2009 in Australian literature
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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2009.
Events
- HarperCollins takes over ABC Books – the publishing arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.[1]
- Caro Llewellyn, resigns as director of the new Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas (now called the Wheeler Centre) in Melbourne before taking up the role.[2] Chrissy Sharp, the Australian general manager of Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, is appointed to take her place.[3]
- The Australia-Asia Literary Award, based in Western Australia, is suspended.[4]
Major publications
Literary fiction
- Steven Amsterdam – Things We Didn't See Coming
- Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America
- Steven Carroll – The Lost life
- Brian Castro – The Bath Fugues
- Nick Cave – The Death of Bunny Munro
- Tracy Crisp – Black Dust Dancing
- Deborah Forster – The Book of Emmett
- Andrea Goldsmith – Reunion
- Marion Halligan – Valley of Grace
- Sonya Hartnett – Butterfly
- Eva Hornung – Dog Boy
- Katherine Johnson – Pescador's Wake
- Tom Keneally – The People's Train
- Kate Legge – The Marriage Club
- David Malouf – Ransom
- Alex Miller – Lovesong
- Jennifer Mills – The Diamond Anchor
- Sonia Orchard – The Virtuoso
- Susan Varga – Headlong
Children's and Young Adult fiction
- Allan Baille – Krakatoa Lighthouse
- Alyssa Brugman – Girl Next Door
- Judith Clarke – The Winds of Heaven
- Paul Jennings – The Nest
- Justine Larbalestier – How to Ditch Your Fairy
- Sophie Masson – The Madman of Venice
- David Metzenthen – Jarvis 24
- Tohby Riddle – The Lucky Ones
- Sean Williams – The Scarecrow
Crime and Mystery
- Robert G. Barrett – High Noon in Nimbin
- Sydney Bauer – Move to Strike
- Marshall Browne – The Iron Heart
- Peter Corris – Deep Water
- Garry Disher – Blood Moon
- Kathryn Fox – Blood Born
- Leah Giarratano – Black Ice
- Bronwyn Parry – Dark Country
Romance
- Michelle Douglas – The Aristocrat and The Single Mom
- Nicola Marsh – Two Weeks in the Magnate's Bed
- Katherine Scholes – The Hunter's Wife
- Maxine Sullivan – Valente's Baby
Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Trudi Canavan – The Magician's Apprentice
- Kim Falconer – The Spell of Rosette
- Pamela Freeman – Full Circle
- Traci Harding – Being of the Field
- Deborah Kalin – Shadow Queen
- Glenda Larke – The Last Stormlord
- Juliet Marillier – Heart's Blood
- K. J. Taylor – The Dark Griffin
- Shaune Lafferty Webb – Bus Stop on a Strange Loop
- Sean Williams – The Grand Conjunction
Drama
- Angela Betzien – The Dark Room
- Matt Cameron & Tim Finn – Poor Boy
- Joanna Murray-Smith – Rockabye
- Richard Tulloch – The Book of Everything
- David Williamson – Let the Sunshine
Poetry
- Emily Ballou – The Darwin Poems
- Judith Beveridge – Storm and Honey
- Emma Jones – The Striped World
- Jennifer Maiden – Pirate Rain
- Dorothy Porter – The Bee Hut
- Peter Porter – Better Than God
Biographies
- Roger Averill – Boy He Cry: An Island Odyssey
- Stephen Cummings – Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?: Misadventures in Music
- Harry M. Miller with Peter Holder – Harry M Miller: Confessions of a Not-So-Secret Agent
- Mark McKenna – Manning Clark: A Life
- Don Walker – Shots
- Jonathon Welch – Choir Man
- George Whaley – Leo 'Rumpole' McKern: An Accidental Actor
- Kristin Williamson – David Williamson: Behind the Scenes
Awards and honours
Lifetime achievement
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award | Jennifer Strauss |
| Melbourne Prize for Literature | Gerald Murnane |
| Patrick White Award | Beverley Farmer |
Fiction
International
| Award | Region | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize | SE Asia and South Pacific | Best Novel | Christos Tsiolkas | The Slap | Allen & Unwin |
| Overall winner | Best Novel | Christos Tsiolkas | The Slap | Allen & Unwin |
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Jefferis Award | Helen Garner | The Spare Room | Text Publishing | |
| The Age Book of the Year | Fiction | Steven Amsterdam | Things We Didn't See Coming | Sleepers Publishing |
| ALS Gold Medal | Christos Tsiolkas | The Slap | Allen & Unwin | |
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award | Lisa Lang | Utopian Man | ||
| Kristel Thornell | Night Street | |||
| Miles Franklin Award | Fiction | Tim Winton | Breath | Random House |
| Prime Minister's Literary Award | Fiction | Nam Le | The Boat | Hamish Hamilton |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Fiction | Joan London | The Good Parents | Hamish Hamilton |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Fiction | Richard Flanagan | Wanting | Random House |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Fiction | Christos Tsiolkas | The Slap | Allen & Unwin |
Crime and Mystery
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davitt Award | Novel | Malla Nunn | A Beautiful Place to Die | Pan Macmillan |
| Ned Kelly Award | Novel | Peter Corris | Deep Water | Allen & Unwin |
| Kel Robertson | Smoke and Mirrors | Ginninderra Press | ||
| First novel | Nick Gadd | Ghostlines | Scribe Publishing |
Science Fiction and Fantasy
International
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Fantasy Award | Best Novel | Margo Lanagan | Tender Morsels | Knopf |
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurealis Award | SF Novel | Andrew McGahan | Wonders of a Godless World | Allen & Unwin |
| SF Short Story | Peter M. Ball | "Clockwork, Patchwork and Ravens" | Apex Magazine | |
| Fantasy Novel | Trudi Canavan | The Magician's Apprentice | Orbit Books | |
| Fantasy Short Story | Christopher Green | "Father's Kill" | Beneath Ceaseless Skies | |
| Ian McHugh | "Once a Month, On a Sunday" | Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine | ||
| Horror Novel | Honey Brown | Red Queen | Penguin Books | |
| Horror Short Story | Paul Haines | "Slice of Life - A Spot of Liver" | The Mayne Press | |
| Paul Haines | "Wives" | Coeur de Lion Publishing (X6) | ||
| Ditmar Award | Novel | Margo Lanagan | Tender Morsels | Allen & Unwin |
| Novella/Novelette | Kirstyn McDermott | "Painlessness" | Greatest Uncommon Denominator | |
| Short Story | Margo Lanagan | "The Goosle" | The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy | |
| Collected Work | ed. Jack Dann | Dreaming Again | Voyager | |
| Shadows Award | Kaaron Warren | Slights | Angry Robot |
Non-Fiction
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Biography Award | Ann Blainey | I Am Melba | Black Inc. | |
| The Age Book of the Year | Non-fiction | Guy Rundle | Down to the Crossroads | Penguin Books |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Eve Pownall Award for Information Books | Lincoln Hall | Alive in the Death Zone | Random House |
| Davitt Award | True crime | Chloe Hooper | The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island | Hamish Hamilton |
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Evelyn Juers | House of Exile: The Life and Times of Heinrich Mann and Nelly-Kroeger Mann | Giramondo Publishing |
| Marilyn Lake and Henry Reynolds | Drawing the Global Colour Line | Melbourne University Press | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Chloe Hooper | The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island | Hamish Hamilton |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Robin Gerster | Travels in Atomic Sunshine: Australia and the Occupation of Japan | Scribe |
| Community and Regional History | David Bollen | Up on the Hill: A History of St Patrick's College | UNSW Press | |
| General History | Warwick Anderson | The Collectors of Lost Souls: Turning Kuru Scientists into Whitemen | Johns Hopkins University Press | |
| Young People's | Anthony Hill | Captain Cook's Apprentice | Penguin Books | |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Chloe Hooper | The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island | Hamish Hamilton |
| History | Jill Roe | Stella Miles Franklin | Fourth Estate | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Non-fiction | Chloe Hooper | The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island | Hamish Hamilton |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Non-fiction | Iain McCalman | Darwin's Armada | W.W. Norton |
| Western Australian history | Penelope Hetherington | Paupers, Poor Relief & Poor Houses | UWA Publishing |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Age Book of the Year | Peter Porter | Better Than God | Picador |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | L. K. Holt | Man Wolf Man | John Leonard Press |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Emma Jones | The Striped World | Faber |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Robert Adamson | The Golden Bird | Black Inc. |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Kate Middleton | Fire Season | Giramondo Publishing |
Drama
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Ian Wilding | Forever Seven |
Deaths
- 3 July – Frank Devine, journalist (born 1931)
- 6 September – Catherine Gaskin, author (born 1929)
- 24 November – John West, poet (born 1951)
See also
- Literature
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of Australian literary awards
- 2009 in Australia
- 2009 in literature
- 2009 in poetry
References
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.