1987 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1987.

Events

• Glenda Adams won the 1987 Miles Franklin Award for Dancing on Coral

Major publications

Novels

• Glenda Adams — Dancing on Coral
• Murray Bail — Holden's Performance
• Sumner Locke Elliott — Waiting for Childhood ^[1]
• Barbara Hanrahan — Kewpie Doll ^[2]
• Nicholas Hasluck — Truant State ^[3]
• David Ireland — Bloodfather ^[4]
• Nicholas Jose — Paper Nautilus ^[5]
• Thomas Keneally — The Playmaker
• Olga Masters — Amy's Children ^[6]
• Colleen McCullough — The Ladies of Missalonghi
• Boyd Oxlade — Death in Brunswick
• Nancy Phelan — Home is the Sailor ^[7]
• Eric Willmot — Pemulwuy, the Rainbow Warrior ^[8]

Short stories

• Jessica Anderson — Stories from the Warm Zone
• Thea Astley — It's Raining in Mango
• Julie Lewis — The Walls of Jericho: Stories ^[9]
• John Sligo — Final Things
• Patrick White — Three Uneasy Pieces

Children's and young adult fiction

• John Marsden — So Much to Tell You

Science fiction and fantasy

• Greg Egan – "Neighbourhood Watch"
• Isobelle Carmody — Obernewtyn
• George Turner — The Sea and Summer

Crime and mystery

• Jon Cleary — Dragons at the Party
• Peter Corris — The January Zone
• Jennifer Rowe — Grim Pickings ^[10]

Poetry

• Judith Beveridge — The Domesticity of Giraffes
• Dorothy Hewett — Alice in Wormland ^[11]

Drama

• Dorothy Hewett — Me and the Man in the Moon ^[12]
• David Malouf — Blood Relations
• Wendy Richardson — Windy Gully ^[13]
• David Williamson — Emerald City

Non-fiction

• Brian Matthews — Louisa
• Sally Morgan — My Place

Awards and honours

• Rosemary Dobson AO , for "service to literature, particularly in the field of poetry" ^[14]
• David Malouf AO , for "service to literature" ^[15]
• Peter Cowan (writer) AM , for "service to Australian literature" ^[16]
• Ruth Park AM , for "service to literature" ^[17]
• Rica Erickson AM , for "service to the arts, particularly as an author and illustrator ^[18]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award [19]	Not awarded
Patrick White Award [20]	William Hart-Smith

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [21]	Jessica Anderson	Stories from the Warm Zone	Penguin
ALS Gold Medal [22]	Alan Wearne	The Nightmarkets	Penguin
Colin Roderick Award [23]	Nancy Phelan	Home is the Sailor and the Best of Intentions	Hyland House

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize [24]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Blanche d'Alpuget	Winter in Jerusalem	Heinemann

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [25]	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award [21]	Jessica Anderson	Stories from the Warm Zone	Penguin
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [26]	Jim Sakkas	Ilias	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award [27]	Glenda Adams	Dancing on Coral	Viking Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [28]	Glenda Adams	Dancing on Coral	Viking Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Janine Burke	Second Sight	Greenhouse Publications
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards [30]	Joan London	Sister Ships	Fremantle Arts Centre Press

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers [31]	Simon French	All We Know	Angus and Robertson
Picture Book [32]	Junko Morimoto, translated by Isao Morimoto	Kojuro and the Bears	Random House
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [28]	Young People's Literature	Nan Hunt and Betina Ogden	A Rabbit Named Harris	William Collins

Science fiction and fantasy

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Australian SF Achievement Award [33]	Best Australian Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel	Keith Taylor	Bard III: The Wild Sea	Berkley Publishing
	Best Australian Science Fiction or Fantasy Short Fiction	Terry Dowling	"The Man Who Lost Red"	MirrorDanse Books

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [25]	Not awarded
Anne Elder Award [34]	Sarah Day	A Hunger to be Less Serious	Angus & Robertson
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [35]	Elizabeth Riddell	Occasions of Birds and Other Poems	Brindabella Press
Mary Gilmore Award [36]	Jan Owen	Boy with Telescope	Angus & Robertson
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [28]	Philip Hodgins	Blood and Bone	Angus & Robertson
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Lily Brett	The Auschwitz Poems	Scribe

Drama

Award	Category	Author	Title
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [28]	Film Script	David Parker	Malcolm
	Television Script	Helen Garner	Two Friends
	Play	David Malouf	Blood Relations
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Drama	Ben Lewin	A Matter of Convenience

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [25]	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award [21]	Robert Hughes	The Fatal Shore	Knopf
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [28]	Patrick O'Farrell	The Irish In Australia	University of New South Wales Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [29]	Hugh Stretton	Political Essays

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1987 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 3 March — Cyril Pearl, Australian journalist, editor, author, social historian, wit and television personality (born 1904) ^[37]
• 18 April — Kenneth Cook, Australian journalist, television documentary maker and novelist (born 1929) ^[38]
• 8 May — Marjorie Barnard, Australia novelist and short story writer, critic, historian and librarian (born 1897) ^[39]
• 24 May — Robert D. Fitzgerald, poet (born 1902) ^[40]
• 3 July — Grace Perry, poet, playwright, and founder and editor of the South Head Press (born 1927) ^[41]
• 17 December — Lucy Walker, romance novelist (born 1907) ^[42]

See also

• 1987 in Australia
• 1987 in literature
• 1987 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "Austlit — Waiting for Childhood by Sumner Locke Elliott". Austlit. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
2. "Austlit — Kewpie Doll by Barbara Hanrahan". Austlit. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
3. "Truant State by Nicholas Hasluck". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
4. "Bloodfather by David Ireland". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
5. "Austlit — Paper Nautilus by Nicholas Jose". Austlit. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
6. "Austlit — Amy's Children by Olga Masters". Austlit. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
7. "Home is the Sailor by Nancy Phelan". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
8. "Austlit — Pemulwuy, the Rainbow Warrior by Eric Wilmot". Austlit. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
9. Lewis, Julie (1987). The Walls of Jericho. Fremantle, W.A : Fremantle Arts Centre Press. ISBN   978-0-949206-16-9.
10. "Austlit — Grim Pickings by Jennifer Rowe". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
11. "Austlit — Alice in Wormland by Dorothy hewett". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
12. "Austlit — Me and the Man in the Moon by Dorothy Hewtt". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
13. "Austlit — Windy Gully by Wendy Richardson". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
14. "Rosemary de Brissac Dobson". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
15. "David George Joseph Malouf". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
16. "Peter Walkinshaw Cowan". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
17. "Ruth Park (Mrs Niland)". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
18. "Dr Frederica Lucy Erickson". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
19. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award 1980-87". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
20. "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
21. ""Book judges find winners in warm zones and on fatal shores"". The Age, 5 December 1987, p5. ProQuest   2521294318 . Retrieved 28 May 2024.
22. "ALS Gold Medal - Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
23. "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
24. "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
25. "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
26. "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1987". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
27. ""Literary win"". The Age, 11 May 1088, p3. ProQuest   2521286110 . Retrieved 16 January 2025.
28. "No prize for coming first, say literary judges". Sydney Morning Herald, 3 September 1987, p4. ProQuest   2526227339 . Retrieved 3 May 2024.
29. "The Premier's Literary Awards Winners". The Age, 19 September 1987, p13. ProQuest   2676210045 . Retrieved 26 April 2024.
30. ""Australian Literary Awards: Western Australian Premier's"". University Libraries. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
31. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers 1987". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
32. "Austlit — Children's Book of the Year Award: Picture Book 1987". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
33. ""Ditmar Awards 1987"". SFADB. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
34. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1985-88". Austlit. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
35. "Austlit — Grace Leven Prize for Poetry 1987". Austlit. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
36. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature . Retrieved 8 February 2024.
37. "Cyril Altson Pearl (1904–1987) by Patrick Buckridge". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
38. Kent, Jacqueline, "Kenneth Bernard Cook (1929–1987)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 19 October 2023
39. "Barnard, Marjorie Faith (Marjory) (1897–1987) by Jill Roe". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
40. "FitzGerald, Robert David (Bob) (1902–1987) by Stuart Lee". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
41. "Perry, Grace Amelia (1927-1987)". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
42. "Dorothy Lucy Sanders (1907–1987) by Lisa MacKinney and Jenny Gregory". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 9 November 2023.