2019 in Australian literature

This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2019.

Major publications

Literary fiction

• Tony Birch – The White Girl ^[1]
• David Brooks – The Grass Library ^[2]
• Steven Carroll – The Year of the Beast ^[3]
• Melanie Cheng – Room for a Stranger ^[4]
• Peggy Frew – Islands ^[5]
• Peter Goldsworthy – Minotaur ^[6]
• John Hughes – No One ^[7]
• Anna Krien – Act of Grace ^[8]
• Melina Marchetta – The Place on Dalhousie ^[9]
• Andrew McGahan – The Rich Man's House (posthumous)
• Gerald Murnane – A Season on Earth ^[10]
• Favel Parrett – There Was Still Love
• Heather Rose – Bruny ^[11]
• Philip Salom – The Returns ^[12]
• Carrie Tiffany – Exploded View ^[13]
• Lucy Treloar – Wolfe Island ^[14]
• Christos Tsiolkas – Damascus
• Tara June Winch – The Yield
• Charlotte Wood – The Weekend

Short stories

• Debra Adelaide – Zebra: And Other Stories ^[15]
• Yumna Kassab – The House of Youssef ^[16]
• Josephine Rowe – Here Until August ^[17]

Children's and young adult fiction

• Alison Evans – Highway Bodies
• Mem Fox – The Tiny Star
• Helena Fox – How It Feels to Float ^[18]
• Will Kostakis – Monuments ^[19]
• Tania McCartney – Fauna: Australia's Most Curious Creatures ^[20]
• Meg McKinlay – Catch a Falling Star ^[21]
• Bruce Pascoe – Young Dark Emu ^[22]
• Holden Sheppard – Invisible Boys ^[23]
• Vikki Wakefield – This is How We Change the Ending ^[24]

Crime and mystery

• Matthew Condon – The Night Dragon ^[25]
• Pip Drysdale – The Strangers We Know ^[26]
• Candice Fox – Gone By Midnight ^[27]
• Nick Gadd – Death of a Typographer ^[28]
• Tara Moss – Dead Man Switch ^[29]
• Michael Robotham – Good Girl, Bad Girl
• Dave Warner – River of Salt ^[30]
• Christian White – The Wife and the Widow

Science fiction

• John Birmingham – The Cruel Stars ^[31]
• 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 ^[32]
• Zenobia Frost – After the Demolition ^[33]
• Charmaine Papertalk Green – Nganajungu Yagu ^[34]
• L. K. Holt – Birth Plan ^[35]
• Gerald Murnane – Green Shadows and Other Poems ^[36]
• Pi O – Heide ^[37]

Non-fiction

• Jane Caro – Accidental Feminists ^[38]
• Maxine Beneba Clarke, with Magan Magan and Ahmed Yussuf (editors) – Growing Up African in Australia ^[39]
• Stan Grant
  • Australia Day ^[40]
  • On Identity ^[41]
• Nicholas Hasluck – Beyond the Equator: An Australian Memoir ^[42]
• Jess Hill – See What You Made Me Do ^[43]
• Jacqueline Kent – Beyond Words: A Year with Kenneth Cook ^[44]
• Caro Llewellyn – Diving into Glass ^[45]
• Emily Maguire – This is What a Feminist Looks Like ^[46]
• Bianca Nogrady (editor) – The Best Australian Science Writing 2019 ^[47]
• Christina Thompson – Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia ^[48]

Awards and honours

Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Patrick White Award [49]	Jordie Albiston

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
ALS Gold Medal [50]	Pam Brown	click here for what we do	Vagabond Press
Colin Roderick Award [51]	Robert Drewe	The True Colour of the Sea	Hamish Hamilton
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year [52]	Trent Dalton	Boy Swallows Universe	Fourth Estate
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [53]	Billy Griffiths	Deep Time Dreaming: Uncovering Ancient Australia	Black Inc
Stella Prize [54]	Vicki Laveau-Harvie	The Erratics	Fourth Estate
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [55]	Behrouz Boochani	No Friend But the Mountains	Belvoir and Co-Curious

Fiction

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [56]	Not awarded
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award [57]	Not awarded
Barbara Jefferis Award [58]	Not awarded
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction [52]	Markus Zusak	Bridge of Clay	Picador
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction [52]	Trent Dalton	Boy Swallows Universe	Fourth Estate
Miles Franklin Award [59]	Melissa Lucashenko	Too Much Lip	University of Queensland Press
Prime Minister's Literary Awards [60]	Gail Jones	The Death of Noah Glass	Text Publishing
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [61]	Michelle de Kretser	The Life to Come	Allen & Unwin
Queensland Literary Awards [62]	Carrie Tiffany	Exploded View	Text Publishing
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [55]	Elise Valmorbida	The Madonna of the Mountains	Faber & Faber
Voss Literary Prize [63]	Tim Winton	The Shepherd's Hut	Hamish Hamilton

Children and Young Adult

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award [64]	Older Readers	Clare Atkins	Between Us	Black Inc.
	Younger Readers	Emily Rodda	His Name Was Walter	HarperCollins
	Picture Book	Shaun Tan	Cicada	Lothian
	Early Childhood	Alison Lester	Trick's Bad Day	Affirm
	Eve Pownall Award for Information Books	Coral Vass, illustrated by Dub Leffler	Sorry Day	National Library of Australia
	Nan Chauncy Award [65]	James Moloney
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year [52]	Children's	Karen Foxlee	Lenny's Book of Everything	Allen & Unwin
	Young Adult	Barry Jonsberg	A Song Only I Can Hear	Allen & Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [61]	Children's	Lorraine Marwood (joint winner)	Leave Taking	University of Queensland Press
		Claire Saxby and Tannya Harricks (joint winner)	Dingo	Walker Books
	Young People's	Erin Gough	Amelia Westlake	Hardie Grant Egmont
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [55]	Young Adult Fiction	Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekiel Kwaymullina	Catching Teller Crow	Allen & Unwin

Crime and Mystery

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Davitt Award [66]	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 Macmillan
Ned Kelly Award [67]	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	Publisher
Ditmar Award [68]	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 [56]	Not awarded
Anne Elder Award [69]	Eunice Andrada	Flood Damages	Giramondo
Mary Gilmore Award [70]	Marjon Mossammaparast	That Sight	Cordite
Prime Minister's Literary Awards [60]	Judith Beveridge	Sun Music: New and Selected Poems	Giramondo Publishing
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [61]	Judith Bishop	Interval	University of Queensland Press
Queensland Literary Awards [62]	Alison Whittaker	Blakwork	Magabala Books
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [55]	Kate Lilley	Tilt	Vagabond Press

Drama

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [61]	Script	Benjamin Gilmour	Jirga	Felix Media Pty Ltd
	Play	Kendall Feaver	The Almighty Sometimes	Griffin Theatre

Non-Fiction

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature [56]	Non-Fiction	Not awarded
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year [52]	Non-Fiction	Chloe Hooper	The Arsonist	Random House Australia
	Illustrated Non-Fiction	Marcia Langton	Marcia Langton: Welcome to Country	Hardie Grant Travel
National Biography Award [71]	Biography	Behrouz Boochani	No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison	Picador Australia
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards [61]	Non-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 Publishing
New South Wales Premier's History Awards [72]	Australian History	Meredith Lake	The Bible in Australia: A Cultural History	NewSouth Books
	Community and Regional History	Sarah Luke	Callan Park, Hospital for the Insane	Australian Scholarly Publishing
	General History	Christina Thompson	Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia	Harper
Queensland Literary Awards [62]	Non-Fiction	Mary Hoban	An Unconventional Wife: The Life of Julia Sorell Arnold	Scribe
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards [55]	Non-Fiction	Behrouz 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) ^[73]
• 1 February – Andrew McGahan, novelist (born 1966) ^[74]
• 4 March – Les Carlyon, newspaper editor and nonfiction writer (born 1942) ^[75]
• 13 March – Edmund Capon, art historian (died in London)(born 1940 in London) ^[76]
• 15 March – Rudi Krausmann, playwright and poet (born 1933 in Austria) ^[77]
• 22 March – Jack Absalom, artist, author and adventurer (born 1927) ^[78]
• 29 April – Les Murray, poet, anthologist and critic (born 1938) ^[79]
• 19 May – John Millett, poet, reviewer and poetry editor (born 1921) ^[80]
• 1 June – Christobel Mattingley, writer for children and young adults (born 1931) ^[81]
• 13 July – Kerry Reed-Gilbert, poet and author (born 1956) ^[82]
• 21 July –
  • Laurie Hergenhan, literary scholar (born 1931) ^[83]
  • Ann Moyal, historian of science (born 1926) ^[84]
• 10 September – Hal Colebatch, poet and novelist (born 1945) ^[85]
• 30 October – Beatrice Faust, co-founder of Women's Electoral Lobby, journalist and author (born 1939) ^[86]
• 24 November – Clive James, poet, novelist and critic (died in Cambridge, England)(born 1939) ^[87]

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

1. "The White Girl by Tony Birch". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
2. "The Grass Library by David Brooks". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
3. "The Year of the Beast by Steven Carroll". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
4. "Room for a Stranger by Melanie Cheng". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
5. "Islands by Peggy Frew". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
6. "Minotaur by Peter Goldsworthy". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
7. "No One by John Hughes". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
8. "Act of Grace by Anna Krien". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
9. "The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
10. "A Season on Earth by Gerald Murnane". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
11. "Bruny by Heather Rose". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
12. "The Returns by Philip Salom". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
13. "Exploded View by Carrie Tiffany". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
14. "Wolfe Island by Lucy Treloar". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
15. "Zebra: And Other Stories by Debra Adelaide". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
16. "The House of Youssef by Yumna Kassab". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
17. "Here Until August by Josephine Rowe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
18. "How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
19. "Monuments by Will Kostakis". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
20. "Fauna: Australia's Most Curious Creatures by Tania McCartney". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
21. "Catch a Falling Star by Meg McKinlay". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
22. "Young Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
23. "Invisible Boys by Holden Sheppard". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
24. "This is How We Change the Ending by Vikki Wakefield". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
25. "The Night Dragon by Matthew Condon". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
26. "The Strangers We Know by Pip Drysdale". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
27. "Gone By Midnight by Candice Fox". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
28. "Death of a Typographer by Nick Gadd". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
29. "Dead Man Switch by Tara Moss". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
30. "River of Salt by Dave Warner". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
31. "The Cruel Stars by John Birmingham". ISFDB. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
32. "Yuiquimbiang by Louise Crisp". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
33. "After the Demolition by Zenobia Frost". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
34. "Nganajungu Yagu by Charmaine Papertalk Green". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
35. "Birth Plan by L. K. Holt". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
36. "Green Shadows and Other Poems by Gerald Murnane". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
37. "Heide by Pi O". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
38. "Accidental Feminists by Jane Caro". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
39. "Growing Up African in Australia edited by Maxine Beneba Clarke with Magan Magan and Ahmed Yussuf". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
40. "Australia Day by Stan Grant". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
41. "On Identity by Stan Grant". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
42. "Beyond the Equator: An Australian Memoir by Nicholas Hasluck". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
43. "See What You Made Me Do by Jess Hill". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
44. "Beyond Words: A Year with Kenneth Cook by Jacqueline Kent". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
45. "Diving into Glass by Caro Llewellyn". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
46. "This is What a Feminist Looks Like by Emily Maguire". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
47. "The Best Australian Science Writing 2019 edited by Bianca Nogrady". Austlit. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
48. "Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
49. "Albiston wins 2019 Patrick White Award". Books+Publishing. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
50. "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
51. "Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners". James Cook University. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
52. ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2019"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
53. Jefferson, Dee (29 April 2019). "'I wanted to help change the conversation': History of Aboriginal archaeology wins literary prize". ABC News. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
54. The 2019 Stella Prize. Retrieved 9 April 2019
55. "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2019". The Wheeler Centre. 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
56. "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
57. "No Vogel to be awarded this year". Books+Publishing. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
58. ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
59. Bookshelf, ABC Arts Kate Evans for RN's The (30 July 2019). "Miles Franklin awarded to Indigenous author for 'novel of celebratory defiance'". ABC News. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
60. "Winners announced for PM's Literary Awards 2019". Books+Publishing. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
61. Dee Jefferson (29 April 2019). "'I wanted to help change the conversation': History of Aboriginal archaeology wins literary prize". ABC News. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
62. Qian, Jinghua (12 November 2019). "Winners announced for the 2019 Queensland Literary Awards". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
63. "Winton wins 2019 Voss Literary Prize for 'The Shepherd's Hut'". Books+Publishing. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
64. "CBCA Awards 2019 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
65. "Moloney wins 2019 CBCA Nan Chauncy Award". Books+Publishing. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
66. "'The Ruin' wins best novel at 2019 Davitt Awards". Books+Publishing. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
67. Steger, Jason (6 September 2019). "Women crime writers clean up at the Ned Kelly awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
68. Newcombe, Ion (11 June 2019). "Ditmar Award Winners 2019". The Australian Science Fiction Foundation. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
69. "Andrada wins Anne Elder Award 2018 for 'Flood Damages'". Books+Publishing. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
70. "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature . Retrieved 5 February 2024.
71. "'Impassioned letter' from Manus Island wins 2019 National Biography Award". State Library of NSW. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
72. Guardian staff (30 August 2019). "Guardian Australia's The Killing Times wins prize in NSW premier's history awards". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 30 August 2019.
73. "Mudrooroo". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
74. "Austlit - Andrew McGahan". Austlit. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
75. "Les Carlyon". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
76. "Edmund George Capon". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
77. "Rudi Krausmann". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
78. "Remembering Jack Absalom". AnArt4Life. 21 March 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
79. "Les Murray". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
80. "John Millett Death Notice". Sydney Morning Herald. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
81. "Christobel Mattingley". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
82. "Kerry Reed-Gilbert". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
83. Fotheringham, Richard. "Laurie Hergenhan". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
84. Clarke, Patricia. "Ann Veronica Moyal". Obituaries Australia. Australian National University. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
85. "Hal Colebatch". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
86. Mathews, Iola. "Obituary - Beatrice Eileen (Bea) Faust - Obituaries Australia". oa.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
87. "Clive James". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.