David Malouf, the celebrated Australian author of novels including Remembering Babylon and Ransom, has died at the age of 92. His publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, confirmed his death in a statement on Thursday, saying he passed away on Wednesday.
Malouf was a literary giant whose work spanned fiction, poetry, libretti and plays. He was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Remembering Babylon and won numerous honours including the Miles Franklin Award, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and the International Dublin Literary Award. His final novel, Ransom (2009), a retelling of a scene from the Iliad, was widely acclaimed.
Born in Brisbane in 1934 to a Lebanese Australian father and an English-born mother, Malouf began writing poetry in the 1960s. His first novel, Johnno (1975), was semi-autobiographical, drawing on his experiences growing up in wartime Brisbane. Much of his writing explored his own childhood, classical myths, and colonial Australia.
Malouf was openly gay but remained private about his personal life. He once said: “I think each one of us is individual… we can be whatever we want to be.” He was also a passionate supporter of Opera Australia and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation.
Tributes from fellow authors highlighted his kindness and wit. Helen Garner recalled his “imaginative and very practical” encouragement, while critic Rick Gekoski praised the “vivacity and accuracy” of his prose.
