1963 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1963.
Major publications
Books
- Jessica Anderson – An Ordinary Lunacy
- Jon Cleary – Forests of the Night
- Sumner Locke Elliott – Careful, He Might Hear You
- Catherine Gaskin – The Tilsit Inheritance
- Barbara Jefferis – Wild Grapes
- Mungo MacCallum – Son of Mars
- Randolph Stow – Tourmaline
- Arthur Upfield – The Body at Madman's Bend
- Morris West – ''The Shoes of the Fisherman''
Short stories
- A. Bertram Chandler – Beyond the Galactic Rim
- Jon Cleary – Pillar of Salt and Other Stories
- Peter Cowan – "The Voice"
- Frank Hardy – Legends from Benson's Valley
- Shirley Hazzard – Cliffs of Fall and Other Stories
- Xavier Herbert – Larger Than Life : Twenty Short Stories
- Hal Porter – "Gretel"
- Colin Thiele – Favourite Australian Stories
- Patrick White
- * "Clay"
- * "Down at the Dump"
- * "Miss Slattery and Her Demon Lover"
Children's and Young Adult fiction
- Nan Chauncy – The Roaring 40
- L. H. Evers – Danny's Wonderful Uncle
- John Gunn – The Goodbye Island
- Eric Lambert – Dolphin
- Joan Phipson – Threat to the Barkers
- Eleanor Spence – The Green Laurel
- Colin Thiele – ''Storm Boy''
Poetry
- Bruce Dawe – "And a Good Friday Was Had By All"
- Gwen Harwood – "Suburban Sonnet"
- Dorothy Hewett - What About the People!
- A. D. Hope
- * "Crossing the Frontier"
- * "A Letter from Rome"
- James McAuley – "Pieta"
- Ian Mudie – The North-Bound Rider
- Peter Porter – "Your Attention Please"
- Chris Wallace-Crabbe – In Light and Darkness
- Henry Kendall – Henry Kendall
- John Shaw Neilson – Shaw Neilson
- Judith Wright – ''Five Senses : Selected Poems''
Biography
- Miles Franklin – Childhood at Brindabella : My First Ten Years
- Xavier Herbert – Disturbing Element
- Alan Marshall – In Mine Own Heart
- Hal Porter – ''The Watcher on the Cast-Iron Balcony''
Non-fiction
- Geoffrey Blainey – ''The Rush That Never Ended : A History of Australian Mining''
Drama
Awards and honours
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| ALS Gold Medal | John Morrison | Twenty-Three : Stories | Australasian Book Society |
| Miles Franklin Award | Sumner Locke Elliott | Careful, He Might Hear You | Angus and Robertson |
Children and Young Adult
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Joan Phipson | The Family Conspiracy | Constable |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | No award |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Ian Mudie | The North-Bound Rider | Rigby |
Births
A list, ordered by date of birth of births in 1963 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of death.- 19 July – Garth Nix, novelist
- 30 September – Stan Grant, non-fiction writer and journalist
- 8 October – Nick Earls, novelist
- Jennie Adams, romance novelist
- Ali Cobby Eckermann, poet
- Catherine Jinks, novelist
- John Kinsella, poet
- Mandy Sayer, novelist
- Donna Williams, writer, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and sculptor
Deaths
A list, ordered by date of death of deaths in 1963 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.- 30 January – Will H. Ogilvie, poet
- 11 March – Deirdre Cash, Australian novelist
- 24 July – Ruth Bedford, poet