1968 in Australian literature explained

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
• Frank Dalby Davison – The White Thorntree
• Geoffrey Dutton – Andy
• David Ireland – The Chantic Bird
• Thomas Keneally – Three Cheers for the Paraclete
• Norman Lindsay – Rooms and Houses
• John O'Grady – Gone Troppo
• 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)
• Patrick White – "Five-Twenty"
• Michael Wilding – "Joe's Absence"

Science fiction and fantasy

• John Baxter – The Pacific Book of Australian Science Fiction (edited)^[1]
• A. Bertram Chandler – Spartan Planet (aka False Fatherland)^[2]

Children's and Young Adult fiction

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

Poetry

See main article: 1968 in poetry.

• David Campbell
  • "The Australian Dream"^[3]
  • Selected Poems 1942-1968^[4]
• Bruce Dawe
  • An Eye for a Tooth : Poems^[5]
  • "Homecoming"^[6]
• Gwen Harwood – Poems : Volume 2^[7]
• Dorothy Hewett – Windmill Country^[8]
• James McAuley – "Because"^[9]
• Randolph Stow – "The Singing Bones"^[10]

Biography

• T. Inglis Moore – Rolf Boldrewood^[11]
• Colin Thiele – Heysen of Hahndorf^[12]

Non-fiction

• Gavin Souter – A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay^[13]
• Margaret Fulton – The Margaret Fulton Cookbook

Awards and honours

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[14]	No award
Colin Roderick Award[15]	Gavin Souter	A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay	Angus and Robertson
Miles Franklin Award[16]	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[17]	Ivan Southall	To the Wild Sky	Angus and Robertson
	Picture Book	No award

Poetry

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^[19]
• 2 April — Sofie Laguna, novelist^[20]

Unknown date

• Azhar Abidi, novelist (born in Wah, Pakistan)^[21]
• Anita Heiss, academic and critic^[22]
• James Roy, writer of young adult and children's fiction^[23]
• Chris Womersley, novelist^[24]

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)^[25]
• 8 March — Henrietta Drake-Brockman, journalist and novelist (born 1901)^[26]
• 9 June – Bernard Cronin, novelist (born 1884)^[27]

See also

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

List of years in literature

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Pacific Book of Australian Science Fiction edited by John Baxter. ISFDB. 30 May 2024.
2. Web site: Spartan Planet by A. bertram Chandler . ISFDB. 30 May 2024.
3. Web site: "The Australian Dream" by David Campbell . Austlit. 30 May 2024.
4. Web site: Selected Poems 1942-1968 by David Campbell. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
5. Web site: An Eye for a Tooth : Poems by Bruce Dawe. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
6. Web site: "Homecoming" by Bruce Dawe. Austlit. 30 May 2024.
7. Web site: Poems : Volume 2 by Gwen Harwood. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
8. Web site: Windmill Country by Dorothy Hewett. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
9. Web site: "Because" by James McAuley. Austlit. 30 May 2024.
10. Web site: "The Singing Bones" by Randolph Stowe. Austlit. 30 May 2024.
11. Web site: Rolf Boldrewood by T. Inglis Moore. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
12. Web site: Heysen of Hahndorf by Colin Thiele. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
13. Web site: A Peculiar People : The Australians in Paraguay by Gavin Souter. National Library of Australia. 30 May 2024.
14. Web site: ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 16 August 2023.
15. https://www.jcu.edu.au/foundation-for-australian-literary-studies/colin-roderick-award/previous-winners2 "Colin Roderick Award - Previous Winners", James Cook University
16. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C268229 Austlit - Three Cheers for the Paraclete by Thomas Keneally
17. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107061241 "Children's Book Week - Prizewinners", The Canberra Times, 6 July 1968, p13
18. http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/C144589 Austlit - Selected Poems 1942-1968 by David Campbell
19. Web site: Sonya Hartnett . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
20. Web site: Sofie Laguna . Austlit. 28 May 2024.
21. Web site: Azhar Abidi . Austlit. 30 May 2024.
22. Web site: Anita Heiss . 2024-02-25 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
23. Web site: James Roy . 2024-02-25 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
24. Web site: Chris Womersley . 2024-02-25 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
25. Web site: Mackellar, Isobel Marion Dorothea (1885–1968) by Beverley Kingston . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 15 August 2023.
26. Web site: Drake-Brockman, Henrietta Frances (1901–1968) by Peter Cowan . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 23 September 2023.
27. Web site: Cronin, Bernard Charles (1884–1968) by Sally O'Neill . Australian Dictionary of Biography. 14 August 2023.