1994 in Australian literature explained

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^[1]
• Peter Carey — The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith
• Richard Flanagan — Death of a River Guide
• Drusilla Modjeska — The Orchard^[2]
• John A. Scott — What I Have Written^[3]
• Tim Winton — The Riders

Short stories

• Marian Eldridge — The Wild Sweet Flowers^[4]
• Lucy Sussex – The Lottery : Nine Science Fiction Stories (edited)^[5]

Science fiction and fantasy

• Greg Egan — Permutation City
• Sean McMullen – Voices in the Light^[6]
• George Turner – Genetic Soldier^[7]

Crime and mystery

• Jon Cleary – Autumn Maze
• Peter Corris
  • Casino^[8]
  • Get Even^[9]
  • The Time Trap^[10]
• Marele Day – The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi^[11]
• Garry Disher – Crosskill^[12]
• Kerry Greenwood – Blood and Circuses^[13]
• Nicholas Hasluck – A Grain of Truth^[14]
• Barry Maitland – The Marx Sisters^[15]
• Shane Maloney – Stiff^[16]
• Dorothy Porter — The Monkey's Mask^[17]

Children's and young adult fiction

• Pamela Allen — Clippity-Clop
• Gary Crew — The Watertower
• Mem Fox — Tough Boris
• Jackie French — Somewhere Around the Corner

Poetry

• Robert Adamson — Waving to Hart Crane^[18]
• Bruce Beaver — Anima and Other Poems^[19]
• Peter Boyle — Coming Home from the World^[20]
• Dorothy Hewett — Peninsula^[21]
• Rhyll McMaster — Flying the Coop: New and Selected Poems 1972-1994^[22]
• Jan Owen — Night Rainbows^[23]

Drama

• Beatrix Christian — Blue Murder
• Michael Gow — Sweet Phoebe
• Hannie Rayson — Falling From Grace^[24]
• David Williamson — Sanctuary

Non-fiction

• John Birmingham — He Died with a Felafel in His Hand
• Gillian Bouras — Aphrodite and the Others^[25]
• Robert Dessaix — A Mother's Disgrace^[26]
• Tim Flannery — The Future Eaters
• Jan Ruff O'Herne — Fifty Years of Silence
• Susan Varga — Heddy and Me^[27]
• Donna Williams — Somebody Somewhere

Awards and honours

• Patsy Adam-Smith "for service to community history, particularly through the preservation of national traditions and folklore and recording of oral histories"^[28]
• Laurie Hergenhan "for service to Australian literary scholarship and to education"^[29]
• Joan Phipson "for service to children's literature"^[30]
• Judith Rodriguez "for service to Australian literature, particularly in the area of poetry"^[31]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[32]	Judith Rodriguez
Patrick White Award^[33]	Dimitris Tsaloumas

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[34]	Peter Carey	The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith	University of Queensland Press
ALS Gold Medal^[35]	Louis Nowra	Radiance and The Temple	Currency Press
Colin Roderick Award^[36]	Patrick Buckridge	The Scandalous Penton: A Biography of Brian Penton	University of Queensland Press
Nita Kibble Literary Award^[37]	Marion Halligan	Lovers' Knots	Heinemann

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[38]	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 Literature^[39]		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^[40]	Darren Williams	Swimming in Silk	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[41]	Rodney Hall	The Grisly Wife	Macmillan
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards^[42]	Adib Khan	Seasonal Adjustments	Allen and Unwin

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^[43]	Not awarded
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[44]	Not awarded
Mary Gilmore Award^[45]	Deborah Staines	Now, Millenium	Spinifex Press

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	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^[46]
• 25 June — Robbie Coburn, poet^[47]

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)^[48]
• 7 February — Rosemary Wighton, literary editor, author and advisor to the South Australian government on women's affairs (born 1925)^[49]
• 29 May — Nene Gare, writer and artist, best known for The Fringe Dwellers (born 1919)^[50]
• 7 September — James Clavell, novelist, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war (born 1921)^[51]
• 9 September — Hugh Atkinson (novelist), novelist, journalist, screenwriter and documentary film maker (born 1921)^[52]
• 16 December — Mary Durack, author and historian (born 1913)^[53]

See also

• 1994 in Australia
• 1994 in literature
• 1994 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: Just Like That by Lily Brett. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
2. Web site: The Orchard by Drusilla Modjeska. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
3. Web site: What I Have Written by John A. Scott. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
4. Web site: The Wild Sweet Flowers by . National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
5. Web site: The Lottery : Nine Science Fiction Stories edited by Lucy Sussex. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
6. Web site: Voices in the Light by Sean McMullen . National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
7. Web site: Genetic Soldier by George Turner . National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
8. Web site: Casino by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
9. Web site: Get Even by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
10. Web site: The Time Trap by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
11. Web site: The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi by Marele Day. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
12. Web site: Crosskill by Garry Disher. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
13. Web site: Blood and Circuses by Kerry Greenwood. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
14. Web site: A Grain of Truth by Nicholas Hasluck. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
15. Web site: The Marx Sisters by Barry Maitland. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
16. Web site: Stiff by Shane Maloney. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
17. Web site: The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
18. Web site: Waving to Hart Crane by Robert Adamson . National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
19. Web site: Anima and Other Poems by Bruce Beaver. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
20. Web site: Coming Home from the World by Peter Boyle. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
21. Web site: Peninsula by Dorothy Hewett. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
22. Web site: Flying the Coop: New and Selected Poems 1972-1994 by Rhyll McMaster. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
23. Web site: Night Rainbows by Jan Owen. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
24. Web site: Falling From Grace by Hannie Rayson. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
25. Web site: Aphrodite and the Others by Gillian Bouras. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
26. Web site: A Mother's Disgrace by Robert Dessaix. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
27. Web site: Heddy and Me by Susan Varga. National Library of Australia. 27 April 2024.
28. Web site: 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.
29. Web site: 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.
30. Web site: 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.
31. Web site: 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.
32. Web site: Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award. Austlit. 12 September 2023.
33. Web site: Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners . Austlit. 8 September 2023.
34. Web site: "Carey wins 'The Age' Book of the Year with the help of Tristan Smith" . The Age, 3 December 1994, p3. 28 May 2024. .
35. Web site: ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 10 January 2024.
36. Web site: Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners . James Cook University. 31 December 2023.
37. Web site: 2009-06-09 . Kibble Literary Award . 4 February 2024 . . en-AU.
38. Web site: Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007 . Commonwealth Foundation. 17 January 2024.
39. Web site: State Library of South Australia. Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners. 18 April 2024.
40. Web site: Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1994. Austlit. 16 February 2023.
41. Web site: Second Franklin 'transforms" the year for Hall . The Canberra Times, 31 May 1994, p3. 14 September 2023.
42. Web site: Adib cooks himself a winner. Sydney Morning Herald, 1 October 1994, p11. 8 May 2024. .
43. Web site: Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1992-94 . Austlit. 12 February 2024.
44. Web site: Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1994-2001 . Austlit. 12 February 2024.
45. Web site: Mary Gilmore Award . . 10 February 2024.
46. Web site: Austlit — Alexandra Adornetto . Austlit. 27 April 2024.
47. Web site: Austlit — Robbie Coburn . Austlit. 27 April 2024.
48. Web site: Francis Joseph (Frank) Hardy (1917–1994)by Paul Adams . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 27 April 2024.
49. Web site: Rosemary Wighton (1925-1994). 2023-09-26 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
50. Web site: Nene Gare (1919-1994). 2023-09-19 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
51. Web site: Austlit — James Clavell (1921-1994) . Austlit. 27 April 2024.
52. Web site: Hugh Atkinson (1921-1994). 2023-09-26 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
53. Web site: Dame Mary Gertrude Durack (1913–1994) by Malcolm Allbrook . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 1 December 2023.