This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2025.
Events
Text Publishing is acquired by Penguin Random House Australia.
Major publications
Literary fiction
Randa Abdel-Fattah – Discipline Lyn Dickens – Salt Upon the Water Moreno Giovannoni – The Immigrants Toni Jordan – Tenderfoot Steve MinOn – First Name Second Name Konrad Muller – My Heart at Evening Omar Musa – Fierceland Josephine Rowe – Little World Madeleine Watts – Elegy, Southwest Sean Wilson – You Must Remember This
Crime and mystery
James Bradley – Landfall Catherine Jinks – Panic Dervla McTiernan – The Unquiet Grave
Science fiction and Fantasy
James Islington – The Strength of the Few Freya Marske – Cinder House Angela Slatter – The Crimson Road Emma Sloley – The Island of Last Things
Children's and young adult
Margot McGovern – This Stays Between Us Zeno Sworder – Once I Was a Giant Lili Wilkinson – Unhallowed Halls
Poetry Eunice Andrada – KONTRA Evelyn Araluen – The Rot
Drama Emilie Collyer – Super
Non-Fiction Robert Dessaix – Chameleon Brenda Niall – Joan Lindsay Micaela Sahhar – Find Me at the Jaffa Gate: An Encyclopaedia of a Palestinian Family Kate Wild – The Red House
Awards and honours Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement AwardAuthorPatrick White Award Not yet awarded
Literary
Award Author Title Publisher ALS Gold Medal Fiona McFarlane Highway 13 Allen & UnwinColin Roderick Award Khin Myint Fragile Creatures : A Memoir Black Inc Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Robbie Arnott Dusk Picador New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Nam Le 36 Ways to Write a Vietnamese Poem ScribnerStella Prize Michelle de Kretser Theory & Practice Text Publishing Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Wanda Gibson Three Dresses University of Queensland PressWestern Australian Premier's Book Awards – Book of the YearAlan FyfeG-d, Sleep, and ChaosGazebo
Fiction
AwardAuthorTitlePublisher The Age Book of the Year Rodney Hall Vortex PicadorARA Historical Novel Prize Robbie Arnott Dusk Picador Tasma Walton I Am Nannertgarrook Bundyi Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction Robbie Arnott Dusk Picador Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction Lauren Keegan All the Bees in the Hollows Affirm Press Miles Franklin Award Siang Lu Ghost Cities University of Queensland Press Prime Minister's Literary Awards Michelle de Kretser Theory & Practice Text New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Fiona McFarlane Highway 13 Allen & Unwin Queensland Literary Awards Emily Maguire Rapture Allen & Unwin Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Fiona McFarlane Highway 13 Allen & Unwin Voss Literary Prize Fiona McFarlane Highway 13 Allen & Unwin Western Australian Premier's Book AwardsLouise WolhuterShadows of Winter RobinsUltimo
Children and Young Adult AwardCategoryAuthorTitlePublisher ARA Historical Novel Prize Children and Young Adult Suzanne Leal The Year We Escaped HarperCollinsChildren's Book of the Year Award Older Readers Gary Lonesborough I'm Not Really Here Allen and Unwin Younger Readers Maryam Master, illus. by Astred Hicks Laughter Is the Best Ending Pan Picture Book Deborah Frenkel, illus. by Danny Snell The Truck Cat Bright Light Early Childhood Darren McCallum, illus. by Craig Smith The Wobbly Bike Walker Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Aunty Fay Muir and Sue Lawson Always Was, Always Will BeMagabalaNew IllustratorSarah Capon, written by Bec NanayakkaraGrow Big, Little SeedBright LightIndie Book Awards Book of the Year Children's Katrina Nannestad All the Beautiful Things HarperCollins Young Adult Kate Emery My Family and Other Suspects Allen and UnwinPrime Minister's Literary Awards Children's Peter Carnavas Leo and Ralph University of Queensland Press Young Adult Krystal Sutherland The Invocations PenguinNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Children's Katrina Nannestad All the Beautiful Things HarperCollins Young People's Emma Lord Anomaly Affirm PressQueensland Literary Awards Children's Sandy Bigna Little Bones University of Queensland Press Young Adult C. G. Drews Don't Let the Forest In Feiwel & FriendsVictorian Premier's Literary Awards Young Adult Fiction Emma Lord Anomaly Affirm PressWestern Australian Premier's Book Awards Children's Kelly Canby A Leaf Called GreafFremantleYoung AdultKate EmeryMy Family and Other SuspectsAllen & Unwin
Crime and Mystery
National
Award Category Author Title PublisherDavitt Award Novel Vikki Wakefield To the River Text Publishing Young adult novel Erin Gough Into the Mouth of the Wolf Hardie Grant Publishing Children's novel Judith Rossell The Midwatch Hardie Grant Publishing Non-fiction Lucia Osborne-Crowley The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trial of Ghislaine Maxwell Allen and Unwin Debut Georgia Harper What I Would Do to You Penguin Random House Australia Readers' choice Dervla McTiernan What Happened to Nina? HarperCollins PublishersNed Kelly Award Novel Margaret Hickey The Creeper Random House Australia First novel Lisa Kenway All You Took From Me Transit Lounge True crime Steve Johnson A Thousand Miles from Care HarperCollins Publishers
Non-Fiction AwardCategoryAuthorTitlePublisher The Age Book of the Year Non-Fiction Lech Blaine Australian Gospel Black Inc.Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Non-Fiction Markus Zusak Three Wild Dogs and the Truth Picador Illustrated Non-Fiction Criss Canning The Paintings of Criss Canning Thames and Hudson Australia National Biography Award Biography Abbas El-Zein Bullet, Paper, Rock: A Memoir of Words and Wars Upswell Publishing Prime Minister's Literary Awards Non-Fiction Rick Morton Mean Streak Fourth Estate Australian History Geraldine Fela Critical Care: Nurses on the Frontline of Australia’s AIDS CrisisUNSW Press New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Non-Fiction James BradleyDeep Water Hamish HamiltonNew South Wales Premier's History Awards Australian History Darren Rix and Craig CormickWarra Warra Wai Scribner Australia Community and Regional History Alana Piper Yirranma Place: Stories of a Darlinghurst corner NewSouth Publishing General History Robyn Arianrhod Vector: A surprising story of space, time, and mathematical transformation UNSW PressYoung People's History PrizeSophie MassonOur History: Bold Ben HallWalker BooksAnzac Memorial Trustees Military History PrizePatricia CollinsRock and Tempest: Surviving Cyclone Tracy and its aftermathHachette Australia Queensland Literary Awards Non-Fiction Clare Wright Näku Dhäruk: The Bark PetitionsText Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Non-Fiction Susan Hampton Anything Can Happen Puncher & Wattman Western Australian Premier's Book AwardsNon-FictionGerard McCannAnatomy of a SecretFremantle
Poetry AwardAuthorTitlePublisher Anne Elder Award Izzy Roberts-Orr Raw Salt VagabondMary Gilmore Award Hasib Hourani rock flight Giramondo Prime Minister's Literary Awards David Brooks The Other Side of Daylight: New and Selected Poems University of Queensland Press New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Hasib Hourani rock flight Giramondo Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection Chris Andrews The Oblong Plot Puncher and Wattmann Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Jeanine Leane Gawimarra: Gathering University of Queensland Press Western Australian Premier's Book AwardsAlan FyfeG-d, Sleep, and ChaosGazebo
Drama AwardCategoryAuthorTitlePublisherNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Script Charles Williams Inside Simpatico Films, Macgowan Films, Never Sleep Pictures Play Glenn Shea Three Magpies Perched in a Tree Currency Press, with La Mama TheatreVictorian Premier's Literary Awards Nathan Maynard 37 Currency Press, with Melbourne Theatre CompanyPatrick White Playwrights' Award Award Karolina Ristevski River Was Here Sydney Theatre Company Fellowship Sheridan Harbridge
Deaths
26 March — Kerry Greenwood, novelist and lawyer (born 1954) 19 April — Damien Broderick, sf novelist (born 1944) 5 May — Tracy Sorensen, novelist and academic (born 1963) 10 June — Leanne Frahm, sf author (born 1946) 6 August — David Dale, journalist and travel writer (born 1948) 27 August — Charmaine Papertalk Green, poet and artist (born 1962) 17 November — Robert Gray, poet and critic (born 1945) 11 December — Jean Bedford, novelist (born 1946 in Cambridge, England) 16 December — Chris Wallace-Crabbe, poet and academic (born 1934)
See also
2025 in Australia 2025 in literature 2025 in poetry List of years in Australian literature List of years in literature
References