1990 in Australian literature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1990.
- Tom Flood won the Miles Franklin Award for Oceana Fine
Major publications
Novels
- Glenda Adams — Longleg
- Thea Astley — Reaching Tin River
- Lily Brett — Things Could Be Worse
- Sumner Locke Elliott — Fairyland
- Sonya Hartnett — The Glass House
- Susan Johnson – Flying Lessons[1]
- Elizabeth Jolley — Cabin Fever
- Nigel Krauth – JF Was Here
- David Malouf — The Great World
- Colleen McCullough — The First Man in Rome
- Mandy Sayer — Mood Indigo[2]
- Sam Watson – The Kadaitcha Sung[3]
- Morris West — Lazarus
Crime and mystery
- Jon Cleary — Murder Song
- Peter Corris — O'Fear
- Kerry Greenwood — Flying Too High
- Alex Juniper — A Very Proper Death[4]
- Jennifer Maiden — Play with Knives
- Finola Moorhead — Still Murder
- Kel Richards — The Case of the Vanishing Corpse[5]
Science fiction and fantasy
- A. Bertram Chandler — From Sea to Shining Star
- Greg Egan
- Lucy Sussex — "Red Ochre"[6]
- George Turner — A Pursuit of Miracles: Eight Stories[7]
Children's and young adult fiction
- Isobelle Carmody — The Farseekers
- Gary Crew — Strange Objects
- Garth Nix — The Ragwitch
- Emily Rodda — Finders Keepers
- Tim Winton — Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo
Poetry
- Lee Cataldi — Women Who Live on the Ground: Poems, 1978-1988[8]
- Jean Kent — Verandahs[9]
- Jennifer Maiden — The Winter Baby
- Les Murray — Dog Fox Field
- Jan Owen — Fingerprints on Light[10]
Drama
- Hannie Rayson — Hotel Sorrento[11]
- David Williamson — Siren[12]
Non-fiction
- Beverley Farmer — A Body of Water[13]
- Gwen Harwood — Blessed City: The Letters of Gwen Harwood to Thomas Riddell, January to September 1943[14]
- Dorothy Hewett — Wild Card[15]
Awards and honours
- Yasmine Gooneratne AO, for "service to literature and to education"[16]
- Harry Payne Heseltine AO, for "service to education, particularly in the field of Australian literature"[17]
- Rodney Hall (writer) AM, for "service to the arts, particularly in the field of Australian literature"[18]
- Andrew Taylor (poet) AM, for "service to the arts, particularly in the field of Australian literature"[19]
- Elyne Mitchell OAM, for "service to children's literature"[20]
Lifetime achievement
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award[21] | Not awarded |
| Patrick White Award[22] | Robert Gray |
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[23] | Gwen Harwood | Blessed City | Angus and Robertson |
| ALS Gold Medal[24] | Peter Porter | Possible Worlds | Oxford University Press |
| Colin Roderick Award[25] | Roland Griffiths-Marsh | The Sixpenny Soldier | Angus and Robertson |
Fiction
International
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize[26] | Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Robert Drewe | The Bay of Contented Men | Picador |
National
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[27] | Gwen Harwood | Bone Scan | Angus & Robertson |
| Anne Elder Award[33] | Jean Kent | Vernadahs | Hale & Iremonger |
| Barry Hill | Raft: Poems 1983-1990 | Penguin | |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[34] | Not awarded | ||
| Mary Gilmore Award[35] | Kristopher Rassemussen | In the Name of the Father | False Frontiers |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[30] | Robert Adamson | The Clean Dark | Paper Bark Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[31] | Robert Adamson | The Clean Dark | Paper Bark Press |
Children and Young Adult
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[27] | Children's | Gillian Rubinstein | Beyond the Labyrinth | Hyland House |
| Children's Book of the Year Award[36] | Older Readers | Robin Klein | Came Back to Show You I Could Fly | Viking Books |
| Picture Book | Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas | The Very Best of Friends | Margaret Hamilton | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[30] | Young People's Literature | Katherine Scholes | The Blue Chameleon | Hill of Content |
| Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction[31] | Diana Kidd | Onion Tears | Collins |
Science fiction and fantasy
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian SF Achievement Award[37] | Best Australian Long Fiction | Wynne Whiteford | Lake of the Sun | Ace |
| Best Australian Short Fiction | Terry Dowling | "The Quiet Redemption of Andy the House" | Australian Short Stories #26 | |
Drama
| Award | Category | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[30] | FilmScript | Jane Campion and Gerard Lee | Sweetie |
| Laura Jones | An Angel at My Table | ||
| Play | Not awarded | ||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[31] | Drama | Sam Sejavka | The Hive |
Non-fiction
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[27] | John Bray | Satura | Wakefield Press |
| The Age Book of the Year Award[23] | Gwen Harwood | Blessed City | Angus and Robertson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[30] | Siobhan McHugh | The Snowy | William Heinemann Australia |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[31] | Oskar Spate | The Sixpenny Soldier | Angus and Robertson |
Births
A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1990 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
Unknown date
- Ellen van Neerven, Indigenous Australian writer and poet[38]
