1994 in Australian literature

none December 2019 December 2019 This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1994. Events Rodney Hall (writer) won the Miles Franklin Award for The Grisly Wife Major publications Novels Thea Astley — Coda Lily Brett — Just Like That Peter Carey — The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith Helen Demidenko – The Hand That Signed the Paper Richard Flanagan — Death of a River Guide Kate Grenville — Dark Places Adib Khan — Seasonal Adjustments Drusilla Modjeska — The Orchard The Orchard by Drusilla Modjeska National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1876297 27 April 2024 Tim Winton — The Riders Short stories Marian Eldridge — The Wild Sweet Flowers The Wild Sweet Flowers by National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/158932 27 April 2024 Lucy Sussex – The Lottery : Nine Science Fiction Stories (edited) The Lottery : Nine Science Fiction Stories edited by Lucy Sussex National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/181422 27 April 2024 Science fiction and fantasy Greg Egan — Permutation City Sean McMullen – Voices in the Light Voices in the Light by Sean McMullen National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/143455 27 April 2024 George Turner – Genetic Soldier Genetic Soldier by George Turner National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/327314 27 April 2024 Crime and mystery Jon Cleary – Autumn Maze Peter Corris Casino Casino by Peter Corris National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1557555 27 April 2024 Get Even Get Even by Peter Corris National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1694840 27 April 2024 The Time Trap The Time Trap by Peter Corris National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2918595 27 April 2024 Marele Day – The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi by Marele Day National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/458588 27 April 2024 Garry Disher – Crosskill Crosskill by Garry Disher National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/311563 27 April 2024 Kerry Greenwood – Blood and Circuses Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1656160 27 April 2024 Nicholas Hasluck – A Grain of Truth A Grain of Truth by Nicholas Hasluck National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1896704 27 April 2024 Barry Maitland – The Marx Sisters The Marx Sisters by Barry Maitland National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3799452 27 April 2024 Shane Maloney – Stiff Glyn Parry — Monster Man Dorothy Porter — The Monkey's Mask Children's and young adult fiction Pamela Allen — Clippity-Clop Gary Crew — The Watertower Mem Fox — Tough Boris Jackie French — Somewhere Around the Corner John Marsden — The Dead of Night James Moloney — Gracey Emily Rodda — Rowan and the Travellers Poetry Robert Adamson — Waving to Hart Crane Waving to Hart Crane by Robert Adamson National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/371571 27 April 2024 Bruce Beaver — Anima and Other Poems Peter Boyle — Coming Home From the World Dorothy Hewett — Peninsula Peninsula by Dorothy Hewett National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/100733 27 April 2024 Rhyll McMaster — Flying the Coop: New and Selected Poems 1972-1994 Flying the Coop: New and Selected Poems 1972-1994 by Rhyll McMaster National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/481267 27 April 2024 Jan Owen — Night Rainbows Night Rainbows by Jan Owen National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/103372 27 April 2024 Drama Beatrix Christian — Blue Murder Michael Gow — Sweet Phoebe Hannie Rayson — Falling From Grace Falling From Grace by Hannie Rayson National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/378038 27 April 2024 David Williamson — Sanctuary Non-fiction John Birmingham — He Died with a Felafel in His Hand Gillian Bouras — Aphrodite and the Others Aphrodite and the Others by Gillian Bouras National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/103179 27 April 2024 Geraldine Brooks — Nine Parts of Desire Robert Dessaix — A Mother's Disgrace A Mother's Disgrace by Robert Dessaix National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2306053 27 April 2024 Tim Flannery — The Future Eaters David Horton — The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia Jan Ruff O'Herne — Fifty Years of Silence Susan Varga — Heddy and Me Heddy and Me by Susan Varga National Library of Australia https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/1657443 27 April 2024 Donna Williams — Somebody Somewhere Awards and honours Patsy Adam-Smith AUS AO "for service to community history, particularly through the preservation of national traditions and folklore and recording of oral histories"https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/872482 Patricia Jean Adam-Smith, OBE honours.pmc.gov.au live https://web.archive.org/web/20191225220920/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/872482 25 December 2019 2019-12-25 Laurie Hergenhan AUS AO "for service to Australian literary scholarship and to education"https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881215 Professor Laurence Thomas Hergenhan honours.pmc.gov.au live https://web.archive.org/web/20191211231310/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/881215 11 December 2019 2019-12-25 Joan Phipson AUS AM "for service to children's literature"https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869826 Joan Margaret Phipson honours.pmc.gov.au live https://web.archive.org/web/20191225220923/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869826 25 December 2019 2019-12-25 Judith Rodriguez AUS AM "for service to Australian literature, particularly in the area of poetry"https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869709 Judith Catherine Rodriguez honours.pmc.gov.au live https://web.archive.org/web/20181124105909/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/869709 24 November 2018 2019-12-25 Lifetime achievement Award Author Christopher Brennan Award Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v539?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=12&count=3 12 September 2023 Judith Rodriguez Patrick White Award Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v617?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents 8 September 2023 22 August 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230822040912/https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v617?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents dead Dimitris Tsaloumas Literary Award Author Title Publisher The Age Book of the Year Award"Carey wins 'The Age' Book of the Year with the help of Tristan Smith" The Age, 3 December 1994, p3 https://www.proquest.com/docview/2521772149 28 May 2024 2521772149 Peter Carey The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith University of Queensland Press ALS Gold Medal ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners Association for the Study of Australian Literature https://www.asal.org.au/awards/als-gold-medal/ 10 January 2024 Louis Nowra Radiance and The Temple Currency Press Colin Roderick Award Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners James Cook University https://www.jcu.edu.au/foundation-for-australian-literary-studies/roderick-award/previous-winners2 31 December 2023 Patrick Buckridge The Scandalous Penton: A Biography of Brian Penton University of Queensland Press New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards – Book of the Year Adib cooks himself a winner Sydney Morning Herald, 1 October 1994, p11 https://www.proquest.com/docview/2527414236 8 May 2024 2527414236 Adib Khan Seasonal Adjustments Allen and Unwin Nita Kibble Literary Award 2009-06-09 Kibble Literary Award https://history.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/ncb/kibble-literary-award 4 February 2024 Australian National University en-AU Marion Halligan Lovers' Knots Heinemann Western Australian Premier's Book Awards – Book of the Year"Prodigal poet homoured" The Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 1994, p14 https://www.proquest.com/docview/2527564281 14 September 2025 2527564281 Dorothy Hewett Peninsula Fremantle Arts Centre Press Fiction International Award Category Author Title PublisherCommonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007 Commonwealth Foundation http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/uploads/documents/Regional%20Winners%201987-20071.pdf 17 January 2024 23 October 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071023223729/http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/uploads/documents/Regional%20Winners%201987-20071.pdf dead Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region David Malouf Remembering Babylon Random House Best First Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region Fotini Epanomitis The Mule's Foal Allen & Unwin National Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for LiteratureState Library of South Australia https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/past-literary-award-winners Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners 18 April 2024 9 March 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20260309180911/https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/past-literary-award-winners dead Frank Moorhouse Grand Days William Heinemann The Age Book of the Year Award Peter Carey The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith University of Queensland Press The Australian/Vogel Literary Award Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1994 Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v385?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=24&count=3 16 February 2023 Darren Williams Swimming in Silk Allen and Unwin Miles Franklin AwardSecond Franklin 'transforms" the year for Hall The Canberra Times, 31 May 1994, p3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118214968 14 September 2023 Rodney Hall The Grisly Wife Macmillan New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Adib Khan Seasonal Adjustments Allen and Unwin Victorian Premier's Literary Awards"Opera critic writes a winner" The Age, 15 October 1994, p8 https://www.proquest.com/docview/2521649019 12 January 2025 2521649019 John A. Scott What I Have Written McPhee Gribble Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Joan London Letter to Constantine Fremantle Arts Centre Press Poetry Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Andrew Lansdown Between Glances Fremantle Arts Centre Press The Age Book of the Year Award Dorothy Porter The Monkey's Mask Hyland House Anne Elder Award Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1992-94 Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v148?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=27&count=3 12 February 2024 Not awarded Grace Leven Prize for Poetry Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1994-2001 Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/v186?mainTabTemplate=awardWorksAndAgents&from=9&count=3 12 February 2024 Not awarded Mary Gilmore AwardMary Gilmore Award Association for the Study of Australian Literature https://www.asal.org.au/awards/mary-gilmore-award/ 10 February 2024 Deborah Staines Now, Millenium Spinifex Press New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Barry Hill Ghosting William Buckley Heinemann Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Robert Gray Certain Things Heinemann Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Dorothy Hewett Peninsula Fremantle Arts Centre Press Children and Young Adult Award Category Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Children's Gary Crew Angel's Gate William Heinemann AustraliaChildren's Book of the Year Award"CBCA - Previous Winners - 1946 Onwards" CBCA https://cbca.blob.core.windows.net/documents/National/CBCA%20Awards%201946%20on.pdf 25 August 2025Older Readers Isobelle Carmody The Gathering Penguin Books Gary Crew Angel's Gate William Heinemann Australia Picture Book Gary Crew & Peter Gouldthorpe First Light Lothian New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Young People's Literature Ursula Dubosarsky The White Guinea Pig Viking Books Victorian Premier's Prize for Young Adult Fiction Ursula Dubosarsky The White Guinea-Pig Viking Books Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Children's Mike Lefroy and Peter Kendall Rosa's Famous Elbow Fremantle Arts Centre Press Science fiction and fantasy Award Category Author Title Publisher Australian SF Achievement Award "Ditmar Awards 1994" SFADB https://www.sfadb.com/Ditmar_Awards_1994 7 August 2025 Best Australian Long Fiction George Turner The Destiny Makers Morrow Best Australian Short Fiction Leanne Frahm "Catalyst" Terror Australis Drama Award Category Author TitleNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards FilmScript Rolf de Heer Bad Boy Bubby Play Michael Gurr Sex Diary of an Infidel Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Drama Louis Nowra The Temple Non-fiction Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Susan Maushart Sort of a Place Like Home: Remembering the Moore River Native Settlement Fremantle Arts Centre Press The Age Book of the Year Award Jim Davidson Lyrebird Rising: Louise Hanson-Dyer of Oiseau-Lyre 1884-1962 Melbourne University PressNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards David McKnight Australia's Spies and Their Secrets Allen & Unwin Patrick Buckridge The Scandalous Penton University of Queensland Press Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Jim Davidson Lyrebird Rising: Louise Hanson-Dyer of Oiseau-Lyre 1884-1962 Melbourne University Press Births A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1994 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death. 18 April — Alexandra Adornetto, actress and author who writes for children and young adults Austlit — Alexandra Adornetto Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A100001 27 April 2024 25 June — Robbie Coburn, poet and young adult author. Austlit — Robbie Coburn Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A147275 27 April 2024 Deaths A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1994 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth. 28 January — Frank Hardy, novelist, best known for Power Without Glory (born 1917) Francis Joseph (Frank) Hardy (1917–1994)by Paul Adams Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hardy-francis-joseph-frank-19531 27 April 2024 7 February — Rosemary Wighton, literary editor, author and advisor to the South Australian government on women's affairs (born 1925)Rosemary Wighton (1925-1994) https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A8844 2023-09-26 AustLit: Discover Australian Stories The University of Queensland 4 March 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304224837/http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A8844 dead 29 May — Nene Gare, writer and artist, best known for The Fringe Dwellers (born 1919)Nene Gare (1919-1994) https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A17908 2023-09-19 AustLit: Discover Australian Stories The University of Queensland 7 September — James Clavell, novelist, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war (born 1921) Austlit — James Clavell (1921-1994) Austlit https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A115791 27 April 2024 9 September — Hugh Atkinson (novelist), novelist, journalist, screenwriter and documentary film maker (born 1921)Hugh Atkinson (1921-1994) https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A4027 2023-09-26 AustLit: Discover Australian Stories The University of Queensland 16 December — Mary Durack, author and historian (born 1913) Dame Mary Gertrude Durack (1913–1994) by Malcolm Allbrook Australian Dictionary of Biography https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/durack-dame-mary-gertrude-27045 1 December 2023 See also 1994 in Australia 1994 in literature 1994 in poetry List of years in literature List of years in Australian literature References Category:1994 in Australia Category:Australian literature by year Category:20th-century Australian literature Category:1994 in literature