# 1974 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1974.

## Events

* The Patrick White Award is presented for the first time. White used his 1973 Nobel Prize in Literature award to establish a trust for this prize.
* The Age Book of the Year Awards are presented for the first time. The first set of awards consisted of the Fiction (or Imaginative Writing) Award and the Non-fiction Award. In addition, one of the two award winners was also named The Age Book of the Year.

## Major publications
### Books

* James Aldridge – Mockery in Arms
* Jon Cleary – Peter's Pence
* David Foster – The Pure Land
* Catherine Gaskin – The Property of a Gentleman
* David Ireland – Burn
* Thomas Keneally – Blood Red, Sister Rose
* Colleen McCullough – Tim
* Ronald McKie – The Mango Tree
* Gerald Murnane – Tamarisk Row
* Morris West – Harlequin
* Thea Astley - A Kindness Cup

### Short stories

* Peter Carey – The Fat Man in History
* Frank Moorhouse – The Electrical Experience : A Discontinuous Narrative
* Patrick White – The Cockatoos : Shorter Novels and Stories

### Science Fiction and Fantasy

* A. Bertram Chandler – The Bitter Pill
* Cherry Wilder – "The Ark of James Carlyle"

### Children's and Young Adult fiction

* James Aldridge – The Marvellous Mongolian
* Mavis Thorpe Clark – The Sky is Free
* Ruth Park – Callie's Castle
* Joan Phipson – Helping Horse
* Colin Thiele
** Albatross Two
** Magpie Island

### Poetry

* Bruce Beaver – Lauds and Plaints : Poems (1968-1972)
* Robert Gray – Creekwater Journal
* Clive James – Peregrine Prykke's Pilgrimage Through the London Literary World : A Tragedy in Heroic Couplets
* Jennifer Maiden – Tactics
* David Malouf – Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems
* Les Murray – Lunch and Counter Lunch

### Drama

* Louis Nowra – The Death of Joe Orton
* David Williamson – The Department

### Biography

* Ivan Southall – Fly West

## Awards and honours
### Lifetime achievement

| Award | Author |
| Christopher Brennan Award | R. D. Fitzgerald |
| Patrick White Award | Christina Stead |

### Literary

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | David Foster | The Pure Land | Macmillan |
| ALS Gold Medal | David Malouf | Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems | University of Queensland Press |
| Colin Roderick Award | David Malouf | Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems | University of Queensland Press |

### Fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | David Foster | The Pure Land | Macmillan |
| Miles Franklin Award | Ronald McKie | The Mango Tree | Collins |

### Children and Young Adult

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Patricia Wrightson | The Nargun and the Stars | Hutchinson |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | Jenny Wagner, illustrated by Ron Brooks | The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek | Longman Young |

### Science fiction and fantasy

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Australian SF Achievement Award | Best Australian Science Fiction | Not awarded | | |

### Poetry

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | David Malouf | Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems | University of Queensland Press |

### Non-fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Manning Clark | A History of Australia Vol. 3 | Melbourne University Press |

## Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1974 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
* 9 June — Anna Goldsworthy, writer, teacher and classical pianist
* 14 June — Scott Monk, author
* 2 July — Matthew Reilly, author
Unknown date
* Alyssa Brugman, author of fiction for young adults
* Shaun Tan, artist and author

## Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1974 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
* 7 January – Nan McDonald, writer for children (born 1921)
* 21 January – R. G. Howarth, poet and critic (born 1906)
* June – Eve Langley, novelist and poet (born 1904)