1999 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1999.

Events

• Murray Bail won the Miles Franklin Award for Eucalyptus
• Jan Fullerton was appointed Director General of the National Library of Australia, being the first woman and first internal appointee

Major publications

Novels

• Thea Astley — Drylands
• Lily Brett — Too Many Men
• Kate Grenville — The Idea of Perfection
• Dorothy Hewett — Neap Tide^[1]
• Julia Leigh — The Hunter
• Bruce Pascoe — Shark^[2]
• Dorothy Porter — What a Piece of Work
• Matthew Reilly — Ice Station
• Heather Rose — White Heart^[3]
• Kim Scott — Benang
• Amy Witting — Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop

Children's and young adult fiction

• Helen Barnes — Killing Aurora
• Graeme Base — The Worst Band in the Universe
• Kim Caraher — Goanna Anna^[4]
• Nick Earls — 48 Shades of Brown
• Christine Harris — Foreign Devil
• Sonya Hartnett — Stripes of the Sidestep Wolf
• Victor Kelleher — The Ivory Trail
• Markus Zusak — The Underdog

Poetry

• Jennifer Maiden — Mines^[5]

Drama

• Van Badham — The Wilderness of Mirrors^[6]

Science fiction and fantasy

• James Bradley — The Deep Field
• Sara Douglass — Crusader
• Greg Egan — Teranesia

Crime

• Marshall Browne — The Wooden Leg of Inspector Anders
• Garry Disher — The Dragon Man
• Chris Nyst — Cop This!
• Peter Temple — Shooting Star

Non-fiction

• Ian McFarlane — Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop
• Drusilla Modjeska — Stravinsky's Lunch
• Les Murray — The Quality of Sprawl: Thoughts about Australia^[7]
• Anne Summers — Ducks on the Pond: An Autobiography 1945–1976^[8]
• David Walker — Anxious Nation: Australia and the Rise of Asia 1850–1939

Awards and honours

• Michael Fitzgerald Page AM "for service to the book publishing industry and to literature as a writer, and through the encouragement and support of upcoming Australian authors"^[9]
• Frank John Ford AM "for service to the development of the performing arts in South Australia as a director, playwright, administrator and educator"^[10]
• Kay Saunders AM "for service to Australian history as a scholar, author and commentator on social issues"^[11]
• John Antill Millett OAM "for service to literature as editor of Poetry Australia"^[12]

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[13]	Kevin Hart
Patrick White Award^[14]	Gerald Murnane

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[15]	K. S. Inglis	Sacred Places: War Memorials in the Australian Landscape	Miegunyah Press
ALS Gold Medal^[16]	Murray Bail	Eucalyptus	Random House
Colin Roderick Award^[17]	Christopher Koch	Out of Ireland	Doubleday
Nita Kibble Literary Award^[18]	Geraldine Brooks	Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey From Down Under to All Over	Anchor Books

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[19]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Murray Bail	Eucalyptus	Harvill Press
	Best Overall Novel	Murray Bail	Eucalyptus	Harvill Press

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[20]	James Bradley	The Deep Field	Sceptre
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award^[21]	Hsu-Ming Teo	Love and Vertigo	Allen and Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[22]	Murray Bail	Eucalyptus	Random House

Crime and Mystery

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Ned Kelly Award^[23]
	Novel	Peter Doyle	Amaze Your Friends	Random House
	First novel	Andrew Masterson	The Last Days	Picador
	Lifetime Achievement	Peter Corris

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Anne Elder Award^[24]	Not awarded
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[25]	Not awarded
Mary Gilmore Award^[26]	Not awarded

Non-fiction

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
National Biography Award^[27]	Biography	Not awarded

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1999 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 15 February — Gordon Neil Stewart, writer (born 1912)^[28]
• 1 March — Richard Beynon, playwright, actor and television producer (born 1925)^[29]
• 20 April — Ric Throssell, diplomat and author whose writings included novels, plays, film and television scripts and memoirs (born 1922)^[30]
• 8 July — Mavis Thorpe Clark, novelist and writer for children (born 1909)^[31]
• 12 July — Mungo Ballardie MacCallum, journalist, broadcaster and poet (born 1913)^[32]
• 9 October — Morris West, novelist and playwright (born 1916)^[33]
• 16 November — Mal Morgan, poet (born 1936, London, England)^[34]

See also

• 1999 in Australia
• 1999 in literature
• 1999 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

1. "Austlit — Neap Title by Dorothy Hewett". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
2. "Austlit — Shark by Bruce Pascoe". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
3. "Austlit — White Heart by Heather Rose". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
4. "Goanna Anna by Kim Caraher". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
5. "Austlit — Mines by Jennifer Maiden". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
6. "Austlit — The Wilderness of Mirrors by Van Badham". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
7. "Austlit — The Quality of Sprawl: Thoughts about Australia by Les Murray". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
8. "Austlit — Ducks on the Pond: An Autobiography 1945–1976 by Anne Summers". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
9. "Michael Fitzgerald Page". honours.pmc.gov.au. from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
10. "Frank John Ford". honours.pmc.gov.au. from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
11. "Dr Kay Elizabeth Bass Saunders". honours.pmc.gov.au. from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
12. "John Antill Millett". honours.pmc.gov.au. from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
13. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award". Austlit. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
14. "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
15. "The Age" 14 August 1999, Sat Extra p9
16. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
17. "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
18. "Kibble Literary Award". Australian National University. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
19. "Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007" (PDF). Commonwealth Foundation. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
20. "Austlit — Age Book of the Year — Imaginative Writing Prize 1998-2000". Austlit. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
21. "Austlit — The Australian/Vogel National Literary Award 1999". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
22. "Austlit — Miles Franklin Literary Award : 1997-1999". Austlit. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
23. . Australian Crime Writers. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
24. "Austlit — Anne Elder Award 1998-2000". Austlit. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
25. "Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 1994-2001". Austlit. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
26. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
27. ""National Biography Award – Past Winners"". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
28. "Austlit — Gordon neil Stewart (1912-1999)". Austlit. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
29. "Austlit — Richard Beynon (1925-1999)". Austlit. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
30. "Ric Prichard Throssell (1922–1999) by Nathan Hobby". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
31. "Austlit — Mavis Thorpe Clark (1909-1999)". Austlit. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
32. "Austlit — Mungo Ballardie MacCallum (1913-1999)". Austlit. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
33. "Austlit — Morris West (1916-1999)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
34. "Austlit — Mal Morgan (1936-1999)". Austlit. Retrieved 18 January 2024.