This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2019.
Major publications
Literary fiction
Tony Birch – The White Girl David Brooks – The Grass Library Steven Carroll – The Year of the Beast Melanie Cheng – Room for a Stranger Peggy Frew – Islands Peter Goldsworthy – Minotaur John Hughes – No One Anna Krien – Act of Grace Melina Marchetta – The Place on Dalhousie Andrew McGahan – The Rich Man's House (posthumous) Gerald Murnane – A Season on Earth Favel Parrett – There Was Still Love Heather Rose – Bruny Philip Salom – The Returns Carrie Tiffany – Exploded View Lucy Treloar – Wolfe Island Christos Tsiolkas – Damascus Tara June Winch – The Yield Charlotte Wood – The Weekend
Short stories Debra Adelaide – Zebra: And Other Stories Yumna Kassab – The House of Youssef Josephine Rowe – Here Until August
Children's and young adult fiction
Alison Evans – Highway Bodies Mem Fox – The Tiny Star Helena Fox – How It Feels to Float Will Kostakis – Monuments Tania McCartney – Fauna: Australia's Most Curious Creatures Meg McKinlay – Catch a Falling Star Bruce Pascoe – Young Dark Emu Holden Sheppard – Invisible Boys Vikki Wakefield – This is How We Change the Ending
Crime and mystery
Matthew Condon – The Night Dragon Pip Drysdale – The Strangers We Know Candice Fox – Gone By Midnight Nick Gadd – Death of a Typographer Tara Moss – Dead Man Switch Michael Robotham – Good Girl, Bad Girl Dave Warner – River of Salt Christian White – The Wife and the Widow
Science fiction
John Birmingham – The Cruel Stars Claire G. Coleman – The Old Lie Greg Egan The Best of Greg Egan Perihelion Summer "The Slipway" "This Is Not the Way Home" Jay Kristoff – Darkdawn Garth Nix – Angel Mage
Poetry Louise Crisp – Yuiquimbiang Zenobia Frost – After the Demolition Charmaine Papertalk Green – Nganajungu Yagu L. K. Holt – Birth Plan Gerald Murnane – Green Shadows and Other Poems Pi O – Heide
Non-fiction Jane Caro – Accidental Feminists Maxine Beneba Clarke, with Magan Magan and Ahmed Yussuf (editors) – Growing Up African in Australia Helen Ennis – Olive Cotton: A Life in Photography Stan Grant Australia Day On Identity Nicholas Hasluck – Beyond the Equator: An Australian Memoir Jess Hill – See What You Made Me Do Jacqueline Kent – Beyond Words: A Year with Kenneth Cook Caro Llewellyn – Diving into Glass Emily Maguire – This is What a Feminist Looks Like Bianca Nogrady (editor) – The Best Australian Science Writing 2019 Christina Thompson – Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia
Awards and honours
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement
Award Author Patrick White Award Jordie Albiston
Literary
Award Author Title Publisher ALS Gold Medal Pam Brown click here for what we do Vagabond Press Colin Roderick Award Robert Drewe The True Colour of the Sea Hamish Hamilton Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Trent Dalton Boy Swallows Universe Fourth Estate New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Billy Griffiths Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia Black Inc Stella PrizeThe 2019 Stella Prize. Retrieved 9 April 2019 Vicki Laveau-Harvie The Erratics Fourth Estate Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Behrouz Boochani No Friend But the Mountains Belvoir and Co-Curious
Fiction
National
Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Not awarded The Australian/Vogel Literary Award Not awarded Barbara Jefferis Award Not awarded Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction Markus Zusak Bridge of Clay Picador Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction Trent Dalton Boy Swallows Universe Fourth Estate Miles Franklin Award Melissa Lucashenko Too Much Lip University of Queensland Press Prime Minister's Literary Awards Gail Jones The Death of Noah Glass Text Publishing New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Michelle de Kretser The Life to Come Allen & Unwin Queensland Literary AwardsCarrie TiffanyExploded ViewText Publishing Victorian Premier's Literary AwardsElise ValmorbidaThe Madonna of the MountainsFaber & Faber Voss Literary Prize Tim Winton The Shepherd's Hut Hamish Hamilton
Children and Young Adult National
Award Category Author Title PublisherChildren's Book of the Year Award Older Readers Clare AtkinsBetween UsBlack Inc. Younger ReadersEmily RoddaHis Name Was WalterHarperCollins Picture BookShaun TanCicadaLothian Early ChildhoodAlison LesterTrick's Bad DayAffirmEve Pownall Award for Information Books Coral Vass, illustrated by Dub LefflerSorry DayNational Library of AustraliaNan Chauncy AwardJames Moloney Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Children's Karen Foxlee Lenny's Book of Everything Allen & Unwin Young Adult Barry Jonsberg A Song Only I Can Hear Allen & UnwinNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsChildren's Lorraine Marwood (joint winner) Leave Taking University of Queensland PressClaire Saxby and Tannya Harricks (joint winner)DingoWalker Books Young People's Erin Gough Amelia Westlake Hardie Grant Egmont Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Young Adult FictionAmbelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel KwaymullinaCatching Teller CrowAllen & Unwin
Crime and Mystery
National
Award Category Author Title PublisherDavitt Award Novel Dervla McTiernan The Rúin HarperCollins Young adult novel Sarah Epstein Small Spaces Walker Books Children's novel Judith Rossell Wakestone Hall ABC Books True crime Chloe Hooper The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire Penguin Debut novel Bri Lee Eggshell Skull Allen & Unwin Readers' choice Jane Harper The Lost Man Pan MacmillanNed Kelly Award Novel Jane Harper The Lost Man Pan Macmillan First novel Dervla McTiernan The Rúin HarperCollins True crime Bri Lee Eggshell Skull Allen & Unwin Lifetime achievement Bob Bottom
Science fiction
Award Category Author Title PublisherDitmar Award Novel Sam Hawke City of Lies Tor Books Best Novella or Novelette Tansy Rayner Roberts Cabaret of Monsters self-published Best Short Story Kathleen Jennings "The Heart of Owl Abbas" Tor.com
Poetry
Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Not awarded Anne Elder Award Eunice Andrada Flood Damages GiramondoMary Gilmore Award Marjon Mossammaparast That Sight CorditePrime Minister's Literary Awards Judith Beveridge Sun Music: New and Selected Poems Giramondo Publishing New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Judith Bishop Interval University of Queensland Press Queensland Literary Awards Alison Whittaker Blakwork Magabala Books Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Kate Lilley Tilt Vagabond Press
Drama
Award Category Author Title PublisherNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Script Benjamin Gilmour Jirga Felix Media Pty Ltd Play Kendall Feaver The Almighty Sometimes Griffin TheatrePatrick White Playwrights' Award Award Keziah Warner LuNa Victorian College of the Arts Fellowship Anchuli Felicia King
Non-Fiction
Award Category Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Non-Fiction Not awarded Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Non-Fiction Chloe Hooper The Arsonist Random House Australia Illustrated Non-Fiction Marcia Langton Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country Hardie Grant Travel National Biography AwardBiography Behrouz Boochani No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison Picador AustraliaNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsNon-Fiction Billy Griffiths (joint winner) Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia Black Inc. Sarah Krasnostein (joint winner) The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman’s Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster Text PublishingNew South Wales Premier's History Awards Australian History Meredith LakeThe Bible in Australia: A Cultural HistoryNewSouth Books Community and Regional History Sarah LukeCallan Park, Hospital for the InsaneAustralian Scholarly Publishing General History Christina ThompsonSea People: The Puzzle of PolynesiaHarper Queensland Literary Awards Non-Fiction Mary HobanAn Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell ArnoldScribe Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Non-FictionBehrouz Boochani No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison Picador Australia
Deaths
20 January – Mudrooroo, novelist, poet and playwright (pen name of Colin Thomas Johnson)(born 1938) 1 February – Andrew McGahan, novelist (born 1966) 4 March – Les Carlyon, newspaper editor and nonfiction writer (born 1942) 13 March – Edmund Capon, art historian (died in London)(born 1940 in London) 15 March – Rudi Krausmann, playwright and poet (born 1933 in Austria) 22 March – Jack Absalom, artist, author and adventurer (born 1927) 29 April – Les Murray, poet, anthologist and critic (born 1938) 19 May – John Millett, poet, reviewer and poetry editor (born 1921) 1 June – Christobel Mattingley, writer for children and young adults (born 1931) 13 July – Kerry Reed-Gilbert, poet and author (born 1956) 21 July – Laurie Hergenhan, literary scholar (born 1931) Ann Moyal, historian of science (born 1926) 10 September – Hal Colebatch, poet and novelist (born 1945) 30 October – Beatrice Faust, co-founder of Women's Electoral Lobby, journalist and author (born 1939) 24 November – Clive James, poet, novelist and critic (died in Cambridge, England)(born 1939)
See also 2019 in Australia 2019 in literature 2019 in poetry List of years in Australian literature List of years in literature List of Australian literary awards
References