David Malouf, the acclaimed Australian author of novels including Remembering Babylon and Ransom, has died aged 92. His publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, confirmed his death on Thursday, stating that Malouf passed away on Wednesday.
Born in Brisbane in 1934 to a Lebanese Australian father and an English-born mother, Malouf began writing poetry in the 1960s and published his first novel, Johnno, in 1975. He went on to earn international recognition, with Remembering Babylon shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1993 and winning the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the first International Dublin Literary Award.
Malouf wrote across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, libretti and plays, and won numerous prizes including the Miles Franklin Award, the Prix Femina Etranger and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His final novel, Ransom (2009), retold Priam’s appeal to Achilles in Homer’s Iliad, and his last published work was a poetry collection, An Open Book (2018).
Known for exploring his own childhood, classical myths and colonial Australia, Malouf was praised for the clarity and precision of his prose. He was openly gay but remained discreet about his personal life. He once said: 'We can be whatever we want to be.'
Author Helen Garner remembered him for his kindness, encouragement and love of laughter, saying he gave her 'very practical' support in times of crisis.
