1996 in Australian literature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1996.
- Christopher Koch won the Miles Franklin Award for Highways to a War
- David Malouf won the International Dublin Literary Award for Remembering Babylon
- The Ned Kelly Awards, honouring excellence in Australian crime writing, are presented for the first time
Major publications
Novels
- Thea Astley — The Multiple Effects of Rainshadow
- James Cowan — A Mapmaker's Dream
- Robert Dessaix — Night Letters: A Journey Through Switzerland and Italy Edited and Annotated by Igor Miazmov[1]
- Garry Disher — The Sunken Road[2]
- Robert Drewe — The Drowner
- David Foster — The Glade Within the Grove
- Clive James — The Silver Castle[3]
- David Malouf — The Conversations at Curlow Creek
- John A. Scott — Before I Wake
- Janette Turner Hospital — Oyster
- Morris West — Vanishing Point
- Sue Woolfe — Leaning Towards Infinity
Short story anthologies
- Kerryn Goldsworthy — Australian Love Stories (edited)[4]
Science fiction and fantasy
- Russell Blackford – "The Sword of God"
- Sara Douglass
- Matthew Reilly — Contest[5]
- Jane Routley — Mage Heart[6]
- Dirk Strasser — Equinox[7]
- Lucy Sussex — The Scarlet Rider[8]
- Sean Williams
- Metal Fatigue
- "Passing the Bone"[9]
Crime
- Jon Cleary – Endpeace
- Peter Doyle – Get Rich Quick
- Shane Maloney – The Brush-Off
- Peter Temple – Bad Debts
Children's and young adult fiction
- Hilary Bell — Mirror, Mirror
- Isobelle Carmody – Green Monkey Dreams
- Margaret Clark — Fat Chance
- Sonya Hartnett — Black Foxes[10]
- Kerry Greenwood — The Broken Wheel
- John Marsden — Checkers
- James Moloney — A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove
Poetry
- Eric Beach — Weeping for Lost Babylon[11]
- Lisa Bellear — Dreaming in Urban Areas[12]
- Judith Beveridge — Accidental Grace[13]
- John Kinsella — The Undertow: New and Selected Poems[14]
- Anthony Lawrence — The Viewfinder[15]
- Les Murray — Subhuman Redneck Poems
- Dorothy Porter — Crete[16]
- Morgan Yasbincek — Night Reversing
Drama
- Nick Enright — Blackrock
- Jenny Kemp — The Black Sequin Dress
- Debra Oswald — Gary's House[17]
- David Williamson — Heretic
Non-fiction
Awards and honours
- Mavis Thorpe Clark AM "for service to the arts as the author of children's literature and as an active member of the writer's organisations in Australia"[19]
- Susanna de Vries AM "for service to art as an author and lecturer in Australian and European art history and history"[20]
- Christobel Mattingley AM "for service to literature, particularly children's literature, and for community service through her commitment to social and cultural issues"[21]
Lifetime achievement
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award[22] | Dorothy Hewett |
| Patrick White Award[23] | Elizabeth Harrower |
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Thea Astley | The Multiple Effects of Rainshadow | Viking |
| ALS Gold Medal[25] | Amanda Lohrey | Camille's Bread | Angus and Robertson |
| Colin Roderick Award[26] | Tim Flannery, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay, Illustrator Peter Schouten |
Tree Kangaroos | Reed Publications |
| Nita Kibble Literary Award[27] | Judy Cassab | Judy Cassab: Diaries | Random House |
Fiction
International
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize[28] | Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Gillian Mears | The Grass Sister | Random House |
National
Crime and Mystery
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ned Kelly Award[36] | Novel | Barry Maitland | The Malcontenta | Hamish Hamilton |
| Paul Thomas | Inside Dope | Mandarin Publishing | ||
| First novel | John Dale | Dark Angel | Serpent's Tail | |
| Lifetime Achievement | Jon Cleary | |||
Children and Young Adult
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[29] | Children's | John Marsden | The Third Day, the Frost | Pan MacMillan |
| Children's Book of the Year Award[37] | Older Readers | Catherine Jinks | Pagan's Vows | Omnibus Books |
| Picture Book | Narelle Oliver | The Hunt | Lothian | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[33] | Young People's Literature | David Metzenthen | Johnny Hart's Heroes | Penguin Books Australia |
| Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction[34] | Sonya Hartnett | Sleeping Dogs | Viking Books | |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards[35] | Children's and YA | Helen Bell | Idjhil | University of Western Australia Press |
Science fiction and fantasy
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurealis Award[38] | Sf Novel | Greg Egan | Distress | Millenium |
| Sf Short Story | Greg Egan | "Luminous" | Isaac Asimov's SF Magazine Sept 1995 | |
| Fantasy Novel | Garth Nix | Sabriel | Moonstone/HarperCollins Publishers | |
| Fantasy Short Story | Karen Attard | "Harvest Bay" | Eidolon #19 Spring 1995 | |
| Horror Novel | Terry Dowling | An Intimate Knowledge of the Night | Aphelion | |
| Horror Short Story | Francis Payne | "Olympia" | Bambada Press | |
| Young Adult Novel | Brian Caswell | Deucalion | University of Queensland Press | |
| Garth Nix | Sabriel | Moonstone/HarperCollins Publishers | ||
| Young Adult Short Story | Not awarded | |||
| Australian SF Achievement Award[39] | Best Australian Long Fiction | Sean McMullen | Mirrorsun Rising | Aphelion |
| Best Australian Short Fiction | Ian Gunn | "Schrödinger's Fridge" | Aurealis #15 | |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[29] | John Kinsella | The Silo: A Pastoral Symphony | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Eric Beach | Weeping for Lost Babylon | Angus and Robertson |
| Anne Elder Award[40] | Marcella Polain | Dumbstruck | Five Islands Press |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[41] | John Kinsella | The Undertow : New and Selected Poems | Arc Publications |
| Mary Gilmore Award[42] | Jordie Albiston | Nervous Arcs | Spinfex Press |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[33] | Eric Beach | Weeping for Lost Babylon | HarperCollins Publishers |
| J. S. Harry | Selected Poems | Penguin Books Australia | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Peter Bakowski | In the Human Night | Hale and Iremonger |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards[35] | Dorothy Hewett | Collected Poems | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |
Drama
| Award | Category | Author | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[33] | FilmScript | Ian David | Blue Murder |
| Play | John Misto | The Shoe-Horn Sonata | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Drama | Joanna Murray-Smith | Honour |
Non-fiction
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[29] | Non-Fiction | Tim Flannery | The Future Eaters | Reed Books |
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Non-Fiction | Geoffrey Serle | Robin Boyd : A Life | Miegunyah Press |
| National Biography Award[43] | Biography | Abraham Biderman | The World of My Past | AHB Publications |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[33] | Non-Fiction | Tom Griffiths | Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia | Cambridge University Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Non-Fiction | Tom Griffiths | Hunters and Collectors: The Antiquarian Imagination in Australia | Cambridge University Press |
