1983 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1983.

Events

• The judges of the 1983 Miles Franklin Award announced there was no book entered of sufficient merit to receive the award. ^[1]

Major publications

Novels

• Brian Castro — Birds of Passage ^[2]
• Elizabeth Jolley
  • Miss Peabody's Inheritance ^[3]
  • Mr Scobie's Riddle
• Peter Kocan — The Cure
• Kylie Tennant — Tantavallon ^[4]
• Morris West — The World Is Made of Glass

Crime and mystery

• Peter Corris — The Empty Beach
• Gabrielle Lord — Tooth and Claw ^[5]
• Ian Moffitt — The Colour Man ^[6]

Science fiction and fantasy

• A. Bertram Chandler — Kelly Country
• Greg Egan – An Unusual Angle
• Lee Harding — Waiting for the End of the World ^[7]
• George Turner — Yesterday's Men ^[8]

Short story collections

• Beverley Farmer — Milk
• Elizabeth Jolley — Woman in a Lampshade
• David Malouf — Antipodes

Children's and young adult fiction

• Pamela Allen — Bertie and the Bear ^[9]
• Mem Fox — Possum Magic
• Patricia Wrightson — A Little Fear ^[10]

Poetry

• Les Murray
  • "Flowering Eucalypt in Autumn" ^[11]
  • The People's Otherworld : Poems

Drama

• Stephen Sewell — The Blind Giant is Dancing

Non-fiction

• Russell Braddon
  • Japan Against the World ^[12]
  • The Other Hundred Years War ^[13]
• Mary Durack — Sons in the Saddle ^[14]
• Sylvia Lawson — The Archibald Paradox ^[15]
• Megan McMurchy, Margot Oliver and Jeni Thornley — For Love or Money, a Pictorial History of Women and Work in Australia
• Lilith Norman — The brown and yellow: Sydney Girls' High School 1883–1983 ^[16]
• Cyril Pearl — The Dunera Scandal: Deported by Mistake ^[17]
• Lloyd Robson — A History of Tasmania (Volume 1) ^[18]
• Anne Summers — Gamble for Power: How Bob Hawke beat Malcolm Fraser: The 1983 federal election ^[19]

Awards and honours

Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

• Joyce Nicholson, for "service to literature and the book publishing industry" ^[20]
• Lu Rees, for "service to children's literature and the community" ^[21]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award [22]	Bruce Dawe
Patrick White Award [23]	Marjorie Barnard

Literary awards

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [24]	Elizabeth Jolley	Mr Scobie's Riddle	Penguin
ALS Gold Medal [25]	David Malouf	Child's Play; Fly Away Peter	Penguin
Colin Roderick Award [26]	Dudley McCarthy	Gallipoli to the Somme — The Story of C.E.W. Bean	John Ferguson

Fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [24]	Elizabeth Jolley	Mr Scobie's Riddle	Penguin
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [27]	Jenny Summerville	Shields of Trell	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award [28]	No award
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Peter Kocan	The Cure	Angus & Robertson

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers [30]	Victor Kelleher	Master of the Grove	Penguin Books
Picture Book [31]	Pamela Allen	Who Sank the Boat?	Nelson Books
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Children's Book Award	Pamela Allen	Who Sank the Boat?	Nelson Books
Special Children's Book Award	Nadia Wheatley	Five Times Dizzy	Oxford University Press

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Anne Elder Award [32]	David Brooks	The Cold Front	Hale and Iremonger
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [33]	Peter Porter	Collected Poems	Oxford University Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Vivian Smith	Tide Country	Angus & Robertson

Drama

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Play [29]	Nicholas Enright and Terence Clarke	Variations	Manuscript

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [24]	L. L. Robson	A History of Tasmania : Volume 1. : Van Dieman's Land from the Earliest Times to 1855	Oxford University Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Blanche d'Alpuget	Robert J. Hawke	Schwartz Books

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1983 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 2 December — Tara June Winch, writer of Aboriginal and European descent ^[34]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1983 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 20 January — Maie Casey, Baroness Casey, pioneer aviator, poet, librettist, biographer, memoirist and artist (born 1891) ^[35]
• 23 January — Lu Rees, bookseller, book collector and children's literature advocate (born 1901) ^[36]
• 8 February – Colin Simpson, journalist and travel writer (born 1908) ^[37]
• 31 March — Christina Stead, novelist and short-story writer (born 1902) ^[38]
• 25 August — Donald Stuart, novelist whose works include stories with Aboriginal backgrounds and a series recounting his experience as a prisoner of war in Burma in World War II (born 1913) ^[39]
• 29 September — Alan Moorehead, war correspondent and author of popular histories (born 1910) ^[40]
• 5 December — Gavin Greenlees, poet (born 1930) ^[41]

See also

• 1983 in Australia
• 1983 in literature
• 1983 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "No Miles Franklin award last year". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). 16 May 1984. p. 28. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
2. "Austlit — Birds of Passage by Brian Castro". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
3. "Austlit — Miss Peabody's Inheritance by Elizabeth Jolley". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
4. "Austlit — Tantavallon by Kylie Tennant". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
5. "Austlit — Tooth and Claw by Gabrielle Lord". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
6. "Austlit — The Colour Man by Ian Moffitt". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
7. "Waiting for the End of the World by Lee Harding". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
8. "Yesterday's Men by George Turner". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
9. "Austlit — Bertie and the Bear by Pamela Allen". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
10. "Austlit — A Little Fear by Patricia Wrightson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
11. "Austlit — "Flowering Eucalypt in Autumn" by Les Murray". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
12. "Japan Against the World by Russell Braddon". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
13. "The Other Hundred Years War by Russell Braddon". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
14. "Sons in the Saddle by Mary Durack". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
15. "Austlit — The Archibald Paradox by Sylvia Lawson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
16. "The brown and yellow: Sydney Girls' High School 1883–1983 by Lilith Norman". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
17. "The Dunera Scandal: Deported by Mistake by Cyril Pearl". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
18. "Austlit — A History of Tasmania (Volume 1) by Lloyd Robson". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
19. "Gamble for Power: How Bob Hawke beat Malcolm Fraser: The 1983 federal election by Anne summers". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
20. "Joyce Nicholson". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
21. "Lucy Frances Harvey Rees, MBE". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
22. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1980-87". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
23. "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
24. ""'Riddle' is Book of the Year"". The Canberra Times, 7 December 1983, p28. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
25. "ALS Gold Medal - Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
26. "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
27. "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1982". Austlit. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
28. "No Miles Franklin award last year". The Canberra Times . Vol. 58, no. 17, 762. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 16 May 1984. p. 28. Retrieved 25 June 2023– via National Library of Australia.
29. "Peter Kocan book wins a Wran prize". Sydney Morning Herald, 6 September 1983, p8. ProQuest   2526815224 . Retrieved 3 May 2024.
30. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1983". Austlit. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
31. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book 1983". Austlit. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
32. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1982-84". Austlit. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
33. "Austlit — Collected Poems by Peter Porter". Austlit. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
34. "Tara June Winch". Austlit. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
35. "Casey, Lady Ethel Marian (Maie) (1891–1983) by Diane Langmore". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
36. "Rees, Lucy Frances (Lu) (1901–1983) by Patricia Clarke". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
37. "Simpson, Edwin Colin (1908–1983) by Richard White". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
38. "Stead, Christina Ellen (1902–1983) by Margaret Harris". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
39. "Stuart, Donald Robert (1913–1983) by Sally Clarke". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
40. "Moorehead, Alan McCrae (1910–1983) by John Lack". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
41. "Gavin Greenlees (1930-1983)". Austlit. Retrieved 25 June 2023.