1987 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1987.
Events
- Glenda Adams won the 1987 Miles Franklin Award for ''Dancing on Coral''
Major publications
Novels
- Glenda Adams — Dancing on Coral
- Murray Bail — Holden's Performance
- Sumner Locke Elliott — Waiting for Childhood
- Barbara Hanrahan — Kewpie Doll
- Nicholas Hasluck — Truant State
- David Ireland — Bloodfather
- Nicholas Jose — Paper Nautilus
- Thomas Keneally — The Playmaker
- Olga Masters — Amy's Children
- Colleen McCullough — The Ladies of Missalonghi
- Boyd Oxlade — Death in Brunswick
- Nancy Phelan — Home is the Sailor
- Eric Willmot — ''Pemulwuy, the Rainbow Warrior''
Short stories
- Jessica Anderson — Stories from the Warm Zone
- Thea Astley — It's Raining in Mango
- Julie Lewis — The Walls of Jericho: Stories
- John Sligo — Final Things
- Patrick White — ''Three Uneasy Pieces''
Children's and young adult fiction
Science fiction and fantasy
- Greg Egan – "Neighbourhood Watch"
- Isobelle Carmody — Obernewtyn
- George Turner — ''The Sea and Summer''
Crime and mystery
- Jon Cleary — Dragons at the Party
- Peter Corris — The January Zone
- Jennifer Rowe — ''Grim Pickings''
Poetry
- Judith Beveridge — The Domesticity of Giraffes
- Dorothy Hewett — ''Alice in Wormland''
Drama
- Dorothy Hewett — Me and the Man in the Moon
- David Malouf — Blood Relations
- Wendy Richardson — Windy Gully
- David Williamson — ''Emerald City''
Non-fiction
- Brian Matthews — Louisa
- Sally Morgan — ''My Place''
Awards and honours
- Rosemary Dobson, for "service to literature, particularly in the field of poetry"
- David Malouf, for "service to literature"
- Peter Cowan (writer), for "service to Australian literature"
- Ruth Park, for "service to literature"
- Rica Erickson, for "service to the arts, particularly as an author and illustrator
Fiction
International
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize | Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Blanche d'Alpuget | Winter in Jerusalem | Heinemann |
National
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not awarded | ||
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Jessica Anderson | Stories from the Warm Zone | Penguin |
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award | Jim Sakkas | Ilias | Allen and Unwin |
| Miles Franklin Award | Glenda Adams | Dancing on Coral | Viking Press |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Glenda Adams | Dancing on Coral | Viking Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Janine Burke | Second Sight | Greenhouse Publications |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Joan London | Sister Ships | Fremantle Arts Centre Press |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not awarded | ||
| Anne Elder Award | Sarah Day | A Hunger to be Less Serious | Angus & Robertson |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Elizabeth Riddell | Occasions of Birds and Other Poems | Brindabella Press |
| Mary Gilmore Award | Jan Owen | Boy with Telescope | Angus & Robertson |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Philip Hodgins | Blood and Bone | Angus & Robertson |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Lily Brett | The Auschwitz Poems | Scribe |
Drama
| Award | Category | Author | Title |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Film Script | David Parker | Malcolm |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Television Script | Helen Garner | Two Friends |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Play | David Malouf | Blood Relations |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Drama | Ben Lewin | A Matter of Convenience |
Deaths
A list, ordered by date of death of deaths in 1987 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.- 3 March — Cyril Pearl, Australian journalist, editor, author, social historian, wit and television personality
- 18 April — Kenneth Cook, Australian journalist, television documentary maker and novelist
- 8 May — Marjorie Barnard, Australia novelist and short story writer, critic, historian and librarian
- 24 May — Robert D. Fitzgerald, poet
- 3 July — Grace Perry, poet, playwright, and founder and editor of the South Head Press
- 17 December — Lucy Walker, romance novelist