2008 in Australian literature
Literature-related events in Australia during the year of 2008
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2008.
Events
- "The Bulletin" magazine publishes its last issue, the first was in 1880[1]
- The Australia Council for the Arts announces Christopher Koch and Gerald Murnane as recipients of its 2008 emeritus writers awards[2]
- The Australian Federal Government announces funding for a new chair of Australian Literature based at the University of Western Australia[3]
- Clunes, Victoria, holds its second Booktown weekend[4]
- The first Crime and Justice Festival in held in Melbourne over the weekend of 19–20 July[5]
- Australia wins the right to host the 2010 World SF convention in Melbourne[6]
- A number of previously unknown Banjo Paterson poems are found in an old cash book dating back to the Boer War[7]
- UNESCO names Melbourne as its second City of Literature, after Edinburgh received the first such award in 2004[8]
- Caro Llewellyn, a former director of the Sydney Writers' Festival and PEN World Voices Festival in New York, is appointed as director of the new Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas (now called the Wheeler Centre) in Melbourne[9]
- The Indie Book Awards are presented for the first time[10]
Major publications
Literary fiction
- Debra Adelaide – The Household Guide to Dying
- Murray Bail – The Pages
- Geraldine Brooks – People of the Book
- Peter Carey – His Illegal Self
- Luke Davies – God of Speed
- Robert Drewe – The Rip
- Richard Flanagan – Wanting
- Helen Garner – The Spare Room
- Peter Goldsworthy – Everything I Knew
- Kate Grenville – The Lieutenant
- Vicki Hastrich – The Great Arch
- Wendy James – The Steele Diaries
- Susan Johnson – Life in Seven Mistakes
- Toni Jordan – Addition
- Sofie Laguna – One Foot Wrong
- Nam Le – The Boat
- Joan London – The Good Parents
- Louis Nowra – Ice
- Kevin Rabelais – The Landscape of Desire
- Claire Thomas – fugitive blue
- Steve Toltz – A Fraction of the Whole
- Ian Townsend – The Devil's Eye
- Christos Tsiolkas – The Slap
- Tim Winton – Breath
- Arnold Zable – Sea of Many Returns
Children's and Young Adult fiction
- Isobelle Carmody – The Stone Key
- Kate Constable – Always Mackenzie
- Alison Croggon —The Singing
- Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury – Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes
- Jackie French – A Rose for the Anzac Boys
- Mark Greenwood and Frane Lessac – Simpson and His Donkey
- Jack Heath – Money Run
- Simone Howell – Everything Beautiful
- Catherine Jinks – Genius Squad
- Maureen McCarthy – Somebody's Crying
- Melina Marchetta – Finnikin of the Rock
- Sophie Masson – The Case of the Diamond Shadow
- Garth Nix – Superior Saturday
- Penni Russon – The Indigo Girls
- Shaun Tan – Tales from Outer Suburbia[11]
- Lili Wilkinson – The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend
- Sean Williams – Dust Devils
Crime and Mystery
- Peter Corris – Open File
- Leah Giarratano – Voodoo Doll
- Kerry Greenwood – Murder on a Midsummer Night
- Marion Halligan – Murder on the Apricot Coast
- Jarad W. Henry – Blood Sunset
- Katherine Howell – The Darkest Hour
- Barry Maitland – Bright Air
- P.D. Martin – Fan Mail
- Camilla Nelson – Crooked
- Alex Palmer – The Tattooed Man
- Bronwyn Parry – As Darkness Falls
- Kel Robertson – Smoke and Mirrors
- Michael Robotham – Shatter
Romance
- Anne Gracie – The Stolen Princess
- Stephanie Laurens – The Edge of Desire
- Margaret Leigh – The Heart Divided
- Estelle Pinney – Burnt Sunshine
Science Fiction and Fantasy
- K. A. Bedford – Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait[12]
- Honey Brown – Red Queen[13]
- Nathan Burrage – Fivefold[14]
- Sara Douglass – The Twisted Citadel[15]
- Greg Egan
- "Crystal Nights"
- Dark Integers and Other Stories
- Incandescence
- "Lost Continent"
- Jennifer Fallon – The Chaos Crystal[16]
- Pamela Freeman – Deep Water[17]
- Alison Goodman – The Two Pearls of Wisdom
- Traci Harding – The Dragon Queens[18]
- Simon Haynes – Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch[19]
- Margo Lanagan – Tender Morsels
- Juliet Marillier – Heir to Sevenwaters[20]
- K.E. Mills – The Accidental Sorcerer[21]
- Sean Williams – Earth Ascendant[22]
Drama
- John Doyle – The Pig Iron People[23]
- Alexandra Edmondson – Cruising
- Joanna Murray-Smith – Ninety[24]
Poetry
See also 2008 in poetry
- Robert Adamson – The Golden Bird: New and Selected Poems, winner of the C.J. Dennis Prize for Poetry in the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted for the 2009 Age Book of the Year Awards
- Michael Brennan – Unanimous Night
- David Brooks – The Balcony, finalist for the 2008 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3669-3
- Elizabeth Hodgson – Skin Painting, winner of the 2007 David Unaipon Award; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3677-8
- Sarah Holland-Batt – Aria
- Clive James – Opal Sunset: Selected Poems, 1958–2008
- John Kinsella – Divine Comedy, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3666-2
- Anthony Lawrence – Bark, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3664-8
- David Malouf – Revolving Days, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3635-8
- Peter Rose editor – The Best Australian Poems 2008 Black Inc., ISBN 978-1-86395-303-0
Non-fiction
- Germaine Greer – On Rage[25]
- Chloe Hooper – The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island
Biographies
- Peter Costello – The Costello Memoirs
- Jacqueline Kent – An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin
- Andrew Riemer – A Family History of Smoking
Awards and honours
Lifetime achievement
Award | Author |
---|---|
Christopher Brennan Award | Not awarded |
Patrick White Award[26] | John Romeril |
Literary
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
The Age Book of the Year[27] | Don Watson | American Journeys | Random House |
ALS Gold Medal[28] | Michelle de Kretser | The Lost Dog | Allen & Unwin |
Colin Roderick Award[29] | Malcolm Knox | Jamaica | Allen & Unwin |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] | Tim Winton | Breath | Hamish Hamilton |
Nita Kibble Literary Award[31] | Carol Lefevre | Nights in the Asylum | Vintage |
Fiction
International
Award | Region | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Commonwealth Writers' Prize[32] | SE Asia and South Pacific | Best Novel | Steven Carroll | The Time We Have Taken | HarperCollins |
Best First Novel | Karen Foxlee | The Anatomy of Wings | University of Queensland Press |
National
Children and Young Adult
National
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aurealis Award | Young Adult Novel | Melina Marchetta | Finnikin of the Rock | Viking Press |
Young Adult Short Story | Trent Jamieson | "Cracks" | Shiny, magazine | |
Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Sonya Hartnett | The Ghost's Child | Viking Books |
Younger Readers | Carole Wilkinson | Dragon Moon | Black Dog Books | |
Picture Book | Matt Ottley | Requiem for a Beast | Lothian | |
Early Childhood | Aaron Blabey | Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley | Viking Books | |
Davitt Award | Young Adult Novel | Mandy Sayer | The Night has a Thousand Eyes | Fourth Estate |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] | Children's & YA | Shaun Tan | Tales from Outer Suburbia | Allen & Unwin |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas | The Peasant Prince | Viking Books |
Young People's | James Roy | Town | University of Queensland Press | |
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas | The Peasant Prince | Viking Books |
Young Adult | Matt Ottley | Requiem for a Beast | Lothian | |
South Australian Premier's Awards | Children's | Michael Gerard Bauer | Don't Call Me Ishmael | Omnibus Books |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Young Adult Fiction | Brigid Lowry | Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful | Allen and Unwin |
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Children's | Liz Lofthouse and Robert Ingpen | Ziba Came on a Boat | Viking Books |
Writing for Young Adults | Ken Spillman | Love is a UFO | Pan Macmillan |
Crime and Mystery
National
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Davitt Award[41] | Novel | Katherine Howell | Frantic | Pan Macmillan |
Young adult novel | Mandy Sayer | The Night Has a Thousand Eyes | Fourth Estate | |
True crime | Janet Fife-Yeomans | Killing Jodie | Penguin | |
Readers' Choice | Lindy Cameron | Scarlet Stiletto: The First Cut | Mira Books | |
Ned Kelly Award[42] | Novel | Michael Robotham | Shatter | Sphere Books |
First novel | Chris Womersley | The Low Road | Scribe | |
True crime | Evan McHugh | Red Centre, Dark Heart | Penguin | |
Lifetime achievement | Marele Day |
Science fiction
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aurealis Award | SF Novel | K. A. Bedford | Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait | Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing |
SF Short Story | Simon Brown | "The Empire" | Dreaming Again, Voyager | |
Fantasy Novel | Alison Goodman | The Two Pearls of Wisdom | HarperCollins | |
Fantasy Short Story | Cat Sparks | "Sammarynda Deep" | Paper Cities, Senses 5 Press | |
Horror Novel | John Harwood | The Seance | Random House | |
Horror Short Story | Kirstyn McDermott | "Painlessness" | Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2 | |
Ditmar Award | Novel | Sean Williams | Saturn Returns | Orbit Books |
Novella/Novelette | Cat Sparks | "Lady of Adestan" | Orb #7 | |
Short Story | Rick Kennett | "The Dark and What It Said" | Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #28 | |
Collected Work | Jonathan Strahan ed. | The New Space Opera | HarperCollins | |
Russell B. Farr ed. | Fantastic Wonder Stories | Ticonderoga Publications |
Poetry
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[34] | John Tranter | Urban Myths: 210 Poems | University of Queensland Press |
The Age Book of the Year | J. S. Harry | Not Finding Wittgenstein | Giramondo Publishing |
Anne Elder Award[43] | Sarah Holland-Batt | Aria | University of Queensland Press |
Sandy Fitts | View from the Lucky Hotel | Five Islands Press | |
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[44] | Alan Wearne | The Australian Popular Songbook | Giramondo Publishing |
Mary Gilmore Prize[45] | Nathan Shepherdson | Sweeping the Light Back into the Mirror | University of Queensland Press |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Kathryn Lomer | Two Kinds of Silence | University of Queensland Press |
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | David Malouf | Typewriter Music | University of Queensland Press |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Lisa Gorton | Press Release | Giramondo Publishing |
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Hal Colebatch | The Light River | Connorcourt Publishing |
Drama
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Nicki Bloom | Bloodwood |
Non-Fiction
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[34] | Non-Fiction | Jacob G. Rosenberg | Sunrise West | Brandl and Schlesinger |
The Age Book of the Year | Non-fiction | Don Watson | American Journeys | Random House |
Children's Book of the Year Award | Eve Pownall Award for Information Books | Frances Watts, illus David Legge | Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books | ABC Books |
Davitt Award | True crime | Janet Fife-Yeomans | Killing Jodie | Penguin Books |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] | Non-Fiction | Don Watson | American Journeys | Random House |
National Biography Award[46] | Biography | Philip Dwyer | Napoleon: The Path To Power 1769–1799 | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Graham Seal | These Few Lines: A Convict Story – The Lost Lives of Myra & William Sykes | ABC Books | ||
Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Philip Jones | Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers | Wakefield Press |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Tom Griffiths | Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica | University of New South Wales Press |
New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Paul Ham | Vietnam: The Australian War | HarperCollins |
Community and Regional History | Dianne Johnson, in collaboration with the residents of the Gully and their descendants | Sacred Waters: the story of the Blue Mountains Gully Traditional Owners | Halstead Press | |
General History | Michael A. McDonnell | The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia | University of North Carolina Press | |
Young People's | Robert Lewis and Tim Gurry | Australians in the Vietnam War | Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd | |
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Craig Sherborne | Muck | Black Inc |
History | Professor Marilyn Lake and Professor Henry Reynolds | Drawing the Global Colour Line | Melbourne University Press | |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Non-fiction | Meredith Hooper | The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica | Allen & Unwin |
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Non-fiction | Antonio Buti | Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience | University of Western Australia Press |
Western Australian history | Ruth Marchant James | Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction | Town of Cottesloe |
Deaths
- 11 January – Nancy Phelan, author (born 1913)[47]
- 27 March – Alan Collins, short story writer (born 1928)[48]
- 8 April – John Button, politician and author (born 1933)[49]
- 26 April – Pamela Bone, journalist and author (born 1940)[50]
- 29 April – John Hooker, author (born 1932)[51]
- 21 June – Justina Williams, poet (born 1916)[52]
- 24 August – Patricia Rolfe, short story writer and critic (born 1920)[53]
- 30 September – Eleanor Spence, writer for children (born 1928)[54]
- 30 October – Jacob G. Rosenberg, poet and memoirist (born 1922)[55]
- 15 November – Ivan Southall, writer for children (born 1921)[56]
- 10 December – Dorothy Porter, poet (born 1954)[57]
See also
- 2008 in Australia
- 2008 in literature
- 2008 in poetry
- List of years in literature
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of Australian literary awards
References
- ^ The Bulletin shuts down after 128 years
- ^ "Critically acclaimed writers honoured with top literary prize". Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ "Government funds new Chair in Australian Literature". Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
- ^ The book of regenesis
- ^ Crime and Justice Festival
- ^ Aussiecon 4
- ^ Poet's works discovered in war diary
- ^ Write at the centre
- ^ Centre for writing and books gains services of a mind much travelled
- ^ ""Indie Book Awards"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait by K. A. Bedford". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Red Queen by Honey Brown". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Fivefold by Nathan Burrage". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "The Twisted Citadel by Sara Douglass". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "The Chaos Crystal by Jennifer Fallon". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Deep Water by Pamela Freeman". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "The Dragon Queens by Traci Harding". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch by Simon Haynes". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "The Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "Earth Ascendant by Sean Williams". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
- ^ "The Pig Iron People by John Doyle". Austlit. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Ninety by Joanna Murray-Smith". Austlit. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "On Rage by Germaine Greer". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
- ^ Steger, Jason (22 August 2008). "US travel memoir wins Age Book of the Year Award". The Age. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
- ^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2012 & prior"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Kibble Literary Award". Australian National University. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ ""2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize"". Literary Awards. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "ABC Fiction Award announces 2008 winner Accessed: 2008-06-28". Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
- ^ a b c "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ Steger, Jason (22 August 2008). "US travel memoir wins Age Book of the Year Award". The Age. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
- ^ ""Austlit – Australian/Vogel Award 2006-2008"". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Miles Franklin Award winner 2008 - Steven Carroll". ABC Radio National. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ ""Prime Minister's Literary Awards - Shortlist and winners: 2021-2008"". Creative Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ ""Lost Dog wins NSW literary gong"". AAP Bulletin Wire 2, 19 May 2008. ProQuest 455573294. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ ""LibraryThing: Davitt Awards 2008"". LibraryThing. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "2008 Ned Kelly Award Winners". Australian Crime Writers. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ 2008 National Literary Awards Results Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry prize (2008-2012)". Austlit. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
- ^ ""National Biography Award – Past Winners"". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ "Nancy Phelan (1913-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Alan Collins (1928-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "John Button (1933-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Pamela Bone (1940-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "John Hooker (1932-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Justina Williams (1916-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "Patricia Rolfe (1920-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
- ^ "Eleanor Spence (1928-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "Jacob G. Rosenberg (1922-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Ivan Southall (1921-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Dorothy Porter (1954-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.
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