# 1980 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1980.

## Events

* The Australian/Vogel Literary Award: Inaugural award to Archie Weller, The Day Of The Dog; the award was initially given to Paul Radley, who, in 1996, admitted that his manuscript was actually written by his uncle.
* Jessica Anderson won the 1980 Miles Franklin Award for The Impersonators

## Major publications
### Books

* Jessica Anderson — The Impersonators
* Murray Bail — Homesickness
* Jon Cleary — A Very Private War
* Shirley Hazzard — The Transit of Venus
* Elizabeth Jolley — Palomino
* Thomas Keneally — The Cut-Rate Kingdom
* Randolph Stow — The Girl Green as Elderflower

### Short story collections

* Helen Garner – Honour & Other People's Children

### Science fiction

* Damien Broderick — The Dreaming Dragons

### Crime and mystery

* Peter Corris — The Dying Trade
* Gabrielle Lord — Fortress

### Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Pamela Allen – The Archimedes' Bath
* Mavis Thorpe Clark – A Stranger Came to the Mine
* Robert Ingpen — The Voyage of the Poppykettle
* Ruth Park — Playing Beatie Bow
* Ruth Park and Deborah Niland – When the Wind Changed

### Poetry

* Jenny Boult – The Hotel Anonymous
* Richard Lunn – Pompeii Deep Fry
* Les Murray — The Boys Who Stole the Funeral
* Judith Rodriguez — Mudcrab at Gambaro's
* Gig Ryan – The Division of Anger
* Philip Salom — The Silent Piano
* Chris Wallace-Crabbe — The Golden Apples of the Sun: Twentieth Century Australian Poetry (anthology) editor,

### Non-fiction

* Robyn Davidson – Tracks
* Allan M. Grocott – Convicts, Clergymen and Churches
* Clive James – Unreliable Memoirs
* David Marr – Barwick

## Awards and honours

* Kylie Tennant – Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)
* Max Fatchen – Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
* Marjorie Barnard – Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
* Patsy Adam-Smith – Officer of the British Empire (OBE)

### Lifetime achievement

| Award | Author |
| Christopher Brennan Award | John Blight |
| Patrick White Award | Bruce Dawe |

### Literary

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Murray Bail | Homesickness | Macmillan |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | David Ireland | A Woman of the Future | Penguin |
| ALS Gold Medal | No award | | |
| Colin Roderick Award | Allan Grocott | Convicts, Clergymen and Churches | Sydney University Press |

### Fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Murray Bail | Homesickness | Macmillan |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | David Ireland | A Woman of the Future | Penguin |
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award | Archie Weller | The Day of the Dog | Allen & Unwin |
| Miles Franklin Award | Jessica Anderson | The Impersonators | Macmillan |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Peter Carey | War Crimes | University of Queensland Press |

### Children and Young Adult

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Lee Harding | Displaced Person | Hyland House |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | Peter Pavey | One Dragon's Dream | Nelson Australia |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's Book Award | Pamela Allen | Mr Archimedes' Bath | William Collins |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Special Children's Book Award | Catherine Berndt | Land of the Rainbow Snake | William Collins |

### Science fiction and fantasy

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Australian SF Achievement Award | Best Australian Science Fiction | Robert Ingpen | Australian Gnomes | Rigby |

### Poetry

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Anne Elder Award | Richard Lunn | Pompeii Deep Fry | Randolph Press |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Les Murray | The Boys Who Stole the Funeral | Angus & Robertson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | David Campbell | The Man in the Honeysuckle | Angus & Robertson |

### Non-fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Not awarded | | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | David Marr | Barwick | Allen & Unwin |

## Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1980 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
* 7 July – Brooke Davis, novelist
Unknown date
* Elizabeth Campbell, poet
* Ceridwen Dovey, novelist

## Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1980 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
* 2 September – Frederick Macartney, poet and critic (born 1887)
* 3 February – Marnie Bassett, historian and biographer (born 1889)
* 18 October – Martin Haley, poet and translator (born 1905)