Trent Dalton | |
|---|---|
 Dalton in 2018 | |
| Born | 1979 (age 45–46) 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 (born 1979) [1] 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. [2] [3] He spent his early childhood living with his mother and stepfather in Brassall. [2] Both sold heroin and spent time in jail. [4] 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. [1] 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. [1]
After high school, Dalton studied journalism for one year at University of Southern Queensland then another year at Queensland University of Technology. [7] [5] In 2024 Dalton became an honorary fellow at University of Southern Queensland. [8]
After being recommended by a QUT tutor, Dalton was hired in 2000 as a writer for Brisbane News, a free weekly magazine. [3] [6] He then worked as a journalist for The Courier-Mail . [3] As of April 2024 [update] , he works as a staff writer for The Weekend Australian Magazine . [9]
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] [10]
In 2018 he published the semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe through 4th Estate, [11] [12] which was longlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Award. [13] In May 2019 the television adaptation rights for Boy Swallows Universe were secured by Anonymous Content, Chapter One and Hopscotch Features. [14] A seven-episode limited series was commissioned by Netflix and released in January 2024. [15] The Queensland Theatre Company also developed a play from the novel, [16] [17] which premiered in September 2021 at the Brisbane Festival. [18]
In 2020 Dalton published his second novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, which is also centred around words and storytelling. [19] In 2021, Dalton published Love Stories, a collection of love stories gathered from street-corner interviews with passersby. [20]
Dalton's third novel, Lola in the Mirror, was released in October 2023. [21]
Dalton has two daughters with his wife Fiona. [3]
| Year | Book | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Boy Swallows Universe | Dymocks Book of the Year | — | Won | [24] |
| 2019 | Australian Book Industry Awards | Australian Book of the Year | Won | [25] | |
| Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year | Won | ||||
| Matt Richell Award for New Writer | Won | ||||
| Audiobook of the Year | Won | ||||
| Australian Booksellers Association Awards | BookPeople Book of the Year | Won | [26] | ||
| Colin Roderick Award | — | Shortlisted | |||
| Indie Book Awards | Book of the Year | Won | [27] | ||
| Debut Fiction | Won | ||||
| Miles Franklin Award | — | Longlisted | [28] | ||
| MUD Literary Prize | — | Won | [29] | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | UTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing | Won | [30] | ||
| People's Choice Award | Won | ||||
| Queensland Literary Awards | Queensland Premier's Literary Award | ||||
| The Courier-Mail People's Choice Book of the Year | [31] | ||||
| 2020 | International Dublin Literary Award | — | Longlisted | [32] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
