2009 in Australian literature

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
• Mem Fox – Hello, Baby! , The Goblin and the Empty Chair
• 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
• Jacqueline Kent – The Making of Julia Gillard
• 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 [5]	Jennifer Strauss
Melbourne Prize for Literature [6]	Gerald Murnane
Patrick White Award [7]	Beverley Farmer

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year [8]	Steven Amsterdam	Things We Didn't See Coming	Sleepers Publishing
ALS Gold Medal [9]	Christos Tsiolkas	The Slap	Allen & Unwin
Colin Roderick Award [10]	Graham Freudenberg	Churchill and Australia	Pan Macmillan
	James Boyce	Van Diemen's Land	Black Inc
Nita Kibble Literary Award [11]	Jacqueline Kent	An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin	Viking

Fiction

International

Award	Region	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize [12]	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	Author	Title	Publisher
Barbara Jefferis Award [13]	Helen Garner	The Spare Room	Text Publishing
The Age Book of the Year Award [14]	Steven Amsterdam	Things We Didn't See Coming	Sleepers Publishing
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [15]	Lisa Lang	Utopian Man	Allen & Unwin
	Kristel Thornell	Night Street	Allen & Unwin
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction [16]	Craig Silvey	Jasper Jones	Allen & Unwin
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction [16]	Sonia Orchard	The Virtuoso	Fourth Estate
Miles Franklin Award [17]	Tim Winton	Breath	Random House
Prime Minister's Literary Award [18]	Nam Le	The Boat	Hamish Hamilton
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Joan London	The Good Parents	Hamish Hamilton
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards	Richard Flanagan	Wanting	Random House
Victorian Premier's Literary Award	Christos Tsiolkas	The Slap	Allen & Unwin

Crime and Mystery

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Davitt Award [19]	Novel	Malla Nunn	A Beautiful Place to Die	Pan Macmillan
	Young adult novel	Catherine Jinks	Genius Squad	Allen & Unwin
	True crime	Chloe Hooper	The Tall Man	Penguin
	Readers' choice	Katherine Howell	The Darkest Hour	Pan Macmillan
Ned Kelly Award [20]	Novel	Peter Corris	Deep Water	Allen & Unwin
		Kel Robertson	Smoke and Mirrors	Ginninderra Press
	First novel	Nick Gadd	Ghostlines	Scribe
	True crime	Chloe Hooper	The Tall Man	Penguin
	Lifetime achievement	Shane Maloney

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
Anne Elder Award [21]	Emma Jones	The Striped World	Faber and Faber
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry [22]	Not awarded
Mary Gilmore Prize [23]	Not awarded
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

• 14 January – Val Vallis, poet (born 1916) ^[24]
• 3 June – Geoffrey C. Bingham, theological and short story writer (born 1919) ^[25]
• 3 July – Frank Devine, journalist (born 1931)
• 6 September – Catherine Gaskin, author (born 1929 in Ireland) ^[26]
• 8 September – Rica Erickson, botanical and historical writer (born 1908)
• 24 November – John West, poet (born 1951)

See also

• 2009 in Australia
• 2009 in literature
• 2009 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of Australian literary awards

References

1. HarperCollins takes over at ABC Books
2. "Director closes the book on literature venture". The Age . 4 February 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023.
3. Chapter two in writing centre's quest for leader
4. "Minister suspends $110,000 State literary prize". Archived from the original on 16 April 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
5. "Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award". Austlit. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
6. "Austlit — Melbourne Prize". Austlit. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
7. "Farmer wins literary award". Theage.com.au. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
8. Steger, Jason (22 August 2009). "Apocalyptic novel wins book of the year". The Age. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
9. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
10. "Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
11. "Kibble Literary Award". Australian National University . 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
12. Flood, Alison (18 May 2009). "Australian takes Commonwealth writers' prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
13. ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
14. Steger, Jason (22 August 2009). "Apocalyptic novel wins book of the year". The Age. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
15. ""Austlit – Australian/Vogel Award 2009-2012"". Austlit. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
16. ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2012 & prior"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
17. "Tim Winton wins fourth Miles Franklin award". The Guardian. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
18. ""Prime Minister's Literary Awards - Shortlist and winners: 2021-2008"". Creative Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
19. ""LibraryThing: Davitt Awards 2009"". LibraryThing. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
20. "2009 Ned Kelly Award Winners". Australian Crime Writers. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
21. "Austlit — Anne Eldr Award (2008-2010)". Austlit. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
22. "Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry prize (2008-2012)". Austlit. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
23. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature . Retrieved 29 February 2024.
24. "Val Vallis". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
25. "Geoffrey C. Bingham". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
26. "Catherine Gaskin". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.