# 1985 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1985.

## Events

* Christopher Koch won the 1985 Miles Franklin Award for The Doubleman

## Major publications
### Novels

* Thea Astley — Beachmasters
* Peter Carey — Illywhacker
* Sumner Locke Elliott — About Tilly Beamis
* David Foster — Dog Rock
* Kate Grenville — Lilian's Story
* Barbara Hanrahan — Annie Magdalene
* Thomas Keneally — A Family Madness
* Christopher Koch — The Doubleman

### Short story collections

* David Malouf — Antipodes
* Olga Masters — A Long Time Dying

### Crime and mystery

* Peter Corris
** The Big Drop and Other Cliff Hardy Stories
** Make Me Rich
** Pokerface

### Children's and young adult fiction

* Pamela Allen — A Lion in the Night
* Duncan Ball — Selby's Secret
* Thurley Fowler – The Green Wind
* Robin Klein — Halfway Across the Galaxy and Turn Left
* Gillian Rubinstein — Space Demons

### Poetry

* Robert Gray — Selected Poems 1963–1983
* Chris Wallace-Crabbe — The Amorous Cannibal

### Drama

* Janis Balodis – Too Young for Ghosts
* Jack Davis — No Sugar
* Michael Gow — The Astronaut’s Wife
* Louis Nowra — The Golden Age
* David Williamson — Sons of Cain

### Non-fiction

* John Bryson — Evil Angels

## Awards and honours

* Jack Davis AM, for "service to Aboriginal literature and theatre"
* Frank Moorhouse AM, for "service to Australian literature"
* Morris West AM, for "service to literature"

### Lifetime achievement

| Award | Author |
| Christopher Brennan Award | Les Murray |
| Patrick White Award | Judah Waten (posthumous) |

### Literary awards

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Peter Carey | Illywhacker | University of Queensland Press |
| ALS Gold Medal | David Ireland | Archimedes and the Seagle | Viking Press |
| Colin Roderick Award | John Gunn | The Defeat of Distance : Qantas 1919-1939 | University of Queensland Press |

### Fiction awards

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Peter Carey | Illywhacker | University of Queensland Press |
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award | No award | | |
| Miles Franklin Award | Christopher Koch | The Doubleman | Chatto & Windus |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Elizabeth Jolley | Milk and Honey | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | David Malouf | Antipodes | Chatto and Windus |

### Poetry

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Anne Elder Award | Stephen J. Williams | A Crowd of Voices | Pariah Press Co-op |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Robert Gray | Selected Poems 1963–1983 | Angus and Robertson |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Chris Wallace-Crabbe | The Amorous Cannibal | Oxford University Press |
| Mary Gilmore Award | Doris Brett | The Truth About Unicorns | Jacaranda Press |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Kevin Hart | Your Shadow | Angus & Robertson |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Rosemary Dobson | The Three Fates and Other Poems | Hale and Iremonger |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Kevin Hart | Your Shadow | Angus & Robertson |

### Children and Young Adult

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | James Aldridge | The True Story of Lilli Stubeck | Hyland House |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | Not awarded | | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Young People's Literature | Nadia Wheatley | The House that Was Eureka | Penguin |

### Drama

| Award | Category | Author | Title |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Script | Bob Ellis and Paul Cox | My First Wife |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Script | Margaret Kelly, Chris Noonan, Phillip Noyce and Russell Braddon | The Cowra Breakout |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Play | Stephen Sewell | The Blind Giant is Dancing |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Drama | David Allen | Cheapside |

### Non-fiction

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Chester Eagle | Mapping the Paddocks | McPhee Gribble |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Hugh Lunn | Vietnam: A Reporter's War | University of Queensland Press |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Elsie Webster | The Moon Man | Melbourne University Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Bernard Smith | The Boy Adeodatus : The Portrait of a Lucky Young Bastard | Allen Lane |

## Births

A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1985 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.
Unknown date
* Hannah Kent, historical 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 1985 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.
* 26 January — Anne Spencer Parry, pioneer fantasy writer (born 1931)
* 14 February — Douglas Stewart, poet, short story writer, essayist and literary editor (born 1913)
* 19 April — John Manifold, poet and critic (born 1915)
* 5 May — Carter Brown, writer of detective fiction (born in England, 1923)
* 18 July — F. B. Vickers, novelist (born 1903)
* 29 July — Judah Waten, novelist (born 1911)
* 11 September — Eleanor Dark, novelist (born 1901)
* 4 November — A. A. Phillips, writer, critic and teacher, best known for coining the term "Cultural Cringe" (born 1900)