See also: 1902 in literature, other events of 1903, 1904 in literature, list of years in literature.
Events
- October 24 - Mark Twain moves to Florence, Italy.
- The first Goncourt Prize for French literature is awarded to John Antoine Nau.
New Books
- The Ambassadors - Henry James
- The Call of the Wild - Jack London
- The Way of All Flesh - Samuel Butler
- The Souls of Black Folk - W. E. B. DuBois
- Principia Ethica - G. E. Moore
- Typhoon and Other Stories - Joseph Conrad
- The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin - Beatrix Potter
Births
- January 7 - Zora Neale Hurston
- February 11 - Alan Paton, writer
- February 12 - Georges Simenon, Belgian writer (+ 1989)
Deaths
- Theodor Mommsen, German classical scholar and historian
Awards
- Nobel Prize for Literature: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
- Goncourt Prize: John Antoine Nau for Force ennemie