In The Great World Malouf enters familiar Australian territory with a story of war experience and mateship. The narrative contrasts the personalities of two men and their experiences in the Second World War, Digger Keen, the archetypal, taciturn Australian, gifted with a photographic memory, and Vic Curran, whose ambition and drive take him from poverty to the top of the business world. The Great World was first published in 1990 and won the Miles Franklin Award in 1991, the Adelaide Festival Award and two international awards, the 1991 Commonwealth Prize for fiction and the Prix Femina Etranger in France for the best foreign novel. This subseries consists of a draft early version of the novel, originally titled ‘The Memorialists’, the first handwritten draft of the novel, and a typescript draft in five parts with many handwritten corrections and additions.

'A Winter’s Tale (The Round of Time). After William Shakespeare'. Three versions of draft for libretto, [ca. 30 leaves each], [David Malouf’s 2017 note: Commissioned by the English National Opera, 1988/9. Michael Berkeley set part of the text (Paulina) in a song-cycle. The commission fell through.] With two associated pieces of correspondence by Malouf and Berkeley

This subseries is comprised of:
Folder 1 An imaginary life. Based on the novel by David Malouf. The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Folded sheet with insert. First performed on 19 Feb 1986. With associated review. Blood relations. The State Theatre Company and the Sydney Theatre Company. 1987. 24p. Voss. The Australian Opera at the Sydney Opera House. 18 Oct 1990. Single-leaf sheet. Contained in a red folder with gilt-embossed title and string. Also contains six cards in envelopes addressed to Malouf.

Folder 2 Mer de Glace. The Australian Opera, 1991. Baa-baa black sheep. An opera in three acts. Music by Michael Berkeley. Cheltenham International Festival of Music 3 Jul 1993. [and] Opera North 15 (Leeds, UK). 13, 16, 17 and 19 Nov 1993.

Folder 3 1914. Inspired by Fly Away Peter. The Australian Ballet. 7-27 Apr 1998. Exotic pleasures. From stories of Peter Carey and David Malouf. Theatre of Image at the Seymour Centre at the University of Sydney. York Theatre. 12 Mar to 3 Apr 1999. A3 broadsheet programme. [Mary Ellen Snodgrass: Peter Carey. A literary companion dates this adaptation to mid-January 1999, and describes it as a ‘dance-cinema-puppet montage’. In January 1999 Theatre of Image offered a workshop based on Exotic Pleasures at Macquarie University. With copies of newspaper reviews. Johnno. Adapted for the stage by Stephen Edwards. Derby Playhouse and La Boite Theatre. 14 Jul – 5 Aug 2006. Powerhouse Theatre.

The collection of autobiographical essays, 12 Edmonstone Street, A Place in Tuscany, A Foot in the Stream, and The Kyogle Line were published as 12 Edmonstone Street, by Chatto and Windus in 1985. This subseries consists of a note by David Malouf originally intended to introduce the book, drafts of 12 Edmondstone Street with editorial material, and drafts of A Place in Tuscany, A Foot in the Stream, and The Kyogle Line. Handwritten and typescript drafts, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape, now degrading).

Comprises: Jeffrey Smart 1921 – 2013. Recondita armonia – Strange harmonies of contrast. Curated by David Malouf. University of Sydney Art Gallery. 2 Nov 2013 to7 Mar 2014. Exhibition catalogue. 16p. With an introduction by Malouf. Card inserted. David Malouf and Friends. Museum of Brisbane. Exhibition catalogue. 16 May to 23 Nov 2014.
Souvenir programme of the Opening Celebrations of the Queensland Performing Arts Complex, (1985). Booklet in folder. With an Ode by David Malouf [p13-14].
Booklet for The Man Booker International Prize 2011.
Flyer by Chatto & Windus for An Imaginery Life and The Great World.
Poster by Penguin Australian Authors for David Malouf.
Flyers by Penguin Australian Authors for David Malouf.
Flyer by Random House fo David Malouf. Poems on the Underground. 1,000 years of poetry in English. Poster produced by the London Transport Museum, reproducing Malouf’s poem Thaw. [Rolled, loose in box]

Antipodes is a collection of short stories published by Malouf in 1985. This subseries consists of corrected typescripts of twelve of the thirteen stories in the collection. Some stories have more than one draft.

Eustace, a short story, was first published in 1982 with the novella Child's Play and short story The Prowler. Further editions were published in 1983 and 1999, and Eustace was included in Malouf’s The Complete Stories published in 2007. There are two typescript drafts in this subseries. The first is an early typescript draft, 10 leaves, extensive handwritten emendations, word count on last page, and undated. The second is a typescript draft, 21 leaves, including the title page, handwritten emendations, word count on last page, and undated.

The central figure of Harland’s Half Acre, Frank Harland, is another study of the artist-figure which continues to intrigue Malouf. Partly structured like Johnno and An Imaginary Life around two opposite individuals, the novel returns to the lush, exotic world of Queensland with a chronological narrative covering several decades. From his youth Harland is obsessed with the need to reclaim his family’s lost inheritance, the pastoral land with the nostalgic name Killarney. The dream turns sour when tragedy intervenes but Harland grows to understand that he has created another unexpected but more real legacy in his art. Harland’s Half Acre was first published in 1984. This subseries consists of two notebooks of 200 pages each with background material, notes and drafts, correspondence, various typescript drafts with handwritten corrections and additions, and a complete typescript of the finished novel.

Ephemera relating to awards won by Malouf.
Comprises flyers for:
1982 winner The Age Book of the Year Award — Book of the Year - Fly Away Peter.
1988 Programme for the Inaugural Pascall Prize: Australian 'Critic of the Year', won by David Malouf.
2004 Certificate of Appreciation to David Malouf, Winner of the 2004 One Book One Brisbane Reading Campaign.
2010 winner International Awards — John D. Criticos Prize. Awarded to David Malouf for his novel Ransom.
2010 shortlisted Prime Minister's Literary Awards — Fiction - for Ransom.
2010 Australian Literature Society Gold Medal ... presented to David Malouf for his novel Ransom.
2010 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction - for Ransom.
2011 shortlisted International Awards — International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - for Ransom.

Correspondence from Helen Garner – 125 letters (1982 to 2014)
Comprises:
[File 1]: 1982 to 1985 – 22 letters
[File 2]: 1986 – 29 letters (including 8-page typescript of a short story titled ‘What we say’)
[File 3]: 1987 to 2000 – 61 letters
[File 4]: 2003 to 2014 – 13 letters