Notable works from this period are Out of Time, which was nominated by the CBCA as a notable book for older readers, and Letters From the Inside and a sequel to So Much to Tell You called Take My Word For It, which were both shortlisted for the CBCA's Children's Book of the Year: Older Readers award.

[8][9] Upon publication in the United States, Letters From the Inside received accolades from The Horn Book Magazine and the American Library Association.

[10] American novelist Robert Cormier found the novel "unforgettable" and described Marsden as a "major writer deserving of world-wide acclaim".

[12] At the same time as writing the Tomorrow series, Marsden wrote several other novels such as Checkers, edited works such as This I Believe, wrote children's picture books such as The Rabbits, poetry such as Prayer for the Twenty-First Century, and non-fiction works such as Everything I Know About Writing and Secret Men's Business.

[14] Marsden's earlier works are largely novels aimed at teenage or young adult audience.

[2] Common themes in Marsden's works include sexuality, violence in society, survival at school and in a harsh world, and conflict with adult authority figures.

"[4] In 1994, a sexually explicit adult novel “Lost To View” written by Marsden was published under the name “James Hordern”.

[20] This award meant that Marsden was one of only five authors to be honoured for lifelong services to the Australian book industry at the time.

[21] He was twice named among Best Books of the Year by the American Library Association and once by Publishers Weekly, was runner-up for Dutch Children's Book of the Year and short-listed for the German Young Readers' Award, won the Grand Jury Prize as Austria's Most Popular Writer for Teenagers, and won the coveted Buxtehude Bull in Germany.

[28] In December 2018, Marsden was awarded the Dromkeen Medal, in recognition of his outstanding achievement in children's and young adult literature.

Marsden defended his views, going on to say that students from other cultures were bullied less at Geelong Grammar if they were more “Westernised”,[32] saying "If they were able to speak English fluently and wear the clothes that Anglo kids wore and listened to the same kind of music, then they were fully accepted.

[38][39] Alice Miller School wrote a letter to parents, stating that he had died while writing at his desk at home.