# 1970 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1970.

## Major publications
### Books

* Jessica Anderson – The Last Man's Head
* Jon Cleary – Helga's Web
* Geoffrey Dutton – Tamara
* Catherine Gaskin – Fiona
* Shirley Hazzard – The Bay of Noon
* Barry Oakley – A Salute to the Great McCarthy
* Dal Stivens – A Horse of Air
* Colin Thiele – Labourers in the Vineyard
* Patrick White – The Vivisector

### Short stories

* Murray Bail – "Paradise"
* Alexandra Hasluck – Of Ladies Dead : Stories Not in the Modern Manner
* Frank Moorhouse – "The Coca-Cola Kid"
* Hal Porter – Mr Butterfry and Other Tales of New Japan

### Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Hesba Brinsmead – Listen to the Wind
* Mavis Thorpe Clark – Iron Mountain
* Max Fatchen – Conquest of the River
* Lilith Norman – Climb a Lonely Hill
* Ruth Park
** The Muddle-Headed Wombat in the Springtime
** The Muddle-Headed Wombat on the River
* Joan Phipson – The Haunted Night
* Ivan Southall
** Bread and Honey
** Chinaman's Reef is Ours

### Science fiction and fantasy

* Damien Broderick – Sorcerer's World
* A. Bertram Chandler – "The Bitter Pill"
* Michael Wilding – "The Man of Slow Feeling"

### Poetry

* Jack Davis – The First-Born and Other Poems
* Bruce Dawe – "Weapons Training"
* Michael Dransfield – "Fix"
* Robert Gray – "Journey : The North Coast"
* Rodney Hall – Heaven, in a Way
* A. D. Hope – Dunciad Minor
* David Malouf – Bicycle and Other Poems
* Peter Porter – The Last of England
* David Rowbotham – The Makers of the Ark : Poems
* Kath Walker – My People : A Kath Walker Collection

### Drama

* David Williamson
** The Coming of Stork
** You've Got to Get on Jack

### Non-fiction

* Germaine Greer – The Female Eunuch

## Awards and honours
### Literary

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| ALS Gold Medal | Manning Clark | | |
| Colin Roderick Award | Margaret Lawrie | Myths and Legends of Torres Strait | University of Queensland Press |
| Miles Franklin Award | Dal Stivens | A Horse of Air | Angus and Robertson |

### Children and Young Adult

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Annette Macarthur-Onslow | Uhu | Ure Smith |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | No award | | |

### Science fiction and fantasy

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Australian SF Achievement Award | Best Australian Science Fiction | Lee Harding | "Dancing Gerontius" | |

### Poetry

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Bruce Beaver | Letters to Live Poets | South Head 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 1970 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
* 8 June – Paul Haines, short story writer (born in New Zealand)(died 2012)
Unknown date
* Lee Battersby, novelist and short story writer (born in Nottingham, England)
* Julia Leigh, novelist and script writer
* Martin Livings, short story writer
* Caroline Overington, novelist and journalist

## Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1970 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
* 20 April — Ronald Campbell, novelist and short story writer (born 1896)
* 1 May – Nan Chauncy, writer for children (born 1900)
* 24 May – Frank Dalby Davison, novelist and short story writer (born 1893)
* 22 July – George Johnston, novelist (born 1912)
* 30 July – Walter Murdoch, academic and essayist (born 1874)