the year someone read it are rarely the same - paperbacks arrived a year or two later.
  • For a birthday, a first edition is expensive but a decent second-hand copy from their birth year is not.
  • Libraries can order almost anything on this list for free.

Where to shop next

Frequently asked questions

What are the best books from the 1980s?

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie (1981), which won the Booker. The full list above gives the novels and non-fiction worth reading from the decade, with publication years.

Which writers defined the 1980s?

Salman Rushdie, celebrated then in hiding after the 1989 fatwa. The writers section above names the rest.

What was changing in publishing in the 1980s?

The Booker becomes a televised event and a sales machine. The trends section covers how books were made, priced and sold.

Do you sell books?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read and free to copy - try a library or a second-hand bookshop for the books.

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