2023 in Australian literature
Literature-related events in Australia during the year of 2023
This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2023.
Events
- July: Publisher Hachette Australia withdraws from publication the book titled Special Operations Group by Christophe Glasl after Victoria Police expressed concerns about the accuracy of the book[1]
- December: Yumna Kassab is announced as inaugural Parramatta Laureate of Literature for 2024[2]
Major publications
Literary fiction
- Hossein Asgari – Only Sound Remains[3]
- Tony Birch – Women & Children[4]
- Jen Craig – Wall[5]
- Lauren Aimee Curtis – Strangers in the Port[6]
- Trent Dalton – Lola in the Mirror[7]
- André Dao – Anam[8]
- Gregory Day – The Bell of the World[9]
- Ali Cobby Eckermann – She Is the Earth (verse novel)[10]
- Kate Grenville – Restless Dolly Maunder[11]
- John Kinsella – Cellnight: A verse novel[12]
- Melissa Lucashenko – Edenglassie[13]
- Kate Morton – Homecoming[14]
- Angela O'Keeffe – The Sitter[15]
- Mirandi Riwoe – Sunbirds[16]
- Sanya Rushdi – Hospital[17]
- Tracy Sorensen – The Vitals[18]
- Christos Tsiolkas – The In-Between[19]
- Pip Williams – The Bookbinder of Jericho
- Charlotte Wood – Stone Yard Devotional[20]
- Alexis Wright – Praiseworthy
Children's and Young Adult fiction
- Dianne Wolfer, Scout and the Rescue Dogs[21]
Short story collections
Crime and mystery
- Candice Fox – Fire With Fire[24]
- Chris Hammer – The Seven[25]
- Fiona McIntosh – Dead Tide[26]
- Chris Womersley – Ordinary Gods and Monsters[27]
Science fiction and fantasy
- Greg Egan – Scale[28]
- Shelley Parker-Chan – He Who Drowned the World[29]
Poetry
- Stuart Barnes – Like to the Lark[30]
- John Kinsella – Harsh Hakea: Collected Poems Volume Two (2005–2014)[31]
- David McCooey – The Book of Falling[32]
- Pi O – The Tour[33]
- Grace Yee – Chinese Fish[34]
Non-Fiction
- Chanel Contos – Consent Laid Bare[35]
- Robyn Davidson – Unfinished Woman[36]
- Marele Day – Reckless[37]
- Martin Flanagan – The Empty Honour Board[38]
- Clementine Ford – I Don't[39]
- Anna Funder – Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life[40]
- Michael Gawenda – My Life as a Jew[41]
- Stan Grant – The Queen is Dead: The Time has Come for a Reckoning[42]
- Susan Johnson – Aphrodite's Breath[43]
- Christine Kenneally – Ghosts of the Orphanage[44]
- Sarah Krasnostein – On Peter Carey[45]
- David Marr – Killing for Country: A Family Story[46]
- Ross McMullin – Life So Full of Promise[47]
- Matt Preston – Big Mouth[48]
- Margaret Simons – Tanya Plibersek: On Her Own Terms[49]
- Christine Wallace – Political Lives: Australian Prime Ministers and Their Biographers[50]
Drama
- Nicholas Brown – Sex Magick[51]
Awards and honours
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement
Award | Author |
---|---|
Patrick White Award[52] | Alex Skovron |
Literary
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
ALS Gold Medal[53] | Debra Dank | We Come With This Place | Echo Publishing |
Colin Roderick Award[54] | Sarah Holland-Batt | The Jaguar | University of Queensland Press |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[55] | Craig Silvey | Runt | Allen & Unwin |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[56] | Debra Dank | We Come With This Place | Echo Publishing |
Stella Prize[57] | Sarah Holland-Batt | The Jaguar | University of Queensland Press |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[58] | Jessica Au | Cold Enough for Snow | Giramondo Publishing |
Fiction
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[59] | Not awarded | ||
The Age Book of the Year[60] | Robbie Arnott | Limberlost | Text Publishing |
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[61] | Anna McGahan | Immaculate | Allen & Unwin |
Barbara Jefferis Award[62] | Not awarded | ||
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[55] | Geraldine Brooks | Horse | Viking Books |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[55] | Tracey Lien | All That's Left Unsaid | HQ Fiction |
Miles Franklin Award[63] | Shankari Chandran | Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens | Ultimo Press |
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[64] | Jessica Au | Cold Enough for Snow | Giramondo |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[65] | Katerina GIbson | Women I Know | Scribner |
Queensland Literary Awards[66] | Alexis Wright | Praiseworthy | Giramondo |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[58] | Jessica Au | Cold Enough for Snow | Giramondo |
Children and Young Adult
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Children's Book of the Year Award[67] | Older Readers | Tom Taylor | Neverlanders | Penguin Random House |
Younger Readers | Craig Silvey | Runt | Allen & Unwin | |
Picture Book | Zeno Sworder | My Strange Shrinking Parents | Thames & Hudson | |
Early Childhood | Vikki Conley, illus. Max Hamilton | Where the Lyrebird Lives | Windy Hollow | |
Eve Pownall Award for Information Books | Jess McGeachin | DEEP: Delve into hidden words | Welbeck Publishing | |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[55] | Children's | Craig Silvey | Runt | Allen & Unwin |
Young Adult | Holden Shepherd | The Brink | Text Publishing | |
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[64] | Children's | Jasmine Seymour | Open Your Heart to Country | Magabala Books |
Young Adult | Sarah Winifred Searle | The Greatest Thing | Allen & Unwin | |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[65] | Children's | Corey Tutt and Blak Douglas | The First Scientists | Hardie Grant |
Young People's | Lystra Rose | The Upwelling | Hachette | |
Queensland Literary Awards[66] | Children's | Katrina Nannestad | Waiting for the Storks | ABC Books |
Young Adult | Biffy James | Completely Normal (and Other Lies) | Hardie Grant | |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[58] | Young Adult Fiction | Kate Murray | We Who Hunt the Hollow | Hardie Grant |
Crime and Mystery
National
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Davitt Award[68] | Novel | Tracey Lien | All That’s Left Unsaid | HQ Fiction |
Young adult novel | Fleur Ferris | Seven Days | Puffin | |
Children's novel | Charlie Archbold | The Sugarcane Kids and the Red-Bottomed Boat | Text Publishing | |
Non-fiction | Megan Norris | Out of the Ashes | Simon and Schuster Australia | |
Debut | Hayley Scrivenor | Dirt Town | Pan Macmillan | |
Readers' choice | Vikki Petraitis | The Unbelieved | Allen & Unwin | |
Ned Kelly Award[69] | Novel | Jane Harper | Exiles | Pan Macmillan |
First novel | Shelley Burr | Wake | Hachette Australia | |
True crime | Sandi Logan | Betrayed | Hachette Australia |
Poetry
Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[59] | Not awarded | ||
Anne Elder Award[70](joint winners) | Harry Reid | Leave Me Alone | Cordite |
Theodore Ell | Beginning In Sight | RWP | |
Mary Gilmore Award[71] | Harry Reid | Leave Me Alone | Cordite |
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[64] | Gavin Yuan Gao | At the Altar of Touch | UQP |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[65] | Kim Cheng Boey | The Singer and Other Poems | Cordite |
Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection[66] | Lionel Fogarty | Harvest Lingo | Giramondo |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards | Gavin Yuan Gao | At the Altar of Touch | UQP |
Drama
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[65] | Script | Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero | Blaze | Causeway Films |
Play | Dylan Van Den Berg | Whitefella Yella Tree | Griffin Theatre Company & Currency Press | |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[58] | John Harvey | The Return | Malthouse Theatre |
Non-Fiction
Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[59] | Non-Fiction | Not awarded | ||
The Age Book of the Year[60] | Non-Fiction | Kim Mahood | Wandering With Intent | Scribe |
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[55] | Non-Fiction | Richard Fidler | The Book of Roads And Kingdoms | ABC Books |
Illustrated Non-Fiction | Damien Coulthard and Rebecca Sullivan | First Nations Food Companion | Murdoch Books | |
National Biography Award[72] | Biography | Ann-Marie Priest | My Tongue Is My Own: A Life of Gwen Harwood | La Trobe University Press / Black Inc. |
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[64] | Non-Fiction | Sam Vincent | My Father and Other Animals | Black Inc. |
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[65] | Non-Fiction | Debra Dank | We Come With This Place | Echo Publishing |
New South Wales Premier's History Awards[73] | Australian History | Alan Atkinson | Elizabeth and John: The Macarthurs of Elizabeth Farm | NewSouth |
Community and Regional History | Ian Hodges | He Belonged to Wagga: The Great War, the AIF and returned soldiers in an Australian country town | ASP | |
General History | Michael Laffan | Under Empire: Muslim lives and loyalties across the Indian Ocean world, 1775–1945 | Columbia University | |
Queensland Literary Awards[66] | Non-Fiction | Debra Dank | We Come with This Place | Echo Publishing |
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[58] | Non-Fiction | Eda Gunaydin | Root & Branch: Essays on inheritance | NewSouth |
Deaths
- 21 January – Gabrielle Williams, author of young adult fiction (born 1963)[74]
- 3 February – Portia Robinson, historian (born 1926)[75]
- 19 April – Lee Harding, novelist (born 1937)[76]
- 21 April – John Tranter, poet, publisher and editor (born 1943)[77]
- 22 April – Barry Humphries, comedian, author, actor and satirist (born 1934)[78]
- 2 May – Gabrielle Carey, novelist (born 1959)[79]
- 22 May – Andrew Burke, poet (born 1944)[80]
- 30 June – Ron Pretty, poet (born 1940)[81]
- 6 August – Elizabeth Webby, scholar of Australian literature (born 1942)[82]
- 18 November – Nan Witcomb, poet and radio. broadcaster (born 1927/1928)[83]
- 21 November – Dale Spender, feminist writer (born 1943)[84]
- 10 December – Michael Blakemore, actor, writer and theatre director (born 1928)[85]
- 12 December – Shirley Barber, children’s author and illustrator (born 1935 in the Channel Islands)[86]
- 30 December – John Pilger, journalist and filmmaker (born 1939) (died in the United Kingdom)[87]
See also
- 2023 in Australia
- 2023 in literature
- 2023 in poetry
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of years in literature
References
- ^ Steger, Jason (10 July 2023). "Publisher pulls former cop's memoir after police raise doubts over accuracy". The Age. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Badger, Rosemary (9 December 2023). "Football, ice-cream and the best cafes for writing in to feature in author Yumna Kassab's 'dictionary of Parramatta'". ABC News. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
- ^ "Only Sound Remains by Hossein Asgari". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Women & Children by Tony Birch". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Wall by Jen Craig". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Curtis, Lauren Aimee (2023), Strangers at the port, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 978-1-399-60817-6
- ^ "Austlit — Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton". Austlit. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Anam by André Dao". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "The Bell of the World by Gregory Day". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Eckermann, Ali Cobby. "She is the earth : a verse novel". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Cellnight by John Kinsella". Austlit. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Edenglassie by Melissa Lucashenko". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Homecoming by Kate Morton". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "The Sitter by Angela O'Keeffe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Sunbirds by Mirandi Riwoe". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Hospital by Sanya Rushdi". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "The Vitals by Tracy Sorensen". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "The In-Between by Christos Tsiolkas". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood". Austlit. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Wolfer, Dianne. "Scout and the rescue dogs". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Creative Differences: And Other Stories by Graeme Simsion". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Gunflower by Laura Jean McKay". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Fire With Fire by Candice Fox". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Seven by Chris Hammer". Austlit. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Dead Tide by Fiona McIntosh". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Ordinary Gods and Monsters by Chris Womersley". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Scale by Greg Egan". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "He Who Drowned the World by Skelley Parker-Chan". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Like to the Lark by Stuart Barnes". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Harsh Hakea by John Kinsella". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "The Book of Falling by David McCooey". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "The Tour by Pi O". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Chinese Fish by Grace Yee". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Consent Laid Bare by Chanel Contos". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Unfinished Woman by Robyn Davidson". Austlit. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Reckless by Marele Day". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "The Empty Honour Board by Martin Flanagan". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "I Don't by". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life by Anna Funder". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "My Life as a Jew by Michael Gawenda". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "The Queen is Dead by Stan Grant". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Aphrodite's Breath by Susan Johnson". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Kenneally, Christine. "Ghosts of the orphanage : a story of murder, a conspiracy of silence and a search for justice". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "On Peter Carey by Sarah Krasnostein". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Killing for Country by David Marr". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Life So Full of Promise by Ross McMullin". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ^ "Big Mouth by Matt Preston". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Tanya Plibersek: On Her Own Terms by Margaret Simons". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ "Political Lives by Christine Wallace". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
- ^ Brown, Nicholas (2023), Sex magick, Currency Press, ISBN 978-1-76062-815-4
- ^ "Skovron wins 2023 Patrick White Award". Books+Publishing. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Colin Roderick Award 2023 Long and Short Lists". www.jcu.edu.au. 6 October 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2023"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Dow, Steve (22 May 2023). "'Significantly shocking': debut author Debra Dank breaks records at NSW premier's literary awards". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ "Holland-Batt wins 2023 Stella Prize for 'The Jaguar'". Books+Publishing. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Au wins 2023 Victorian Prize for Literature at VPLAs". Books+Publishing. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ a b c "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
- ^ a b ""'He has produced a gem': An ode to humble Australians wins The Age Book of the Year"". The Age, 4 May 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- ^ "'Immaculate' wins 2023 Vogel". Books+Publishing. 16 June 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Burke, Kelly (25 July 2023). "Shankari Chandran wins 2023 Miles Franklin award for Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Howard, Alexander (16 November 2023). "The revamped Prime Minister's Literary Awards reward 'fresh ways of seeing' in 2023". The Conversation. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Jefferson, Dee (22 May 2023). "One book just won a record four out of 14 prizes at $350,000 NSW literary awards". ABC News. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Winners of the 2023 Queensland Literary Awards announced". Media statements. Queensland Government. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "CBCA Book of the Year Awards 2023 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
- ^ "Davitt Awards 2023 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 4 September 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
- ^ "Ned Kelly Awards 2022 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
- ^ "Reid, Ell win 2022 Anne Elder Award". Books+Publishing. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "National Biography Award". State Library of NSW. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "NSW Premier's History Awards 2023 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ "Vale Gabrielle Williams". Books+Publishing. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Portia ROBINSON AM PhD Death Notice - Sydney, New South Wales | Sydney Morning Herald". tributes.smh.com.au.
- ^ "Lee Harding". Austlit. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
- ^ "John Tranter Death Notice - Sydney, New South Wales". tributes.smh.com.au. Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Runciman, Caleb (22 April 2023). "Barry Humphries: Australian comedic legend dies aged 89". The West Australian. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
- ^ "Probate Notice: Gabrielle Carey". NSW Probate Index. 4 May 2023 – via Ryerson Index.
- ^ "Andrew Burke". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ Roberts, Mark (4 July 2023). "Vale Ron Pretty". Rochford Street Review. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Elizabeth Webby". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ Adelaide former talkback host and poet Nan Witcomb dies aged 95 (subscription required)
- ^ "SPENDER, Dale – Death Notices". My Tributes – The Courier-Mail. 25 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "Director Michael Blakemore Dies at 95". Playbill. 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Vale Shirley Barber". Books+Publishing. 13 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Australian journalist and documentary filmmaker John Pilger dies aged 84". ITVX. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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Years in Australian literature (1855–present)
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