<Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> That Was Then, This Is Now </Td> </Tr> <P> The Outsiders is a coming - of - age novel by S.E. Hinton, first published in 1967 by Viking Press . Hinton was 15 when she started writing the novel, but did most of the work when she was 16 and a junior in high school . Hinton was 18 when the book was published . The book follows two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs (pronounced by the author as / ˈsoʊʃɪz /, short for Socials), who are divided by their socioeconomic status . The story is told in first - person narrative by protagonist Ponyboy Curtis . </P> <P> The story in the book takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1965, but this is never stated in the book . </P> <P> A film adaptation was produced in 1983, and a little - known short - lived television series appeared in 1990, picking up where the movie left off . A stage adaptation was written by Christopher Sergel and published in 1990 . </P>

When does the story the outsiders take place