1991 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 1991.

• David Malouf won the Miles Franklin Award for The Great World

• Peter Carey — The Tax Inspector
• Brian Castro — Double-Wolf
• Bryce Courtenay — Tandia
• Robert Drewe — Our Sunshine
• David Foster — Mates of Mars^[1]
• Alan Gould — To the Burning City^[2]
• Rodney Hall — The Second Bridegroom
• Thomas Keneally
  • Chief of Staff (as by "William Coyle")
  • Flying Hero Class
• Colleen McCullough — The Grass Crown
• Gillian Mears — The Mint Lawn^[3]
• Morris West — The Ringmaster
• Tim Winton — Cloudstreet

• Lily Brett – What God Wants^[4]
• Suzanne Edgar — Counting Backwards and Other Stories^[5]

• Jon Cleary — Pride's Harvest
• Peter Corris
  • Aftershock
  • Wet Graves
• Garry Disher — Kickback^[6]
• Kerry Greenwood — Murder on the Ballarat Train^[7]
• Brenda Walker — Crush^[8]

• Greg Egan – "Appropriate Love"
• Keith Taylor – Felimid's Homecoming^[9]
• George Turner – Brain Child^[10]

• Margaret Barbalet — The Wolf
• Anna Fienberg — The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels
• Jackie French — Rain Stones (for children)
• Robin Klein — Came Back to Show You I Could Fly
• John Marsden — Letters from the Inside

• Alison Croggon — This is the Stone^[11]
• A. D. Hope — Orpheus^[12]
• Jean Kent — Practising Breathing^[13]

• Michael Gow — Furious

• Bruce Bennett — Spirit in Exile, Peter Porter and His Poetry^[14]
• Barry Hill — Sitting In^[15]
• Julie Lewis — Olga Masters, A Lot of Living^[16]
• David Marr — Patrick White: A Life^[17]

• Robert Hughes AO, for "service to art and to the promotion of Australian culture"^[18]
• Bruce Beaver AM, for "service to literature, particularly in the field of poetry"^[19]
• David Rowbotham AM, for "service to literature"^[20]
• Patricia Scott AM, for "service to children's literature"^[21]

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of deaths in 1991 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth.

• 21 February — Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, academic, literary critic and poet (born 1915)^[37]
• 30 March — Joan Colebrook, journalist and writer (born 1910)^[38]
• 3 April — Coral Lansbury, writer and academic (born 1929)^[39]
• 7 April — Bob Brissenden, poet, novelist, critic and academic (born 1928)^[40]
• 2 May — Ronald McKie, novelist (born 1909)^[41]
• 23 May — Manning Clark, historian (born 1915)^[42]
• 24 June — Sumner Locke Elliott, novelist and playwright (born 1917)^[43]
• 17 November — Pixie O'Harris, children's book author and illustrator (born 1903)^[44]
• 1 December — Barbara Hanrahan, novelist and artist (born 1939)^[45]

• 1991 in Australia
• 1991 in literature
• 1991 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature