1938 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1938.
Books
- Martin Boyd – Night of the Party
- Eleanor Dark – Waterway
- Arthur Gask – The Fall of a Dictator
- Xavier Herbert – Capricornia
- Michael Innes – Lament for a Maker
- Norman Lindsay – Age of Consent
- Alice Grant Rosman – Unfamiliar Faces
- Nevil Shute – Ruined City
- Christina Stead – House of All Nations
- F. J. Thwaites
- * The Mad Doctor in Harley Street
- * A Man of Destiny
- E. V. Timms – Maelstrom
- Arthur Upfield – ''The Bone is Pointed''
Short stories
- Alan Marshall – "Clarkey's Dead"
- Katharine Susannah Prichard – "Marlene"
Poetry
- R. D. FitzGerald – Moonlight Acre
- A. D. Hope – "Standardisation"
- Jack Lindsay – "On Guard for Spain"
- Jack Moses – Nine Miles from Gundagai
- John Shaw Neilson
- * Beauty Imposes : Some Recent Verse
- * "The Crane is My Neighbour"
Drama
Radio
- Max Afford – The Fantastic Case of The Four Specialists
- Edmund Barclay – Canberra the Great
- Fitzmaurice Hill – All Is Made Manifest
- Vance Palmer – The Sea Hawk
- Catherine Shepherd
- * Daybreak
- * The Fated Hour
- Alexander Turner – ''Conglomerate''
Theatre
Awards and honours
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| ALS Gold Medal | R. D. FitzGerald | Moonlight Acre | Melbourne University Press |
Births
A list, ordered by date of birth of births in 1938 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.- 10 March – Tony Morphett, scriptwriter
- 28 July – Robert Hughes, critic
- 21 August – Mudrooroo, novelist, poet and playwright
- 17 October – Les Murray, poet
- 30 October – Morris Lurie, novelist
- 21 December – Frank Moorhouse, novelist
Deaths
A list, ordered by date of death of deaths in 1938 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.- 21 January – Will Dyson, poet and artist
- 7 February – Constance Le Plastrier, writer, schoolteacher and botanist
- 22 June – C. J. Dennis, poet
- 29 November — John Sandes, poet, journalist and author