1979 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1979.

Events

• David Ireland won the 1979 Miles Franklin Award for A Woman of the Future
• The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards are presented for the first time

Major publications

Books

• Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette – Puberty Blues
• David Ireland – A Woman of the Future
• Thomas Keneally
  • Confederates
  • Passenger
• Roger McDonald – 1915: A Novel of Gallipoli
• Randolph Stow – Visitants ^[1]
• Morris West — Proteus
• Patrick White – The Twyborn Affair

Short stories

• Glenda Adams — "A Snake Down Under" ^[2]
• Thea Astley — Hunting the Wild Pineapple
• Peter Carey — War Crimes
• Elizabeth Jolley – The Travelling Entertainer and Other Stories ^[3]

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• A. Bertram Chandler – Matilda's Stepchildren ^[4]
• Anne Spencer Parry – The Crown of Darkness ^[5]

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Catherine Berndt – Land of the Rainbow Snake ^[6]
• Mavis Thorpe Clark – The Lilly-Pilly ^[7]
• Lee Harding – Displaced Person
• Joan Phipson:
  • No Escape ^[8]
  • Mr Pringle and the Prince ^[9]

Poetry

• Robert Adamson – Where I Come From ^[10]
• David Campbell – The Man in the Honeysuckle
• Rosemary Dobson and David Campbell – Seven Russian Poets ^[11]
• Robert Gray – Grass Script ^[12]
• Dorothy Hewett – Greenhouse ^[13]
• Jennifer Maiden – The Border Loss ^[14]
• Les Murray – The Boys Who Stole the Funeral
• John Tranter
  • Dazed in the Ladies Lounge ^[15]
  • Editor, The New Australian Poetry (anthology) ^[16]
• Chris Wallace-Crabbe
  • The Emotions Are Not Skilled Workers ^[17]
  • Toil and Spin: Two Directions in Modern Poetry ^[18]

Drama

• Dorothy Hewett – The Man From Mukinupin
• Louis Nowra
  • The Lady of the Camellias ^[19]
  • Visions ^[20]

Non-fiction

• Manning Clark — A History of Australia Volume IV
• Terry Irving and Raewyn Connell — Class Structure in Australian History

Awards and honours

Order of Australia

• John Jefferson Bray appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) ^[21]
• Nancy Keesing appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) ^[22]
• Douglas Stewart appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) ^[23]
• Judah Waten appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) ^[24]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award [25]	Not awarded
Patrick White Award [26]	Randolph Stow

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [27]	Roger McDonald	1915: A Novel of Gallipoli	University of Queensland Press
ALS Gold Medal [28]	Not awarded
Colin Roderick Award [29]	Thea Astley	Hunting the Wild Pineapple	Thomas Nelson

Fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [30]	Roger McDonald	1915: A Novel of Gallipoli	University of Queensland Press
Miles Franklin Award [31]	David Ireland	A Woman of the Future	Penguin Books
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [32]	David Malouf	An Imaginary Life	Chatto & Windus

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award [33]	Older Readers	Ruth Manley	The Plum-Rain Scroll	Hodder and Stoughton
Picture Book	No award
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [32]	Children's Book Award	Jenny Wagner, and Ron Brooks (illus)	John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat	Kestrel
Special Children's Book Award	Patricia Wrightson	The Dark Bright Water	Hutchinson

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Anne Elder Award [34]	Les Harrop	The Hum of the Old Suit: Poems	Angus & Robertson
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [35]	David Campbell	The Man in the Honeysuckle	Angus & Robertson

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [36]	Not awarded
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [32]	A History of Australia Volume IV	Manning Clark	Melbourne University 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 1979 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 21 May – James Clancy Phelan, writer of thrillers and young adult novels ^[37]
• 6 June – Randa Abdel-Fattah, novelist ^[38]

Unknown date

• Maxine Beneba Clarke, writer and slam poet ^[39]
• Andrew Hutchinson, novelist ^[40]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1979 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 6 March – Helen Palmer, socialist publisher (born 1917) ^[41]
• 6 June – Ion Idriess, writer (born 1889) ^[42]
• 29 July – David Campbell, poet (born 1915) ^[43]
• 13 August – F. J. Thwaites, novelist (born 1908) ^[44]
• 21 November – Marie Byles, travel writer and non-fiction writer (born 1900) ^[45]
• 24 November — Tom Quilty, pastoralist and bush poet (born 1887) ^[46]
• 8 December – Jennifer Rankin, poet and playwright (born 1941) ^[47]

See also

• 1979 in Australia
• 1979 in literature
• 1979 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "Austlit — Visitants by Randolph Stow". Austlit. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
2. "Austlit — "A Snake Down Under" by Glenda Adams". Austlit. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
3. "Austlit — The Travelling Entertainer and Other Stories by Elizabeth Jolley by Glenda Adams". Austlit. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
4. "Matilda's Stepchildren by A. Bertram Chandler". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
5. "The Crown of Darkness by Anne Spencer Parry". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
6. "Land of the Rainbow Snake by Catherine Berndt". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
7. "Austlit — The Lilly-Pilly by Mavis Thorpe Clarke". Austlit. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
8. "Austlit — No Escape by Joan Phipson". Austlit. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
9. "Austlit — Mr Pringle and the Prince by Joan Phipson". Austlit. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
10. "Where I Come From by Robert Adamson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
11. "Seven Russian Poets by Rosemary Dobson and David Campbell". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
12. "Grass Script by Robert Gray". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
13. "Greenhouse by Dorothy Hewett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
14. "The Border Loss by Jennifer Maiden". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
15. "Dazed in the Ladies Lounge by John Tranter". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
16. Preminger, Alex and T.V.F. Brogan, et al., editors, The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, 1993, Princeton University Press and MJF Books, "Australian Poetry" article, Anthologies section, p 108
17. "The Emotions Are Not Skilled Workers by Chris Wallace-Crabbe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
18. "Toil and Spin: Two Directions in Modern Poetry by Chris Wallace-Crabbe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
19. ""The Golden Age (STC) – theatre review"". The Blurb. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
20. "Austlit — Vision by Louis Nowra". Austlit. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
21. "The Hon Dr John Jefferson Bray". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
22. "Nancy Florence Keesing (Mrs A.M. Hertzberg)". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
23. "Douglas Alexander Stewart, OBE". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
24. "Judah Leon Waten". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
25. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1978-79". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
26. Christenberry, Faye. "Library Guides: Australian Literary Awards: Patrick White". guides.lib.uw.edu. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
27. "Austlit — The Age Book of the Year Award". Austlit. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
28. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
29. "Other Winners". www.jcu.edu.au. 15 November 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
30. "Austlit — The Age Book of the Year Award - Fiction". Austlit. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
31. "Miles Franklin Literary Award – Every Winner Since 1957". Better Reading. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
32. "NSW Premier's Literary Awards". The Canberra Times, 4 September 1979, p6. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
33. "Previous Winners - CBCA". 6 January 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
34. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1979-81". Austlit. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
35. "Austlit — The Man in the Honeysuckle by David Campbell". Austlit. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
36. ""The Age Book of the Year Award - Non-Fiction 1979"". Austlit. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
37. "Austlit — James Clancy Phelan". Austlit. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
38. "Austlit — Randa Abdel-Fattah". Austlit. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
39. "Austlit — Maxine Beneba Clarke". Austlit. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
40. "Austlit — Andrew Hutchinson". Austlit. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
41. "Helen Gwynneth Palmer (1917–1979) by Robin Gollan". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
42. "Idriess, Ion Llewellyn (1889–1979) by Julian Croft". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
43. "David Campbell (1915-1979)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
44. "Frederick Joseph Thwaites (1908–1979) by Ron Blaber". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
45. "Marie Beuzeville Byles (1900–1979) by Heather Radi". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
46. "Quilty, Thomas John (1887–1979) by Cathie Clement". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
47. "Jennifer Rankin (1941-1979)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 27 August 2023.