America Award in Literature
1 appearances
-
Edition 24 (2017) Winner
Tom Stoppard
トム・ストッパード
Tomu Sutoppādo
Pen Names:
William Boot（Pseudonym used for reviews and some interviews）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1937-07-03 （Zlín, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic)）
- Nationality
- Czechoslovakia (born), United Kingdom
- Languages
- English, Czech (family background)
- Religion
- Judaism (cultural/familial background)
- Residence History
- Zlín (birth) → Singapore (early childhood, temporary) → Darjeeling, India (boarding school 1943–1946) → England (Nottingham, Yorkshire and other residences after relocation) → France (owned/maintained a house, temporary residence)
Career
- Occupations
- Playwright, Screenwriter, Translator, Theatre critic, Journalist
- Active Years
- 1953-2025
- Affiliations
- The London Library (patron / vice-president), Standpoint (advisory board), Shakespeare Schools Festival (patron), Outrapo (associated)
- Memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL), Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (HonFBA)
- Influenced By
- Samuel Beckett, Václav Havel, Sławomir Mrożek and other Polish/Czech absurdists
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling | — | — | — | 1943–1946 | India |
| Pocklington School | — | — | — | 1950年代（中等教育） | United Kingdom |
Mount Hermon School, Darjeeling
Period:
1943–1946
Country:
India
An American-style multi-racial school; attended during childhood. The period when the family adopted 'Tom' as an anglicised name.
Pocklington School
Period:
1950年代（中等教育）
Country:
United Kingdom
Completed secondary education here. Did not attend university; began working as a newspaper journalist at 17.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Academy Award (Screenplay) | Shakespeare in Love | Best Original Screenplay | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | Winner |
| 1993 | Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Play) | Arcadia | Best New Play | Society of London Theatre (Laurence Olivier Awards) | Winner |
| 2007 | Tony Award (Best Play) | The Coast of Utopia | Best Play | American Theatre Wing / The Broadway League (Tony Awards) | Winner |
| 1997 | Knighthood (Knight Bachelor) | — | — | The Crown (Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II) | Knighted |
| 2013 | PEN Pinter Prize | — | — | PEN (PEN Pinter Prize) | Winner |
Academy Award (Screenplay)
1999
Work:
Shakespeare in Love
Category:
Best Original Screenplay
Organization:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result:
Winner
Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Play)
1993
Work:
Arcadia
Category:
Best New Play
Organization:
Society of London Theatre (Laurence Olivier Awards)
Result:
Winner
Tony Award (Best Play)
2007
Work:
The Coast of Utopia
Category:
Best Play
Organization:
American Theatre Wing / The Broadway League (Tony Awards)
Result:
Winner
Knighthood (Knight Bachelor)
1997
Organization:
The Crown (Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II)
Result:
Knighted
PEN Pinter Prize
2013
Organization:
PEN (PEN Pinter Prize)
Result:
Winner
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
1966 Theatre (dramatic comedy)A play focusing on two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, exploring existential themes and linguistic play.
ExistentialismWordplayFate and chance
Adaptations
- [Film] Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead / Tom Stoppard (1990)
Arcadia
1993 Theatre (historical/intellectual drama)A play alternating between the early 19th century and the present, exploring thermodynamics, Romantic literature and historiography.
Time and historyDialogue between science and literatureRomanticism
The Real Thing
1982 Theatre (metatheatre, romantic drama)A play about love and authenticity that uses a play-within-a-play structure to examine reality versus appearance.
Love and authenticityTheatre self-reference
The Coast of Utopia (trilogy)
2002 Theatre (historical trilogy)A trilogy about 19th-century Russian revolutionary thinkers, blending philosophical debate with human drama.
History of ideasRevolution and the individual
Leopoldstadt
2020 Theatre (family history, historical drama)A family saga of a Jewish family in Vienna that addresses 20th-century history, memory and loss.
MemoryJewish historyGenerations and loss
Shakespeare in Love (screenplay)
1998 Film (romantic comedy)A fictional romantic story about the young William Shakespeare; Stoppard won an Academy Award for the screenplay.
Source of creationLove and art
Bibliography
- Lord Malquist and Mr Moon (novel, 1966)
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966)
- Arcadia (1993)
- The Coast of Utopia (trilogy, 2002)
- Leopoldstadt (2020)
Adaptations
- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead film (1990, dir. Tom Stoppard)
- Shakespeare in Love screenplay (1998, co-written)
- Empire of the Sun (screenplay involvement, 1987)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Witty, wordplay-rich, intellectually constructed playsA style that wraps philosophical/existential questions in humour
- Recurring Motifs
- Identity and issues of namingPlay with language and meaningHistory and memoryFreedom of expression / censorship
Legacy
Tom Stoppard is an internationally performed major playwright and screenwriter whose works integrate linguistic play and philosophical themes. He has received numerous awards and honours in theatre and film, including a knighthood and fellowships.
Museums
- Harry Ransom Center (Tom Stoppard Papers) University of Texas at Austin (Austin, USA) Opened in 1991
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
- British Academy (Honorary Fellow)
Archives
- Harry Ransom Center (holds Stoppard's drafts, correspondence and production material)
In Popular Culture
- Frequently taught and performed in theatre programs and university curricula in the UK and US
Quotes
-
I must stop compromising my plays with this whiff of social application. They must be entirely untouched by any suspicion of usefulness.
Source: Interview / Tom Stoppard in Conversation (1994)
Trivia
- Born Tomáš Sträussler.
- Fled Czechoslovakia as a child and lived in Singapore and India before settling in the UK.
- Knighted in 1997 by Queen Elizabeth II.
- Has worked across theatre, film (screenplays), radio and translation.