2018 in Australian literature
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2018.
Major publications
 |
Literary fiction
- Michael Mohammed Ahmad – The Lebs
- Robbie Arnott – Flames[1]
- Trent Dalton – Boy Swallows Universe
- Gregory Day – A Sand Archive[2]
- Ceridwen Dovey – In the Garden of the Fugitives[3]
- Rodney Hall – A Stolen Season[4]
- Gail Jones – The Death of Noah Glass
- Eleanor Limprecht – The Passengers[5]
- Melissa Lucashenko – Too Much Lip
- Heather Morris – The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- Kristina Olsson – Shell[6]
- Ryan O'Neill – The Drover's Wives[7]
- Kim Scott – Taboo[8]
- Tim Winton – The Shepherd's Hut[9]
- Markus Zusak – Bridge of Clay
Children's and Young Adult fiction
- Maxine Beneba Clarke – Wide Big World, illustrated by Isobel Knowles
- Mem Fox – Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again, illustrated by Judy Horacek
- Andy Griffiths – The 104-Storey Treehouse
- Ambelin Kwaymullina and Ezekial Kwaymullina – Catching Teller Crow
- Richard Roxburgh – Artie and the Grime Wave
- Shaun Tan
- Cicada
- Tales from the Inner City
- Lili Wilkinson – After the Lights Go Out
Crime and Mystery
- Candice Fox – Redemption Point[10]
- Kerry Greenwood – The Spotted Dog[11]
- Chris Hammer – Scrublands
- Jane Harper – The Lost Man
- Dervla McTiernan – The Rúin
- Kate Morton – The Clockmaker's Daughter[12]
- Michael Robotham – The Other Wife[13]
Science Fiction and Fantasy
- Alan Baxter
- Hidden City[14]
- Devouring Dark
- Kylie Chan – Scales of Empire[15]
- Traci Harding – This Present Past[16]
- Jennifer Mills – Dyschronia[17]
- Kaaron Warren – Tide of Stone[18]
Poetry
- Jordie Albiston – Warlines
- Judith Beveridge – Sun Music: New and Selected Poems
- Ken Bolton – Starting at Basheer's
- Sarah Day – Towards Light & Other Poems
- Paul Hetherington – Moonlight on Oleander
- Bella Li – Lost Lake
- John Mateer – João
- Tim Metcalf – The Underwritten Plain
- Tracy Ryan – The Water Bearer
Drama
- Alana Valentine – The Sugar House
Biographies and memoirs
- Peter FitzSimons – Monash's Masterpiece
- Jacqui Lambie – Rebel with a Cause: You can't keep a bloody Lambie down — my story from soldier to senator and beyond
- Eggshell Skull
- Anne Summers – Unfettered and Alive: A Memoir
- Gillian Triggs – Speaking Up
- Nadia Wheatley – Her Mother's Daughter
Non-fiction
- Cynthia Banham – A Certain Light
- Steve Biddulph – Raising Boys In The Twenty-First Century: How To Help Our Boys Become Open-Hearted, Kind And Strong Men
- Behrouz Boochani – No Friend But the Mountains
- Stephen Gapps – The Sydney Wars: Conflict in the Early Colony 1788–1817
- Richard Glover – The Land Before Avocado
- Billy Griffiths – Deep Time Dreaming
- Anita Heiss (editor) – Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia
- Chloe Hooper – The Arsonist: A Mind on Fire[19]
- Thomas Keneally – Australians: A Short History
- Meredith Lake – The Bible in Australia: A cultural history
- Michael C Madden – The Victoria Cross: Australia Remembers
- Leigh Sales – Any Ordinary Day
Awards and honours
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
Melbourne Prize for Literature[20]
|
Alison Lester |
| Patrick White Award[21] | Samuel Wagan Watson |
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALS Gold Medal[22] | Shastra Deo | The Agonist | University of Queensland Press |
| Colin Roderick Award[23] | Jock Serong | On the Java Ridge | Text Publishing |
Nita Kibble Literary Award[24]
|
Fiona McFarlane | The High Places | Hodder and Stoughton
|
| Stella Prize[25] | Alexis Wright | Tracker | Giramondo
|
| Victorian Prize for Literature[26] | Sarah Krasnostein | The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster |
Text Publishing |
Fiction
International
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staunch Book Prize[27] | Jock Serong | On the Java Ridge | Text Publishing |
National
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[28] | Emily O'Grady | The Yellow House | Allen & Unwin |
| Barbara Jefferis Award[29] | Libby Angel | The Trapeze Act | Text Publishing |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[30] | Sofie Laguna | The Choke | Allen & Unwin |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[30] | Mark Brandi | Wimmera | Hachette Australia |
| Miles Franklin Award[31][32] | Michelle de Kretser | The Life to Come | Allen & Unwin |
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards[33] | Gerald Murnane | Border Districts | Giramondo
|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Bram Presser | The Book of Dirt | Text Publishing |
| Queensland Literary Awards[35] | Kim Scott | Taboo | Pan Macmillan
|
Victorian Premier's Literary Award[36]
|
Melanie Cheng | Australia Day | Text Publishing |
Children and Young Adult
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Book of the Year Award[37] | Older Readers | Cath Crowley, Fiona Wood and Simmone Howell | Take Three Girls | Pan Macmillan |
| Younger Readers | Bren MacDibble | How to Bee | Allen & Unwin | |
| Picture Book | Gwyn Perkins | A Walk in the Bush | Affirm Press | |
| Early Childhood | Michael Gerard Bauer; Chrissie Krebs (illustrator) | Rodney Loses It! | Omnibus Books | |
| Eve Pownall Award for Information Books | Idan Ben-Barak, illus. Julian Frost | Do Not Lick This Book | Allen & Unwin | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Children's | Bren MacDibble | How to Bee | Allen & Unwin |
| Young People's | Zana Fraillon | The Ones That Disappeared | Lothian | |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award[36]
|
Young Adult Fiction | Demet Divaroren | Living on Hope Street | Allen & Unwin |
Crime and Mystery
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davitt Award[38] | Novel | Emma Viskic | And Fire Came Down | Echo Books |
| Young adult novel | Vikki Wakefield | Ballad for a Mad Girl | Text Publishing | |
| Children's novel | Allison Rushby | The Turnkey | Walker Books | |
| True crime | Gabriella Coslovich | Whitely on Trial | Melbourne University Press | |
| Debut novel | Sarah Bailey | The Dark Lake | Allen & Unwin | |
| Readers' choice | Jane Harper | Force of Nature | Pan Macmillan
| |
Ned Kelly Award[39]
|
Novel | Sulari Gentill | Crossing the Lines | Pantera
|
| First novel | Sarah Bailey | The Dark Lake | Allen & Unwin | |
| True crime | Graham Archer | Unmaking a Murder: The Mysterious Death of Anna-Jane Cheney |
Random House | |
| Lifetime achievement | Garry Disher |
Science fiction
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ditmar Award[40] | Novel | Thoraiya Dyer | Crossroads of Canopy | Tor |
| Best Novella or Novelette | Tansy Rayner Roberts | "Girl Reporter" | Girl Reporter (Book Smugglers Publishing) | |
| Best Short Story | Janeen Webb | "A Pearl Beyond Price" | Cthulhu Deep Down-Under Vol 1 (IFWG Publishing Australia) |
Non-Fiction
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Biography Award[41] | Biography | Judith Brett | The Enigmatic Mr Deakin | Text Publishing |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] | Non-Fiction | Richard Fidler & Kári Gíslason | Saga Land | HarperCollins |
| Illustrated Non-Fiction | Kate Herd & Jela Ivankovic-Waters | Native: Art & Design with Australian Plants | Thames & hudson | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Non-Fiction | Paul Ham | Passchendaele: Requiem for Doomed Youth | William Heinemann Australia
|
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards[42] | Australian History | Christina Twomey | The Battle Within: POWs in Postwar Australia | NewSouth Publishing |
| Community and Regional History | Paul Irish | Hidden in Plain View: The Aboriginal People of Coastal Sydney | NewSouth Publishing | |
| General History | Sean Scalmer | On the Stump: Campaign Oratory and Democracy in the United States, Britain, and Australia | Temple University Press | |
| Queensland Literary Awards[35] | Non-Fiction | Alexis Wright | Tracker | Giramondo Publishing |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award[36]
|
Non-fiction | Sarah Krasnostein | The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in Death, Decay & Disaster | Text Publishing |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Elder Award[43] | Rico Craig | Bone Ink | Guillotine Press |
| Mary Gilmore Award[44] | Quinn Eades | Rallying | UWA Publishing |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Bella Li | Argosy | Vagabond Press |
Victorian Premier's Literary Award[36]
|
Bella Li | Argosy | Vagabond Press |
Drama
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[34] | Script (joint winners) | Amanda Blue and Jacob Hickey | Deep Water: The Real Story | Blackfella Films |
| Jane Campion and Gerard Lee | Birthday, Top of the Lake: China Girl, Series 2 Episode 4 | See Saw Films | ||
| Play | Nakkiah Lui | Black is the New White | Sydney Theatre Company |
Deaths
- 6 March – Peter Nicholls, writer and editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (born 1939)[45]
- 8 March – Peter Temple, author of Jack Irish series (born 1946)[46]
- 3 April – Noela Young, children's book illustrator and writer (born 1930)[47][48]
- 14 April – Frank Bren, Australian actor and playwright (born 1943)[49]
- 16 April – Beverley Farmer, novelist and short story writer (born 1941)[50]
- 1 June – Jill Ker Conway, academic and memoir writer, author of The Road from Coorain (born 1934)[51]
- 2 June – Tony Morphett, screenwriter and novelist (born 1938)[52]
- 30 August – Peter Corris, crime novelist (born 1942)[53]
- 31 August – Ian Jones author and television writer and director (born 1931)[54]
- 12 September – OAM, German Australian children's bookseller and founder of Australia's first children's bookstore, The Little Bookroom (born 1930)[55]
- 16 September – John Molony, historian and Emeritus Professor of History at Australian National University (born 1927)[56]
- 6 October – James Cowan, author (born 1942)[57]
- 21 October – Eleanor Witcombe, screenwriter and playwright (born 1923)[58]
- 22 October
- 22 November – Judith Rodriguez, poet and academic (born 1936)[61]
See also
- 2018 in Australia
- 2018 in literature
- 2018 in poetry
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of years in literature
References
- ^ "Austlit — Flames by Robbie Arnott". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — A Sand Archive by Gregory Day". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — In the Garden of the Fugitives by Ceridwen Dovey". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — A Stolen Season by Rodney Hall". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Passengers by Eleanor Limprecht". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Shell by Kristina Olsson". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Drover's Wives by Ryan O' Neill". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Taboo by Kim Scott". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Shepherd's Hut by Tim Winton". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Redemption Point by Candice Fox". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Spotted Dog by Kerry Greenwood". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — The Other Wife by Michael Robotham". Austlit. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Hidden City by Alan Baxter". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Devouring Dark by Alan Baxter". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "This Present Past by Traci Harding". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Dyschonia by Jennifer Mills". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Tide of Stone by Kaaron Warren". ISFDB. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "The Arsonist by Chloe Hooper". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Melbourne Prize". Austlit. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ "Samuel Wagan Watson wins Patrick White Literary Award". Books+Publishing. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- ^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Kibble Literary Award". Australian National University. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
- ^ The 2018 Stella Prize. Retrieved 13 April 2018
- ^ "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Award for thriller without violence against women goes to Jock Serong". the Guardian. 26 November 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ "Brisbane author Emily O'Grady wins $20,000 Vogel Literary Award". ABC News. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b c ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2018"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ "Miles Franklin Literary Awards Applications | Perpetual | Perpetual". www.perpetual.com.au. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ "Michelle de Kretser wins her second Miles Franklin award with The Life To Come". ABC News. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Winners announced for PM's literary awards 2018". Books+Publishing. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- ^ a b c d e Morris, Linda (30 April 2018). "Stories of ancestral memory storm NSW Premier's Literary Awards". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Queensland Literary Awards 2018 winners announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2018". The Wheeler Centre. Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
- ^ "CBCA - Book of the Year Awards 2018". cbca.org.au. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "'And Fire Came Down' wins best novel at 2018 Davitt Awards | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Gentill, Bailey win 2018 Ned Kelly Awards | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "Ditmar Awards 2018 winners announced". Books + Publishing. Retrieved 26 July 2018.
- ^ Convery, Stephanie (6 August 2018). "Judith Brett wins National Biography award for 'profound' look at life of Alfred Deakin". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
- ^ "Winners of the 2018 NSW Premier's History Awards announced | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "Austlit — Anne Elder Award". Austlit. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ Mort de Peter Nicholls, éditeur de l'Encyclopédie de la science-fiction(in French)
- ^ "Acclaimed crime writer Peter Temple dies, aged 71". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
- ^ "Death notice". Manly Daily. 7 April 2018.
- ^ "Probate notice". NSW Probate Index. 23 April 2018.
- ^ "Frank Desmond Bren". Legacy.com. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
- ^ "Beverley Anne Farmer". Legacy.com. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
- ^ "Obituary – Jill Ker Conway". Obituaries Australia. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Tony Morphett". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ "Peter Corris, author of Cliff Hardy crime novels, dies aged 76 - ABC News". www.abc.net.au. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ Bunn, Anthony (31 August 2018). "Author Ian Jones, who wrote about the life of bushranger Ned Kelly, has died at the age of 86". Border Mail. Fairfax Ltd. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "Ullin. – Albert Henry". Legacy.com. 14 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
- ^ Pryor, Sally (20 September 2018). "ANU historian John Molony dead at 91". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ Thompson, Peter (30 October 2018). "An adventurous poet and writer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Eleanor Witcombe: Her brilliant career". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
- ^ Ahmad, Zia (25 October 2018). "Anne Fairbairn passed away". AMUST – Australasian Muslim Times. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ "RiP Rose Zwi". Books+Publishing. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Judith Catherine Rodriguez". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 November 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
 Years in Australian literature (1855–present) | |
|---|---|
| 19th century | |
| 20th century |
|
| 21st century | |