> Who won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel The Color Purple?And the answer: Alice Walker. The Color Purple by Alice Walker first edition cover.Born in 1944, Alice Walkeris an American author, poet, and activist. The Color Purple won the NationalBook Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and was adapted into a criticallyacclaimed movie starring Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and Oprah Winfrey.Before she went on to become a Pulitzer-winning novelist, Walker was born theeighth in a family of sharecroppers in Eatonton, Georgia. Early in heradolescence, Walker suffered from a BB gun accident, losing vision in one eye.While Walker's injury kept her out of helping with chores, her mother gave her atypewriter to pass the time instead. It was there that the young author's lovefor storytelling was born.After two years at Spelman College and another two at Sarah Lawrence College,Walker released her first several collections of poetry and short stories, manyof which dealing in issues of sexism and abuse in the African Americancommunity. Upon moving to California in the 1980s, Walker released her mostrecognized work: The Color Purple. The story follows a young girl named Celie,who narrates in a series of letters addressed to God. The narrative movinglydepicts the growing up and self-realization of Celie, who overcomes oppressionand abuse to find fulfillment and independence.While critically acclaimed, Walker's novel became a source of controversy forits explicit language and violence. In fact, it ranked seventeenth on theAmerican Library Association list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of2000-2009. However, a consequential film adaptation by Steven Spielberg defendedthe novel's rich themes and important messages of self-liberation in the face ofinjustice. And, as Walker became the first Black woman to receive a Pulitzer forFiction, her legacy remains intact as a master storyteller and activist. Watch the trailer for the 1985 film adaptation below.