1993 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1993.

Events

• Alex Miller (writer) won the Miles Franklin Award for The Ancestor Game

Major publications

Novels

• Bryce Courtenay — April Fool's Day
• Liam Davison – Soundings^[1]
• Fotini Epanomitis – The Mule's Foal^[2]
• Rodney Hall — The Grisly Wife
• Dorothy Hewett — The Toucher^[3]
• Elizabeth Jolley — The Georges' Wife
• Thomas Keneally – Jacko
• David Malouf — Remembering Babylon
• Roger McDonald — Water Man
• Frank Moorhouse — Grand Days
• Madeleine St John — The Women in Black
• Morris West — The Lovers

Crime and mystery

• Jon Cleary – Bleak Spring
• Peter Corris
  • Browning Battles On^[4]
  • Cross Off^[5]
  • Matrimonial Causes^[6]
• Garry Disher – Deathdeal^[7]
• Jennifer Rowe – Stranglehold^[8]
• Kerry Greenwood – The Green Mill Murder^[9]

Science fiction and fantasy

• Terry Dowling – Twilight Beach^[10]
• Terry Dowling and Van Ikin – Mortal Fire: Best Australian Science Fiction (editors)^[11]
• Greg Egan
  • "Chaff"
  • "Transition Dreams"
• Rosaleen Love – Evolution Annie: And Other Stories^[12]
• George Turner – The Destiny Makers^[13]

Children's and young adult fiction

• Isobelle Carmody — The Gathering
• Carmel Charles — Winin: Why the Emu Cannot Fly^[14]
• Morris Gleitzman — Sticky Beak
• John Marsden — Tomorrow, When the War Began
• James Moloney – Dougy
• Dorothy Porter — The Witch Number^[15]
• Emily Rodda – Roan of Rin
• Tim Winton – Lockie Leonard, Scumbuster

Poetry

• Robert Gray — Certain Things^[16]
• Barry Hill — Ghosting William Buckley^[17]
• Philip Hodgins — The End of the Season^[18]
• Jill Jones — Flagging Down Time^[19]
• Jennifer Maiden — Acoustic Shadow^[20]
• Jan Owen — Blackberry Season^[21]
• John Tranter — At the Florida^[22]

Drama

• Louis Nowra — Radiance

Non-fiction

• Verity Burgmann — Power and Protest: Movements for Change in Australian Society^[23]
• Hazel Rowley — Christina Stead: A Biography^[24]
• Peter Singer — How Are We to Live?

Awards and honours

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[25]	Geoffrey Dutton
Patrick White Award^[26]	Amy Witting

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[27]	Elizabeth Jolley	The Georges' Wife	Viking
ALS Gold Medal^[28]	Elizabeth Riddell	Selected Poems	Angus and Robertson
Colin Roderick Award^[29]	Cassandra Pybus	Gross Moral Turpitude: The Orr Case Reconsidered	Heinemann

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[30]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Alex Miller	The Ancestor Game	Penguin Books
	Best First Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Andrew McGahan	Praise	Allen & Unwin
	Best Overall Novel	Alex Miller	The Ancestor Game	Penguin Books

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature^[31]	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award	Elizabeth Jolley	The Georges' Wife	Viking
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award^[32]	Helen Demidenko	The Hand That Signed the Paper	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[33]	Alex Miller	The Ancestor Game	Penguin Books
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards^[34]	David Malouf	Remembering Babylon	Random House Australia
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards^[35]	Brian Castro	After China	Allen & Unwin

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award	John Tranter	At the Florida	University of Queensland Press
Anne Elder Award^[36]	Terry Whitebeach	Bird Dream	in Four New Poets Penguin
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[37]	Philip Hodgins	The End of the Season : Pastoral Poems	Brindabella Press
Mary Gilmore Award^[38]	Jill Jones	The Mask and Jagged Star	Hazard Press

Non-fiction

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature	Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year Award	Janet McCalman	Journeyings: the Biography of a Middle-Class Generation 1920-1990	Melbourne University Press

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1993 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 9 January — Paul Hasluck, statesman, poet, biographer and writer on politics (born 1905)^[39]
• 19 January — Nancy Keesing, poet, writer, editor and promoter of Australian literature (born 1923)^[40]
• 4 February — Leonard Frank Meares, writer of western fiction (born 1921)^[41]
• 1 March — Ronald McCuaig, poet, journalist, literary critic, humourist and children's author (born 1908)^[42]
• 23 March — Robert Harris, poet (born 1951) ^[43]
• 1 April — Kevin Gilbert, author, activist, artist, poet, playwright and printmaker (born 1933)^[44]
• 12 April — Alexander Turner, poet, playwright, and theatre and radio producer (born 1907)^[45]
• 22 April — Margaret Diesendorf, linguist, poet, editor, translator and educationist (born 1912 Vienna, Austria)^[46]
• 18 June — Alexandra Hasluck, historian (born 1908)^[47]
• 1 July – Eric Irvin, historian and poet (born 1908)^[48]
• 25 August — Florence James, author and literary agent (born 1902)^[49]
• 16 September — Oodgeroo Noonuccal, poet, political activist, artist and educator (born 1920)^[50]

See also

• 1993 in Australia
• 1993 in literature
• 1993 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: Soundings by Liam Davison. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
2. Web site: The Mule's Foal by Fotini Epanomitis. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
3. Web site: The Toucher by Dorothy Hewett. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
4. Web site: Browning Battles On by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
5. Web site: Cross Off by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
6. Web site: Matrimonial Causes by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
7. Web site: Deathdeal by Garry Disher. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
8. Web site: Stranglehold by Jennifer Rowe. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
9. Web site: The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
10. Web site: Twilight Beach by Terry Dowling . ISFDB. 25 April 2024.
11. Web site: Mortal Fire: Best Australian Science Fiction edited by Terry Dowling & Van Ikin . ISFDB. 25 April 2024.
12. Web site: Evolution Annie: And Other Stories by Rosaleen Love . ISFDB. 25 April 2024.
13. Web site: The Destiny Makers by George Turner . ISFDB. 25 April 2024.
14. Web site: Winin: Why the Emu Cannot Fly by Carmel Charles . National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
15. Web site: The Witch Number by Dorothy Porter. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
16. Web site: Certain Things by Robert Gray. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
17. Web site: Ghosting William Buckley by Barry Hill. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
18. Web site: The End of the Season by Philip Hodgins. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
19. Web site: Flagging Down Time by Jill Jones. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
20. Web site: Acoustic Shadow by Jennifer Maiden. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
21. Web site: Blackberry Season by Jan Owen. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
22. Web site: At the Florida by John Tranter. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
23. Web site: Power and Protest: Movements for Change in Australian Society by Verity Burgmann. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
24. Web site: Christina Stead: A Biography by Hazel Rowley. National Library of Australia. 25 April 2024.
25. Web site: Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award. Austlit. 12 September 2023.
26. Web site: Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners . Austlit. 8 September 2023.
27. Web site: "Jolley's way with words, not money, brings new success" . The Age, 23 November 1993, p16. 28 May 2024. .
28. Web site: ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 10 January 2024.
29. Web site: Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners . James Cook University. 31 December 2023.
30. Web site: Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007 . Commonwealth Foundation. 17 January 2024.
31. Web site: State Library of South Australia. Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners. 18 April 2024.
32. Web site: Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1993. Austlit. 16 February 2023.
33. Web site: Miller wins Miles Franklin . The Canberra Times, 26 May 1993, p5. 14 September 2023.
34. Web site: A night Oodgeroo would have relished. Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1993, p11. 8 May 2024. .
35. Web site: Winning author hauls in a bounty. The Age, 13 September 1992, p6. 27 April 2024.
36. Web site: Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1992-94 . Austlit. 12 February 2024.
37. Web site: Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1991-93 . Austlit. 12 February 2024.
38. Web site: Mary Gilmore Award . . 10 February 2024.
39. Web site: HASLUCK, the Rt. Hon. Paul Meernaa Caedwalla, KG, GCMG, GCVO (1905-1993). 2023-07-06 . Parliamentary Handbook.
40. Web site: Nancy Keesing (1923-1993). 2023-09-23 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
41. Web site: Marshall Grover (1921-1993). 2023-09-23 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
42. Web site: Austlit — Ronald McCuaig (1908-1993). Austlit. 13 November 2023.
43. Web site: Austlit — Robert Harris (1951-1993). Austlit. 13 November 2023.
44. Web site: Kevin John Gilbert (1933–1993) by Alison Holland and Eleanor Williams-Gilbert . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 13 November 2023.
45. Web site: Alexander Frederick (Tony) Turner (1907–1993) by Gail Phillips . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 9 November 2023.
46. Web site: Margaret Diesendorf (1912–1993) by Judith Beveridge . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 25 November 2023.
47. Web site: Dame Alexandra Margaret (Alix) Hasluck (1908–1993) by Ann P. Hunter . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 13 November 2023.
48. Web site: Austlit — Eric irvin (1908-1993). Austlit. 13 November 2023.
49. Web site: James, Florence Gertrude (1902–1993) by Marilla North. Australian Dictionary of Biography. 26 September 2023.
50. Web site: Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920-1993). 2023-09-05 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.