1948 in Australian literature

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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1948.

Books[]

• Eleanor Dark – Storm of Time
• George Johnston
  • Death Takes Small Bites
  • The Moon at Perigee
• Jack Lindsay – Men of Forty-Eight
• Alan Moorehead – The Rage of the Vulture
• Vance Palmer – Golconda
• Ruth Park
  • The Harp in the South
  • Missus
• Katharine Susannah Prichard – Golden Miles
• Nevil Shute – No Highway
• Christina Stead – A Little Tea, a Little Chat
• E. V. Timms – Forever to Remain
• Arthur Upfield
  • An Author Bites the Dust
  • The Mountains Have a Secret
• Patrick White – The Aunt's Story
• June Wright – Murder in the Telephone Exchange

Short stories[]

• A. Bertram Chandler – "Dawn of Nothing"
• Judah Waten – "Black Girl in the Street"

Children's and Young Adult fiction[]

• Nan Chauncy – They Found a Cave

Poetry[]

• David Campbell – "The End of Exploring"
• Dulcie Deamer – The Silver Branch : Twenty-Seven Poems
• Rosemary Dobson
  • "Carried Away"
  • "On a Tapestry"
  • The Ship of Ice : With Other Poems
• Mary Gilmore – Selected Verse
• Nan McDonald – "The Barren Ground"
• Kenneth Mackenzie – "The Children Go"
• Elizabeth Riddell – Poems
• Roland Robinson
  • "Swift"
  • "Would I Might Find My Country"
• Francis Webb
  • A Drum for Ben Boyd
  • "For My Grandfather"
• Judith Wright
  • "Train Journey"
  • "Wonga Vine"

Drama[]

• Sumner Locke Elliott – Rusty Bugles
• Ruth Park – The Uninvited Guest

Biography[]

• Henry Handel Richardson – Myself When Young

Children's and Young Adults non-fiction[]

• Frank Hurley – Shackleton's Argonauts : A Saga of the Antarctic Icepacks

Awards and honours[]

Literary[]

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[1]	Herz Bergner	Between Sky and Sea	Dolphin Publications

Children's and Young Adult[]

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award[2]	Older Readers	Frank Hurley	Shackleton's Argonauts : A Saga of the Antarctic Icepacks	Angus and Robertson

Poetry[]

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[3]	Francis Webb	A Drum for Ben Boyd	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 1948 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.

• 16 February – Jeff Guess, poet
• 18 March – Di Morrissey, novelist
• 20 March – Dianne Bates, writer for children
• 2 April – Jennifer Rowe, novelist
• 20 May – Kate Jennings, novelist and poet (died 2021)
• 24 July — Joan London, novelist
• 12 September – Michael Dransfield, poet (died 1973)
• 21 September – Sean McMullen, novelist
• 2 November – Jenny Pausacker, novelist

Unknown date

• Pam Brown, poet
• Martin Duwell, editor
• Dennis Haskell, poet
• Dorothy Johnston, novelist
• John A. Scott, novelist
• Alan Wearne, poet
• Margaret Wild, writer for children

Deaths[]

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1948 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 20 May – Marie E. J. Pitt, poet (born 1869)

Unknown date

• R. J. Cassidy, poet (born 1880)

See also[]

• 1948 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature
• 1948 in literature
• 1947 in Australian literature
• 1948 in Australia
• 1949 in Australian literature

References[]