1991 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1991.

Events

David Malouf won the Miles Franklin Award for The Great World

Major publications

Novels

Peter Carey — The Tax Inspector
Brian Castro — Double-Wolf
Bryce Courtenay — Tandia
Robert Drewe — Our Sunshine
David Foster — Mates of Mars^[1]
Alan Gould — To the Burning City^[2]
Rodney Hall — The Second Bridegroom
Thomas Keneally
- Chief of Staff (as by "William Coyle")
- Flying Hero Class
Colleen McCullough — The Grass Crown
Gillian Mears — The Mint Lawn^[3]
Morris West — The Ringmaster
Tim Winton — Cloudstreet

Short stories

Lily Brett – What God Wants^[4]
Suzanne Edgar — Counting Backwards and Other Stories^[5]

Crime and mystery

Jon Cleary — Pride's Harvest
Peter Corris
- Aftershock^[6]
- Wet Graves^[7]
Garry Disher — Kickback^[8]
Kerry Greenwood — Murder on the Ballarat Train^[9]
Brenda Walker — Crush^[10]

Science fiction and fantasy

Greg Egan – "Appropriate Love"
Keith Taylor – Felimid's Homecoming^[11]
George Turner – Brain Child^[12]

Children's and young adult fiction

Margaret Barbalet — The Wolf
Anna Fienberg — The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels
Jackie French — Rain Stones (for children)
Robin Klein — Came Back to Show You I Could Fly
John Marsden — Letters from the Inside

Poetry

Alison Croggon — This is the Stone^[13]
A. D. Hope — Orpheus^[14]
Jean Kent — Practising Breathing^[15]

Drama

Michael Gow — Furious

Non-fiction

Bruce Bennett — Spirit in Exile, Peter Porter and His Poetry^[16]
Barry Hill — Sitting In^[17]
Julie Lewis — Olga Masters, A Lot of Living^[18]
David Marr — Patrick White: A Life^[19]

Awards and honours

Robert Hughes , for "service to art and to the promotion of Australian culture"[20]
Bruce Beaver , for "service to literature, particularly in the field of poetry"[21]
David Rowbotham , for "service to literature"[22]
Patricia Scott , for "service to children's literature"[23]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[24]	Elizabeth Riddell
Patrick White Award^[25]	David Martin

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[26]	David Marr	Patrick White : A Life	Jonathan Cape
ALS Gold Medal^[27]	Elizabeth Jolley	Cabin Fever	Viking
Colin Roderick Award^[28]	Joan Dugdale	Struggle of Memory	University of Queensland Press

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[29]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	David Malouf	The Great World	Chatto & Windus
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[29]	Best Overall Novel	David Malouf	The Great World	Chatto & Windus

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature^[30]	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award^[26]	Brian Castro	Double-Wolf	Allen & Unwin
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award^[31]	Andrew McGahan	Praise	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[32]	David Malouf	The Great World	Chatto & Windus
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards^[33]	Nigel Krauth	JF Was Here	Allen and Unwin
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards^[34]	Finola Moorhead	Still Murder	Penguin

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature^[30]	Not awarded
Anne Elder Award^[35]	Alison Croggon	This is the Stone	Penguin
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[36]	Les Murray	Dog Fox Field: Poems	Angus & Robertson
Mary Gilmore Award^[37]	Jean Kent	Vernadahs	Hale & Iremonger

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature^[30]	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award^[26]	David Marr	Patrick White : A Life	Jonathan Cape

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1991 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

21 February — Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, academic, literary critic and poet (born 1915)^[38]
30 March — Joan Colebrook, journalist and writer (born 1910)^[39]
3 April — Coral Lansbury, writer and academic (born 1929)^[40]
7 April — Bob Brissenden, poet, novelist, critic and academic (born 1928)^[41]
2 May — Ronald McKie, novelist (born 1909)^[42]
23 May — Manning Clark, historian (born 1915)^[43]
24 June — Sumner Locke Elliott, novelist and playwright (born 1917)^[44]
17 November — Pixie O'Harris, children's book author and illustrator (born 1903)^[45]
1 December — Barbara Hanrahan, novelist and artist (born 1939)^[46]

References

^ "Mates of Mars by David Foster". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "To the Burning City by Alan Gould". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "The Mint Lawn by Gillian Mears". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "What God Wants by Lily Brett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ "Counting Backwards and Other Stories by Suzanne Edgar". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Aftershock by Peter Corris". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Wet Graves by Peter Corris". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Kickback by Garry Disher". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Crush by Brenda Walker". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Felimid's Homecoming by Keith Taylor". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ "Brain Child by George Turner". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
^ "This is the Stone by Alison Croggon". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Orpheus by A. D. Hope". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Practising Breathing by Jean Kent". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Spirit in Exile by Bruce Bennett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Sitting In by Barry Hill". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Olga Masters, A Lot of Living by Julie Lewis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Patrick White: A Life by David Marr". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ "Robert Studley Forrest Hughes". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^ "Victor Bruce Beaver". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^ "David Harold Rowbotham". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^ "Patricia Scott". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
^ "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
^ "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ""Booknotes"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 December 1991, p44. ProQuest 2527558348. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
^ "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
^ "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^ "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1991". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
^ "Malouf's sixth novel wins Miles Franklin award". The Canberra Times, 26 June 1991, p5. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ "Literary winner uncovers a purple patch in the mountains". Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 1991, p3. ProQuest 2527555705. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
^ "Case of crime paying dividends". The Age, 12 September 1991, p15. ProQuest 2521549387. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
^ "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1989-91". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^ "Austlit — Grace Leven poetry prize 1991-93". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
^ "Dorothy Green (1915-1991)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
^ "Austlit — Joan Colebrook (1910-1991)". Austlit. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
^ "Coral Magnolia Lansbury (1929–1991) by Melanie Nolan". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
^ Brooks, David (2014). "'Brissenden, Robert Francis (Bob) (1928–1991)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
^ "Ronald Cecil McKie (1909–1991) by Cheryl Taylor". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
^ McKenna, Mark, "Clark, Charles Manning (1915–1991)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 14 September 2023
^ Roe, Jill, "Elliott, Sumner Locke (1917–1991)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 16 September 2023
^ "O'Harris, Pixie (1903–1991) by Robert Holden". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
^ "Barbara Hanrahan (1939-1991)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

[1] "Mates of Mars by David Foster". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[2] "To the Burning City by Alan Gould". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[3] "The Mint Lawn by Gillian Mears". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[4] "What God Wants by Lily Brett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

[5] "Counting Backwards and Other Stories by Suzanne Edgar". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[6] "Aftershock by Peter Corris". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[7] "Wet Graves by Peter Corris". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[8] "Kickback by Garry Disher". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[9] "Murder on the Ballarat Train by Kerry Greenwood". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[10] "Crush by Brenda Walker". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[11] "Felimid's Homecoming by Keith Taylor". ISFDB. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

[12] "Brain Child by George Turner". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

[13] "This is the Stone by Alison Croggon". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[14] "Orpheus by A. D. Hope". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[15] "Practising Breathing by Jean Kent". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[16] "Spirit in Exile by Bruce Bennett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[17] "Sitting In by Barry Hill". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[18] "Olga Masters, A Lot of Living by Julie Lewis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[19] "Patrick White: A Life by David Marr". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[20] "Robert Studley Forrest Hughes". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.

[21] "Victor Bruce Beaver". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.

[22] "David Harold Rowbotham". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.

[23] "Patricia Scott". honours.pmc.gov.au. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2019.

[CB1991-24] "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award". Austlit. Retrieved 13 September 2023.

[AustlitPWA-25] "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

[Age1991-26] ""Booknotes"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 December 1991, p44. ProQuest 2527558348. Retrieved 28 May 2024.

[ALS-27] "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 January 2024.

[CRA-28] "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 31 December 2023.

[CWP-29] "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.

[SLSA-30] "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.

[Vogel91-31] "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1991". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2023.

[MFA1991-32] "Malouf's sixth novel wins Miles Franklin award". The Canberra Times, 26 June 1991, p5. Retrieved 14 September 2023.

[NSWPLA1991-33] "Literary winner uncovers a purple patch in the mountains". Sydney Morning Herald, 10 September 1991, p3. ProQuest 2527555705. Retrieved 3 May 2024.

[vpp1991-34] "Case of crime paying dividends". The Age, 12 September 1991, p15. ProQuest 2521549387. Retrieved 27 April 2024.

[AEA1989-91-35] "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1989-91". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

[GLP91-93-36] "Austlit — Grace Leven poetry prize 1991-93". Austlit. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

[MGA-37] "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 February 2024.

[38] "Dorothy Green (1915-1991)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 September 2023.

[39] "Austlit — Joan Colebrook (1910-1991)". Austlit. Retrieved 20 November 2023.

[40] "Coral Magnolia Lansbury (1929–1991) by Melanie Nolan". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 17 April 2024.

[:0-41] Brooks, David (2014). "'Brissenden, Robert Francis (Bob) (1928–1991)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 4 April 2019.

[42] "Ronald Cecil McKie (1909–1991) by Cheryl Taylor". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 16 November 2023.

[43] McKenna, Mark, "Clark, Charles Manning (1915–1991)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 14 September 2023

[44] Roe, Jill, "Elliott, Sumner Locke (1917–1991)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 16 September 2023

[45] "O'Harris, Pixie (1903–1991) by Robert Holden". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 30 June 2023.

[46] "Barbara Hanrahan (1939-1991)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

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v t e Years in Australian literature (1853–present)
19th century	1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900
20th century	1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024

Events

Major publications

Novels

Short stories

Crime and mystery

Science fiction and fantasy

Children's and young adult fiction

Poetry

Drama

Non-fiction

Awards and honours

Lifetime achievement

Literary

Fiction

International

National

Poetry

Non-fiction

Deaths

See also

References