Explanatory note from David Malouf regarding the origins of the novel, 1leaf.
Drafts of an early version of The Great World, The Great World is a later version of a book originally titled ‘The Memorialists’. This typescript and handwritten draft comprises the material from this original version which was incorporated into The Great World. Approximately 323 leaves, extensive handwritten emendations, cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape), most pages have handwritten numbers in top right-hand corner, page numbers are out of sequence, undated.

Typescript draft of part I of The Great World, on green paper, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape). This draft is missing most of the first page of the novel. It has the title page of the novel and a chapter title page 'Keen's Crossing' (which was not used in the published novel). The folder has been retained. It has page and word counts for each section, and calculations for typing these pages.

Typescript draft of 'The Away Game', Part III of The Great World, mostly on white paper, handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, and cut and paste inserts (attached with sticky tape). This draft of part III of the novel has the chapter title page 'The Away Game' (which was not used in the published novel). There are 13 sections in this file. Handwritten page numbers are in the top right-hand corner of most pages, numbering from 162 to 256. Original folder has been retained. On the cover it has page and word counts and page numbers for 15 sections.

Remembering Babylon, set mainly in a mid-nineteenth-century settlement in Queensland, is a compressed epic, centering on the theme of exile and the strange challenge posed by one who, like William Buckley, had lived with the Aborigines, becoming ‘a white black man.’ It was first published in 1993. This subseries consists of six folders of notes, handwritten drafts, three typescripts with many handwritten corrections and additions, publishers’ proofs with many corrections, and a re-typed transcript with corrections throughout.

Publisher's page proofs of Remembering Babylon, 202 pages, front cover removed, handwritten emendations.

Draft typescript [by Chris Edwards], [180 leaves] with handwritten emendations [by David Malouf], in blue and black biro, blue ink and pencil, white-out corrections, cut and paste typescript inserts (attached with sticky tape), and handwritten inserts.

Short stories, most of which appear in the short story collection Every Move You Make. The short stories that appeared in the publication are: The Valley of Lagoons, Every Move You Make, War Baby, Towards Midnight, Elsewhere, Mrs Porter and the Rock, and The Domestic Cantata. This sub-series contains two files of short story typescript drafts.

Ransom retells the story of the Iliad from books 22 to 24. This subseries has manuscript and typescript drafts, with handwritten emendations. By close textual comparison (including with the published novel), these versions have been put into the order in which they were likely produced.

Literary awards and nominations include:
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.

Typescript, version 2 (typed by David Malouf), in five sections numbered I – V. (sections III and IV present in two versions), with handwritten emendations, white-out corrections, cut and paste typescript inserts (attached with sticky tape), and handwritten inserts.

Darft, version 5, five chapters individually paginated, 16, 39, 30, 20, 8p, altogether 113 leaves, a few handwritten emendations by an editor in the text and on a few post-it notes attached to margins.