1957 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1957.

Books

• James Aldridge – I Wish He Would Not Die ^[1]
• Martin Boyd – Outbreak of Love
• Jon Cleary – The Green Helmet
• Nino Culotta – They're a Weird Mob
• Elizabeth Harrower – Down in the City ^[2]
• D'Arcy Niland – Call Me When the Cross Turns Over
• Vance Palmer – Seedtime ^[3]
• Ruth Park – One-a-Pecker, Two-a-Pecker ^[4]
• Nevil Shute – On the Beach
• Randolph Stow – The Bystander ^[5]
• Arthur Upfield – The Bushman Who Came Back ^[6]
• Judah Waten – Shares in Murder ^[7]
• Morris West – The Big Story
• Patrick White – Voss

Short stories

• A. Bertram Chandler – "The Cage"
• John Morrison – "A Man's World"
• Vance Palmer – The Rainbow Bird and Other Stories
• Steele Rudd – Sandy's Selection and Back At Our Selection
• Dal Stivens – The Scholarly Mouse and Other Tales
• Judah Waten – "The Knife"
• Patrick White – "On the Balcony"
• Amy Witting – "A Bottle of Tears"

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Nan Chauncy – Tiger in the Bush
• Enid Moodie Heddle – The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales (edited) illustrated by Nancy Parker
• Joan Phipson – It Happened One Summer
• Patricia Wrightson – The Bunyip Hole

Poetry

Main article: 1957 in poetry

• David Campbell – "On Frosty Days"
• Mary Gilmore – Poems
• Max Harris
  • "At the Circus"
  • "The Death of Bert Sassenowsky"
• William Hart-Smith – "Boomerang"
• Gwen Harwood – "Panther and Peacock"
• Nancy Keesing & Douglas Stewart – Old Bush Songs and Rhymes of Colonial Times (edited)
• Henry Kendall & T. Inglis Moore – Selected Poems of Henry Kendall
• Jack Lindsay – Three Elegies
• James McAuley – "Aubade"
• Leonard Mann – Elegaic and Other Poems
• Ian Mudie – "I Wouldn't be Lord Mayor"
• Kenneth Slessor – Poems
• Douglas Stewart – "The Silkworms"
• Randolph Stow – Act One : Poems
• Colin Thiele – "Bert Schulz"
• Judith Wright – New Land, New Language : An Anthology of Australian Verse (edited)

Plays

• Richard Beynon – The Shifting Heart

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal [8]	Martin Boyd	A Difficult Young Man	Cresset Press
Miles Franklin Award [9]	Patrick White	Voss	Eyre & Spottiswoode

Children's and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award [10]	Older Readers	Enid Moodie Heddle, illustrated by Nancy Parker	The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales	Longmans Green

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [11]	Leonard Mann	Elegiac and Other Poems	Halstead Press

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1957 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 18 February – Kim Scott, novelist ^[12]
• 31 March – Hannie Rayson, playwright ^[13]
• 2 June – Sara Douglass, novelist (died 2011) ^[14]
• 29 July – Liam Davison, novelist and critic (died 2014) ^[15]
• 11 November – Michelle de Kretser, novelist ^[16]

Unknown date

• Tony Birch, novelist and critic ^[17]
• Anthony Lawrence, poet ^[18]
• Lucy Sussex, novelist and critic ^[19]
• Brenda Walker, novelist ^[20]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1957 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 13 October – Will Lawson, poet and novelist (born 1876) ^[21]

See also

• 1957 in Australia
• 1957 in literature
• 1957 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

References

1. "Austlit - I Wish He Would Not Die by James Aldridge". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
2. "Austlit - Down in the City by Elizabeth Harrower". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
3. "Austlit - Seedtime by Vance Palmer". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
4. "Austlit - One-a-Pecker, Two-a-Pecker by Ruth Park". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
5. "Austlit - The Bystander by Randolph Stow". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
6. "Austlit - The Bushman Who Came Back by Arthur Upfield". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
7. "Austlit - Shares in Murder by Judah Waten". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
8. Austlit - A Difficult Young Man by Martin Boyd
9. "Novel Wins £500 Prize". The Canberra Times, 3 April 1958. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
10. Austlit - The Boomerang Book of Legendary Tales edited by Enid Moodie Heddle
11. Austlit - Elegiac and Other Poems by Leonard Mann
12. "Austlit - Kim Scott". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
13. "Austlit - Hannie Rayson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
14. "Austlit - Sara Douglass". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
15. "Austlit - Liam Davison". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
16. "Austlit - Michelle de Kretser". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
17. "Austlit - Tony Birch". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
18. "Austlit - Anthony Lawrence". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
19. "Austlit - Lucy Sussex". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
20. "Austlit - Brenda Walker". Austlit. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
21. "Lawson, William (Will) (1876–1957) by Elizabeth Webby". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.