1968 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1968.

Major publications

Books

• Thea Astley – A Boat Load of Home Folk
• Kenneth Cook – The Wine of God's Anger[1]
• Frank Dalby Davison – The White Thorntree[2]
• Geoffrey Dutton – Andy[3]
• David Ireland – The Chantic Bird
• Thomas Keneally – Three Cheers for the Paraclete
• Norman Lindsay – Rooms and Houses[4]
• John O'Grady – Gone Troppo[5]
• F. J. Thwaites – Sky Full of Thunder
• Morris West – The Tower of Babel

Short stories

• Louise Elizabeth Rorabacher – Aliens in Their Land : The Aborigine in the Australian Short Story (edited)[6]
• Patrick White – "Five-Twenty"[7]
• Michael Wilding – "Joe's Absence"[8]

Science fiction and fantasy

• John Baxter – The Pacific Book of Australian Science Fiction (edited)[9]
• A. Bertram Chandler – Spartan Planet (aka False Fatherland)

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Margaret Balderson – When Jays Fly to Barbmo
• Nan Chauncy – Lizzie Lights[10]
• Mavis Thorpe Clark – Spark of Opal[11]
• Elyne Mitchell – Moon Filly[12]
• Ruth Park – The Sixpenny Island[13]
• Ivan Southall – Let the Balloon Go
• Joan Woodberry
  • Ash Tuesday[14]
  • Come Back Peter[15]
• Patricia Wrightson – I Own the Racecourse![16]

Poetry

Main article: 1968 in poetry

• David Campbell
  • "The Australian Dream"[17]
  • Selected Poems 1942-1968[18]
• Bruce Dawe
  • An Eye for a Tooth : Poems[19]
  • "Homecoming"[20]
• Gwen Harwood – Poems : Volume 2[21]
• Dorothy Hewett – Windmill Country[22]
• James McAuley – "Because"
• Randolph Stow – "The Singing Bones"[23]

Drama

• David Williamson – The Indecent Exposure of Anthony East

Biography

• T. Inglis Moore – Rolf Boldrewood[24]
• Colin Thiele – Heysen of Hahndorf[25]

Non-fiction

• Gavin Souter – A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay[26]
• Margaret Fulton – The Margaret Fulton Cookbook

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[27]	No award
Colin Roderick Award[28]	Gavin Souter	A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay	Angus and Robertson
Miles Franklin Award[29]	Thomas Keneally	Three Cheers for the Paraclete	Angus and Robertson

Children and Young Adult

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers[30]	Ivan Southall	To the Wild Sky	Angus and Robertson
	Picture Book[30]	No award

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[31]	David Campbell	Selected Poems 1942-1968	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 1968 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 23 February — Sonya Hartnett, novelist[32]
• 2 April — Sofie Laguna, novelist[33]

Unknown date

• Azhar Abidi, novelist (born in Wah, Pakistan)[34]
• Anita Heiss, academic and critic[35]
• James Roy, writer of young adult and children's fiction[36]
• Chris Womersley, novelist[37]

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1968 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 14 January – Dorothea Mackellar, poet (born 1885)[38]
• 8 March — Henrietta Drake-Brockman, journalist and novelist (born 1901)[39]
• 9 June – Bernard Cronin, novelist (born 1884)[40]

See also

• 1968 in Australia
• 1968 in literature
• 1968 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

References

1. "The Wine of God's Anger by Kenneth Cook". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
2. "The White Thorntree by Frank Dalby Davison". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
3. "Andy by Geoffrey Dutton". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
4. "Rooms and Houses by Norman Lindsay". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
5. "Gone Troppo by John O'Grady". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
6. "Aliens in Their Land : The Aborigine in the Australian Short Story edited by Louise Elizabeth Rorabacher". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
7. ""Five-Twenty" by Patrick White". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
8. ""Joe's Absence" by Michael Wilding". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
9. "The Pacific Book of Australian Science Fiction edited by John Baxter". ISFDB. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
10. "Lizzie Lights by Nan Chauncy". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
11. "Spark of Opal by Mavis Thorpe Clark". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
12. "Moon Filly by Elyne Mitchell". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
13. "The Sixpenny Island by Ruth Park". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
14. "Ash Tuesday by Joan Woodberry". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
15. "Come Back Peter by Joan Woodberry". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
16. "I Own the Racecourse! by Patricia Wrightson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
17. ""The Australian Dream" by David Campbell". Austlit. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
18. "Selected Poems 1942-1968 by David Campbell". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
19. "An Eye for a Tooth : Poems by Bruce Dawe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
20. ""Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe". Austlit. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
21. "Poems : Volume 2 by Gwen Harwood". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
22. "Windmill Country by Dorothy Hewett". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
23. ""The Singing Bones" by Randolph Stowe". Austlit. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
24. "Rolf Boldrewood by T. Inglis Moore". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
25. "Heysen of Hahndorf by Colin Thiele". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
26. "A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay by Gavin Souter". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
27. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
28. "Colin Roderick Award - Previous Winners", James Cook University
29. Austlit - Three Cheers for the Paraclete by Thomas Keneally
30. "Children's Book Week - Prizewinners", The Canberra Times, 6 July 1968, p13
31. "Selected Poems 1942-1968 by David Campbell". Austlit. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
32. "Sonya Hartnett". Austlit. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
33. "Sofie Laguna". Austlit. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
34. "Azhar Abidi". Austlit. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
35. "Anita Heiss". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
36. "James Roy". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
37. "Chris Womersley". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
38. "Mackellar, Isobel Marion Dorothea (1885–1968) by Beverley Kingston". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
39. "Drake-Brockman, Henrietta Frances (1901–1968) by Peter Cowan". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
40. "Cronin, Bernard Charles (1884–1968) by Sally O'Neill". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 14 August 2023.