1981 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1981.
Events
[edit]- Peter Carey won the 1981 Miles Franklin Award for Bliss
Major publications
[edit]Literary novels
[edit]- Peter Carey — Bliss
- Blanche d'Alpuget — Turtle Beach
- David Foster — Moonlite[1]
- Miles Franklin — On Dearborn Street[2]
- David Ireland — City of Women[3]
- Elizabeth Jolley — The Newspaper of Claremont Street[4]
- Colleen McCullough — An Indecent Obsession
- Morris West — The Clowns of God
Crime and mystery
[edit]- Marshall Browne — Dragon Strike[5]
- Peter Corris — White Meat[6]
Science fiction and fantasy
[edit]- John Brosnan — Skyship[7]
- David Lake — The Man Who Loved Morlocks[8]
- Keith Taylor — Bard[9]
- George Turner — Vaneglory[10]
Children's and young adult fiction
[edit]- Jan Ormerod — Sunshine[11]
- Ruth Park — The Muddle-Headed Wombat is Very Bad
- Eleanor Spence – The Seventh Pebble[12]
- Colin Thiele — The Valley Between[13]
Poetry
[edit]- Alan Gould — Astral Sea[14]
- Gwen Harwood — The Lion's Bride[15]
- Geoffrey Lehmann — Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero[16]
Drama
[edit]Non-fiction
[edit]- Albert Facey — A Fortunate Life
- Henry Reynolds — The Other Side of the Frontier
- Eric Charles Rolls — A Million Wild Acres
- Gavin Souter — A Company of Heralds[19]
- Patrick White — Flaws in the Glass
Awards and honours
[edit]Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
[edit]Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
[edit]- Dymphna Cusack[20]
- Beatrice Deloitte Davis[20]
- David Ireland[21]
- Jack Lindsay[20]
- Alan Marshall[20]
- Stephen Murray-Smith[21]
- Leslie Rees[21]
- Ivan Southall[20]
- Joan Woodberry[21]
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
[edit]Lifetime achievement award
[edit]| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award[22] | Not awarded |
| Patrick White Award[23] | Dal Stivens |
Literary
[edit]| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Eric Charles Rolls | A Million Wild Acres | Nelson |
| ALS Gold Medal[25] | Not awarded | ||
| Colin Roderick Award[26] | Gavin Souter | A Company of Heralds | Melbourne University Press |
Fiction
[edit]Children and Young Adult
[edit]| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Book of the Year Award[30] | Older Readers | Ruth Park | Playing Beatie Bow | Nelson Books |
| Picture Book | Not awarded | |||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's Book Award[29] | Ruth Park and Deborah Niland | When the Wind Changed | William Collins |
| Special Children's Book Award[29] | Eleanor Spence | The Seventh Pebble | Oxford University Press |
Poetry
[edit]| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Elder Award[31] | Gig Ryan | The Division of Anger | Transit Press |
| Jenny Boult | The Hotel Anonymous | Bent Enterprises | |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[32] | Geoffrey Lehmann | Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero |
Angus & Robertson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[29] | Alan Gould | Astral Sea | Angus & Robertson |
Non-fiction
[edit]| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Eric Charles Rolls | A Million Wild Acres | Nelson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[29] | A. B. Facey | A Fortunate Life | Manuscript version |
Births
[edit]A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1981 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
- 7 April — Lili Wilkinson, author of young adult fiction[33]
Unknown date
- Alice Pung, novelist and memoir writer, editor and lawyer[34]
Deaths
[edit]A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1981 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
- 14 January — John O'Grady, writer, best known as Nino Culotta, author of They're a Weird Mob (born 1907)[35]
- 29 March — Clive Sansom, poet and playwright (born 1910)[36]
- 19 April — Louis Kaye, novelist and short story writer (born 1901)[37]
- 29 April — Leonard Mann, poet and novelist (born 1895)[38]
- 29 August — Wal Stone, book publisher, collector and supporter of Australian literature (born 1910)[39]
- 19 October — Dymphna Cusack, novelist and playwright (born 1902)[40]
Unknown date
- Edith Mary England, novelist and poet (born 1899)[41]
- Ada Verdun Howell, author and poet (born 1902)[42]
See also
[edit]- 1981 in Australia
- 1981 in literature
- 1981 in poetry
- List of years in literature
- List of years in Australian literature
References
[edit]- ^ "Austlit — Moonlite by David Foster". Austlit. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — On Dearborn Street by Miles Franklin". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — City of Women by David Ireland". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — The Newspaper of Claremont Street by Elizabeth Jolley". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — Dragon Strike by Marshall Browne". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — White Meat by Peter Corris". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Skyship by John Brosnan". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "The Man Who Loved Morlocks by David Lake". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Bard by Keith Taylor". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Vaneglory by George Turner". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Sunshine by Jan Ormerod". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "The Seventh Pebble by Eleanor Spence". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "The Valley Between by Colin Thiele". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Astral Sea by Alan Gould". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — The Lion's Bride by Gwen Harwood". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero by Geoffrey Lehmann". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — Inside The Island by Louis Nowra". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — The Precious Woman by Louis Nowra". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — A Company of Heralds by Gavin Souter". Austlit. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "The Awards and Recipients". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 26 January 1981. p. 6. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "The Queen's Birthday Honours Lists Commonwealth". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 13 June 1981. p. 11. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
- ^ "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1980-87". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ a b c ""NSW man wins 'Age' book award"". The Age, 5 December 1981, p3. ProQuest 2676337338. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — The Australian/VogelNational Literary Award 1981". Austlit. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Miles Franklin Prize 1981". The Canberra Times. Vol. 56, no. 17, 043. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 May 1982. p. 7. Retrieved 19 June 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c d e "Book award goes to 86-year-old". The Age, 8 September 1981,p16. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ ""No Picture Book of Year prize"". The Canberra Times, 11 July 1981, p9. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
- ^ "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1979-81". Austlit. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero by Geoffrey Lehmann". Austlit. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ "Lili Wilkinson". Austlit. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Alice Pung". Austlit. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ White, Richard, "O'Grady, John (Patrick) (1907–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 25 June 2019
- ^ Spaulding, Ralph, "Sansom, Clive Henry (1910–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 25 June 2019
- ^ Pierce, Peter, "Norman, Noel Wilson ('Louis Kaye') (1901–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 25 June 2019
- ^ Lacy, Gavin De, "Mann, Leonard (1895–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 25 June 2019
- ^ Stone, Jean (1988). The Passionate Bibliophile: The Story of Walter Stone, Australian Bookman Extraordinaire. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0207153949.
- ^ North, Marilla, "Cusack, Ellen Dymphna (Nell) (1902–1981)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 25 June 2019
- ^ "Edith Mary England (1899-1981)". Austlit. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ^ "Ada Verdun Howell (1902-1981)". PoetrySoup. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
 Years in Australian literature (1852–present) | |
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| 19th century | |
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| 21st century | |