Trent Dalton | |
---|---|
Born | Ipswich, Queensland, Australia |
Occupation | Writer |
Notable works | Boy Swallows Universe All Our Shimmering Skies Love Stories Lola in the Mirror |
Notable awards | ABIA Awards Indie Book Awards MUD Literary Prize Walkley Awards |
Spouse | Fiona Franzmann |
Children | 2 |
Trent Dalton is an Australian novelist and journalist. He is best known for his 2018 semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe .
Dalton was born in Ipswich, Queensland, the youngest of four sons. [1] [2] He spent his early childhood living with his mother and stepfather in Brassall. [1] Both sold heroin and spent time in jail. [3] When he was seven years old, his mother was sent to prison for two years for smuggling drugs. Dalton spent the following 12 months living with his paternal grandparents. [4] After that he lived with his father in a Housing Commission house in Bracken Ridge, a suburb on the northern outskirts of Brisbane. [5] [6] For a few years in their teens, Dalton and one of his brothers lived with his mother. [4]
After high school, Dalton studied journalism for one year at University of Southern Queensland then another year at Queensland University of Technology. [7] [5]
After being recommended by a QUT tutor, Dalton was hired in 2000 as a writer for Brisbane News, a free weekly magazine. [2] [6] He then worked as a journalist for The Courier-Mail . [2] As of April 2024 [update] , he works as a staff writer for The Weekend Australian Magazine . [8]
In 2011 Dalton published Detours: Stories from the Street, a book containing profiles of 20 people he had interviewed who were living on the street, or at risk of becoming homeless. [6] [9]
In 2018 he published the semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe through 4th Estate, [10] [11] which was longlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Award. [12] In May 2019 the television adaptation rights for Boy Swallows Universe were secured by Anonymous Content, Chapter One and Hopscotch Features. [13] A seven-episode limited series was commissioned by Netflix and released in January 2024. [14] The Queensland Theatre Company also developed a play from the novel, [15] [16] which premiered in September 2021 at the Brisbane Festival. [17]
In 2020 Dalton published his second novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, which is also centred around words and storytelling. [18] In 2021, Dalton published Love Stories, a collection of love stories gathered from interviews with people. [19]
Dalton's third novel, Lola in the Mirror, was released in October 2023. [20]
Dalton has two daughters with his wife Fiona. [2]
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