# 1948 in Australian literature

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

## Books

* Eleanor Dark – Storm of Time
* George Johnston – 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
* Katharine Susannah Prichard – Golden Miles
* Nevil Shute – No Highway
* Christina Stead – A Little Tea, a Little Chat
* F. J. Thwaites – The Night Closed Down
* E. V. Timms – Forever to Remain
* Patrick White – The Aunt's Story

## Short stories

* A. Bertram Chandler – "Dawn of Nothing"
* Helen Meggs – "Burning Off"
* Judah Waten – "Black Girl in the Street"

## Crime and mystery

* George Johnston – Death Takes Small Bites
* Arthur Upfield
** An Author Bites the Dust
** The Mountains Have a Secret
* June Wright – Murder in the Telephone Exchange

## 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
### Radio

* Musette Morell – Three Radio Plays
* Vance Palmer – Christine

### Theatre

* Sumner Locke Elliott – Rusty Bugles
* Musette Morell – Bush Cobbers
* 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 | 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 | 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 | 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
* 23 April – John A. Scott, novelist
* 20 May – Kate Jennings, novelist and poet (died 2021)
* 23 July – Alan Wearne, poet
* 24 July — Joan London, novelist
* 12 September – Michael Dransfield, poet (died 1973)
* 21 September – Sean McMullen, novelist
* 25 September – Vicki Viidikas, poet and writer (died 1998)
* 2 November – Jenny Pausacker, novelist
Unknown date
* Roger Bennett, playwright
* Pam Brown, poet
* Jimmy Chi, playwright and composer (died 2017)
* Martin Duwell, editor
* Dennis Haskell, poet
* Dorothy Johnston, novelist
* Margaret Wild, writer for children (in South Africa)

## 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)
* 26 September — R. J. Cassidy, poet (born 1880)