1990 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1990.

Events

• Tom Flood won the Miles Franklin Award for Oceana Fine

Major publications

Novels

• Glenda Adams — Longleg
• Thea Astley — Reaching Tin River
• Sumner Locke Elliott — Fairyland ^[1]
• Sonya Hartnett — The Glass House
• Susan Johnson – Flying Lessons ^[2]
• Elizabeth Jolley — Cabin Fever
• Nigel Krauth – JF Was Here
• David Malouf — The Great World
• Colleen McCullough — The First Man in Rome
• Mandy Sayer — Mood Indigo ^[3]
• Sam Watson – The Kadaitcha Sung ^[4]
• Morris West — Lazarus

Crime and mystery

• Jon Cleary — Murder Song
• Peter Corris — O'Fear
• Kerry Greenwood — Flying Too High ^[5]
• Alex Juniper — A Very Proper Death ^[6]
• Finola Moorhead — Still Murder
• Kel Richards — The Case of the Vanishing Corpse ^[7]

Science fiction and fantasy

• A. Bertram Chandler — From Sea to Shining Star
• Greg Egan
  • "Axiomatic"
  • "Learning to Be Me"
  • "The Moral Virologist"
• Lucy Sussex — "Red Ochre" ^[8]
• George Turner — A Pursuit of Miracles: Eight Stories ^[9]

Children's and young adult fiction

• Isobelle Carmody — The Farseekers
• Gary Crew — Strange Objects
• Garth Nix — The Ragwitch
• Emily Rodda — Finders Keepers
• Tim Winton — Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo

Poetry

• Lee Cataldi — Women Who Live on the Ground: Poems, 1978-1988 ^[10]
• Jean Kent — Verandahs ^[11]
• Jennifer Maiden — The Winter Baby ^[12]
• Les Murray — Dog Fox Field ^[13]
• Jan Owen — Fingerprints on Light ^[14]

Drama

• Hannie Rayson — Hotel Sorrento ^[15]
• David Williamson — Siren ^[16]

Non-fiction

• Beverley Farmer — A Body of Water ^[17]
• Gwen Harwood — Blessed City: The Letters of Gwen Harwood to Thomas Riddell, January to September 1943 ^[18]
• Dorothy Hewett — Wild Card ^[19]

Awards and honours

• Yasmine Gooneratne AO , for "service to literature and to education" ^[20]
• Harry Payne Heseltine AO , for "service to education, particularly in the field of Australian literature" ^[21]
• Rodney Hall (writer) AM , for "service to the arts, particularly in the field of Australian literature" ^[22]
• Andrew Taylor (poet) AM , for "service to the arts, particularly in the field of Australian literature" ^[23]
• Elyne Mitchell OAM , for "service to children's literature" ^[24]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award [25]	Not awarded
Patrick White Award [26]	Robert Gray

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award [27]	Gwen Harwood	Blessed City	Angus and Robertson
ALS Gold Medal [28]	Peter Porter	Possible Worlds	Oxford University Press
Colin Roderick Award [29]	Roland Griffiths-Marsh	The Sixpenny Soldier	Angus and Robertson

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize [30]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Robert Drewe	The Bay of Contented Men	Picador

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [31]	Peter Carey	Oscar and Lucinda	University of Queensland Press
The Age Book of the Year Award [27]	Glenda Adams	Longleg	Angus & Robertson
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [32]	Gillian Mears	The Mint Law	Allen and Unwin
	Michael Stephens	Sibling Mischief	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award [33]	Tom Flood	Oceana Fine	Allen & Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [34]	Thea Astley	Reaching Tin River	William Heinemann Australia
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [35]	Tom Flood	Oceana Fine	Allen & Unwin
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards [36]	Vasso Kalamaras	The Same Light	Fremantle Arts Centre Press

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [31]	Gwen Harwood	Bone Scan	Angus & Robertson
Anne Elder Award [37]	Jean Kent	Vernadahs	Hale & Iremonger
	Barry Hill	Raft: Poems 1983-1990	Penguin
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [38]	Not awarded
Mary Gilmore Award [39]	Kristopher Rassemussen	In the Name of the Father	False Frontiers
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [34]	Robert Adamson	The Clean Dark	Paper Bark Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [35]	Robert Adamson	The Clean Dark	Paper Bark Press

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award [40]	Older Readers	Robin Klein	Came Back to Show You I Could Fly	Viking Books
Picture Book	Margaret Wild & Julie Vivas	The Very Best of Friends	Margaret Hamilton
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [34]	Young People's Literature	Katherine Scholes	The Blue Chameleon	Hill of Content
Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction [35]		Diana Kidd	Onion Tears	Collins

Science fiction and fantasy

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Australian SF Achievement Award [41]	Best Australian Long Fiction	Wynne Whiteford	Lake of the Sun	Ace
	Best Australian Short Fiction	Terry Dowling	"The Quiet Redemption of Andy the House"	Australian Short Stories #26

Drama

Award	Category	Author	Title
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [35]	Drama	Sam Sejavka	The Hive

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [31]	John Bray	Satura	Wakefield Press
The Age Book of the Year Award [27]	Gwen Harwood	Blessed City	Angus and Robertson

Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1990 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

Unknown date

• Ellen van Neerven, Indigenous Australian writer and poet ^[42]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1990 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 8 March — Jack Lindsay, novelist, biographer, historian and literary critic (born 1900) ^[43]
• 15 April — William Hart-Smith, poet (born 1911) ^[44]
• 21 June — Martin Johnston, poet and novelist (born 1947) ^[45]
• 30 September — Patrick White, novelist, playwright and short story writer (born 1912) ^[46]

See also

• 1990 in Australia
• 1990 in literature
• 1990 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "Fairyland by Sumner Locke Elliott". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
2. "Flying Lessons by Susan Johnson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
3. "Mood Indigo by Mandy Sayer". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
4. "The Kadaitcha Sung by Sam Watson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
5. "Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
6. "A Very Proper Death by Alex Juniper". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
7. "The Case of the Vanishing Corpse by Kel Richards". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
8. ""Red Ochre" by Lucy Sussex". ISFDB. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
9. "A Pursuit of Miracles by George Turner". ISFDB. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
10. "Austlit — Women Who Live on the Ground: Poems, 1978-1988 by Lee Cataldi". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
11. "Austlit — Verandahs by Jean Kent". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
12. "Austlit — The Winter Baby by Jennifer Maiden". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
13. "Austlit — Dog Fox Field by Les Murray". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
14. "Austlit — Fingerprints on Light by Jan Owen". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
15. "Austlit — Hotel Sorrento by Hannie Rayson". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
16. "Austlit — Siren by David Williamson". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
17. "Austlit — A Body of Water by Beverley Farmer". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
18. "Austlit — Blessed City: The Letters of Gwen Harwood to Thomas Riddell, January to September 1943 by Gwen Harwood". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
19. "Austlit — Wild Card by Dorothy Hewett". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
20. "Associate Professor Yasmine Gooneratne". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
21. "Professor Harry Payne Heseltine". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
22. "Rodney Hall". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
23. "Andrew McDonald Taylor". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
24. "Sibyl Elyne Keith Mitchell". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
25. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
26. "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
27. ""A poet's collection of letters wins 'Age' Book of the Year prize"". The Age, 1 December 1990, p12. ProQuest   2521410374 . Retrieved 28 May 2024.
28. "ALS Gold Medal - Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
29. "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
30. "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
31. "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
32. "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1990". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
33. ""Second major prize for book"". The Canberra Times, 22 June 1990, p16. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
34. "Siobhan's Snowy stories are winners". Sydney Morning Herald, 7 September 1990, p3. ProQuest   2523209867 . Retrieved 7 February 2025.
35. "Another Premier's literary award goes to flood for 'Oceana Fine'". The Age, 13 September 1990, p14. ProQuest   2521139267 . Retrieved 26 April 2024.
36. ""Australian Literary Awards: Western Australian Premier's"". University Libraries. Retrieved 4 April 2025.
37. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1989-91". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
38. "Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1991-93". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
39. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature . Retrieved 10 February 2024.
40. ""CBCA - Previous Winners - 1946 Onwards"" (PDF). CBCA. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
41. ""Ditmar Awards 1990"". SFADB. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
42. "Austlit — Ellen van Neerven". Austlit. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
43. "John (Jack) Lindsay (1900–1990) by Paul Gillen". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
44. "William (Bill) Hart-Smith (1911–1990) by Brian Dibble". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
45. "Martin Johnston (1947-1990)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
46. "Patrick Victor (Paddy) White (1912–1990) by Elizabeth Webby". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 25 November 2023.