1986 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1986.

Events

• Elizabeth Jolley won the 1986 Miles Franklin Award for The Well
• The Melbourne Writers Festival is held for the first time

Major publications

Novels

• Margaret Barbalet — Blood in the Rain ^[1]
• Janine Burke — Second Sight
• Elizabeth Jolley — The Well
• Rod Jones — Julia Paradise ^[2]
• John Macgregor — Propinquity
• Christina Stead — I'm Dying Laughing: The Humourist
• Alan Wearne — The Nightmarkets
• Morris West — Cassidy
• Tim Winton — That Eye, the Sky
• Patrick White — Memoirs of Many in One

Crime and mystery

• Peter Corris
  • Deal Me Out ^[3]
  • The Greenwich Apartments ^[4]
• Tony Kenrick — China White ^[5]

Science fiction and fantasy

• George Turner — "Shut the Door When You Go Out" ^[6]
• Cherry Wilder — The Summer's King ^[7]

Short Stories

• Janette Turner Hospital — Dislocations ^[8]
• Joan London — Sister Ships and Other Stories
• Sally Morgan — "The Letter" ^[9]
• Archie Weller — Going Home ^[10]
• Tim Winton — "Swimming to Salvation" ^[11]

Children's and young adult fiction

• Graeme Base — Animalia
• Hesba Fay Brinsmead — Someplace Beautiful ^[12]
• Victor Kelleher — Taronga
• Doug MacLeod — Sister Madge's Book of Nuns ^[13]
• Emily Rodda — Pigs Might Fly ^[14]
• Gillian Rubinstein — Space Demons ^[15]

Poetry

• Lily Brett — The Auschwitz Poems ^[16]
• Robert Harris — The Cloud Passes Over ^[17]
• Philip Hodgins — Blood and Bone ^[18]
• Rhyll McMaster — Washing the Money: Poems with photographs ^[19]
• Jan Owen — Boy with a Telescope ^[20]
• John A. Scott — St. Clair: Three Narratives ^[21]

Drama

• Michael Gow — Away

Non-fiction

• Gillian Bouras — A Foreign Wife ^[22]
• Robert Hughes — The Fatal Shore
• Kylie Tennant — The Missing Heir ^[23]

Awards and honours

• Geoffrey Serle AO , for "service to scholarship and literature, particularly in the field of Australian history" ^[24]
• Nicholas Hasluck AM , for "service to literature" ^[25]
• Dorothy Hewett AM , for "service to literature" ^[26]
• Barbara Jefferis AM , for "service to literature" ^[27]
• Grace Perry AM , for "service to Australian literature, particularly as editor of Poetry Australia" ^[28]
• Russel Ward AM , for "service to literature, particularly in the field of Australian history" ^[29]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award [30]	Not awarded
Patrick White Award [31]	John Morrison

Literary awards

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [32]	Joan London	Sister Ships and Other Stories	Fremantle Press
ALS Gold Medal [33]	Thea Astley	Beachmasters	Penguin Books
Colin Roderick Award [34]	Fr Tom Boland	James Duhig	University of Queensland Press

Fiction awards

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [35]	Helen Garner	The Children's Bach	McPhee Gribble
The Age Book of the Year Award [32]	Joan London	Sister Ships and Other Stories	Fremantle Press
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [36]	Robin Walton	Glace Fruits	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award [37]	Elizabeth Jolley	The Well	Viking Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [38]	Helen Garner	Postcards from Surfers	McPhee Gribble
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [39]	Peter Carey	Illywhacker	University of Queensland Press

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [35]	Robert Gray	Selected Poems 1963–1983	Angus & Robertson
Anne Elder Award [40]	Jan Owen	Boy with Telescope	Angus & Robertson
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [41]	Rhyll McMaster	Washing the Money : Poems with Photographs	Angus and Robertson
Mary Gilmore Award [42]	Stephen J. Williams	A Crowd of Voices	Pariah Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [38]	Robert Gray	Selected Poems 1963-83	Angus & Robertson
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [39]	Rhyll McMaster	Washing the Money	Angus & Robertson
	John A. Scott	St. Clair	University of Queensland Press

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers [43]	Thurley Fowler	The Green Wind	Rigby
Picture Book [44]	Terry Denton	Felix & Alexander	Oxford University Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [38]	Young People's Literature	James Aldridge	The True Story of Spit MacPhee	Viking/Penguin Books Australia

Drama

Award	Category	Author	Title
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [38]	Script	Peter Carey & Ray Lawrence	Bliss
	Play	Michael Gow	Away
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [39]	Drama	Janis Balodis	Too Young for Ghosts

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [35]	R. M. Gibbs	A History of Prince Alfred College	Peacock Publications
The Age Book of the Year Award [32]	Garry Kinnane	George Johnston: A Biography	Nelson
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [38]	George Munster	A Paper Prince	Viking
	Phillip Pepper with Tess De Araugo	The Kurnai of Gippsland, Volume One	Hyland House
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [39]	John Bryson	Evil Angels	Viking

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1986 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 23 August — Jack Heath, writer of fiction for children and adults ^[45]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1986 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 2 March — Margaret Trist, novelist and short story writer (born 1914) ^[46]
• 27 September — Olga Masters, writer, journalist, novelist and short story writer (born 1919) ^[47]
• 10 November — Laurence Collinson, British and Australian playwright, actor, poet, journalist, and secondary school teacher (born 1925) ^[48]

See also

• 1986 in Australia
• 1986 in literature
• 1986 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "Austlit — Blood in the Rain by Margaret Barbalet". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
2. "Austlit — Julia Paradise by Rod Jones". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
3. "Austlit — Deal Me Out by Peter Corris". Austlit. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
4. "Austlit — The Greenwich Apartments by Peter Corris". Austlit. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
5. "Austlit — China White by Tony Kenrick". Austlit. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
6. ""Shut the Door When You Go Out" by George Turner". ISFDB. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
7. "Austlit — The Summer's King by Cherry Wilder". Austlit. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
8. "Austlit — Dislocations by Janette Turner Hospital". Austlit. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
9. "Austlit — "The Letter" by Sally Morgan". Austlit. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
10. "Austlit — Going Home by Archie Weller". Austlit. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
11. "Austlit — "Swimming to Salvation" by Tim Winton". Austlit. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
12. "Austlit — Someplace Beautiful by Hesba Fay Brinsmead". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
13. "Austlit — Sister Madge's Book of Nuns By Doug MacLeod". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
14. "Austlit — Pigs Might Fly by Jennifer Rowe". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
15. "Austlit — Space Demons by Gillian Rubinstein". Austlit. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
16. "Austlit — The Auschwitz Poems by Lily Brett". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
17. "Austlit — The Cloud Passes Over by Robert Harris". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
18. "Austlit — Blood and Bone by Philip Hodgins". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
19. "Austlit — Washing the Money: Poems with photographs by Rhyll Mcmaster". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
20. "Austlit — Boy with a Telescope by Jan Owen". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
21. "Austlit — St. Clair: Three Narratives by John A. Scott". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
22. "Austlit — A Foreign Wife by Gillian Bouras". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
23. "Austlit — The Missing Heir by Kylie Tennant". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
24. "Dr Alan Geoffrey Serle". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
25. "Nicholas Paul Hasluck". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
26. "Dorothy Coade Hewett". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
27. "Barbara Tarlton Jefferis (Mrs Hinde)". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
28. "Dr Grace Amelia Perry". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
29. "Professor Russell Braddock Ward". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
30. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1980-87". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
31. "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
32. ""Short Stories Top the List"". The Age, 3 December 1986, p11. ProQuest   2521170097 . Retrieved 28 May 2024.
33. "ALS Gold Medal - Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
34. "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
35. "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
36. "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1986". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
37. "Literary prize". The Canberra Times . Vol. 61, no. 18, 862. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 May 1987. p. 7. Retrieved 27 June 2023– via National Library of Australia.
38. "Premier's prize giving a sober literary affair". Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 1986, p5. ProQuest   2526321643 . Retrieved 3 May 2024.
39. "Winners of the 1986 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards". The Age, 4 October 1986, p13. ProQuest   2521243460 . Retrieved 26 April 2024.
40. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1985-88". Austlit. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
41. "Austlit — Grace Leven Prize for Poetry 1986". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
42. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
43. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1986". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
44. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book 1986". Austlit. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
45. "Austlit — Jack Heath". Austlit. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
46. "Margaret Bethesda Trist (1914–1986) by Vivienne Muller". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
47. "Olga Masters (1919-1986)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
48. "Laurence Henry (Laurie) Collinson (1925–1986) by William Hatherell". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 15 November 2023.