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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1981.
- Peter Carey won the 1981 Miles Franklin Award for Bliss
Literary novels
- Peter Carey — Bliss
- Blanche d'Alpuget — Turtle Beach
- David Foster — Moonlite[1]
- Miles Franklin — On Dearborn Street[2]
- David Ireland — City of Women[3]
- Elizabeth Jolley — The Newspaper of Claremont Street[4]
- Colleen McCullough — An Indecent Obsession
- Morris West — The Clowns of God
Crime and mystery
- Marshall Browne — Dragon Strike[5]
- Peter Corris — White Meat[6]
Science fiction and fantasy
- John Brosnan — Skyship[7]
- David Lake — The Man Who Loved Morlocks[8]
- Keith Taylor — Bard[9]
- George Turner — Vaneglory[10]
Children's and young adult fiction
- Jan Ormerod — Sunshine[11]
- Ruth Park — The Muddle-Headed Wombat is Very Bad
- Eleanor Spence – The Seventh Pebble[12]
- Colin Thiele — The Valley Between[13]
Poetry
- Alan Gould — Astral Sea[14]
- Gwen Harwood — The Lion's Bride[15]
- Geoffrey Lehmann — Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero[16]
Drama
Non-fiction
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Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)
Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
Lifetime achievement award
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award[22] | Not awarded |
| Patrick White Award[23] | Dal Stivens |
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Eric Charles Rolls | A Million Wild Acres | Nelson |
| ALS Gold Medal[25] | Not awarded | ||
| Colin Roderick Award[26] | Gavin Souter | A Company of Heralds | Melbourne University Press |
Fiction
Children and Young Adult
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Book of the Year Award[30] | Older Readers | Ruth Park | Playing Beatie Bow | Nelson Books |
| Picture Book | Not awarded | |||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's Book Award[29] | Ruth Park and Deborah Niland | When the Wind Changed | William Collins |
| Special Children's Book Award[29] | Eleanor Spence | The Seventh Pebble | Oxford University Press |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Elder Award[31] | Gig Ryan | The Division of Anger | Transit Press |
| Jenny Boult | The Hotel Anonymous | Bent Enterprises | |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[32] | Geoffrey Lehmann | Nero's Poems: Translations of the Public and Private Poems of the Emperor Nero |
Angus & Robertson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[29] | Alan Gould | Astral Sea | Angus & Robertson |
Non-fiction
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year Award[24] | Eric Charles Rolls | A Million Wild Acres | Nelson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[29] | A. B. Facey | A Fortunate Life | Manuscript version |
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A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1981 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
- 7 April — Lili Wilkinson, author of young adult fiction[33]
Unknown date
- Alice Pung, novelist and memoir writer, editor and lawyer[34]
A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1981 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
- 14 January — John O'Grady, writer, best known as Nino Culotta, author of They're a Weird Mob (born 1907)[35]
- 29 March — Clive Sansom, poet and playwright (born 1910)[36]
- 19 April — Louis Kaye, novelist and short story writer (born 1901)[37]
- 29 April — Leonard Mann, poet and novelist (born 1895)[38]
- 29 August — Wal Stone, book publisher, collector and supporter of Australian literature (born 1910)[39]
- 19 October — Dymphna Cusack, novelist and playwright (born 1902)[40]
Unknown date
- Edith Mary England, novelist and poet (born 1899)[41]
- Ada Verdun Howell, author and poet (born 1902)[42]
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