2015 in Australian literature
This is a list of the historical events and publications of 2015 in Australian literature.
Major publications[edit]
Literary fiction[edit]
- Tony Birch – Ghost River
- Lisa Birman — How to Walk Away
- Geraldine Brooks – The Secret Chord
- Robyn Cadwallader — The Anchoress
- Stephen Daisley – Coming Rain
- Gregory Day – Archipelago of Souls
- Peggy Frew – Hope Farm
- Lisa Gorton – The Life of Houses
- Sally Hepworth — The Secrets of Midwives
- David Ireland — The World Repair Video Game
- Susan Johnson – The Landing
- Gail Jones – A Guide to Berlin
- Myfanwy Jones – Leap
- Mireille Juchau – The World Without Us
- Malcolm Knox – The Wonder Lover
- Amanda Lohrey – A Short History of Richard Kline
- Judy Nunn — Spirits of the Ghan
- A. S. Patrić – Black Rock White City
- Gregory David Roberts — The Mountain Shadow
- Steve Toltz – Quicksand
- Lucy Treloar – Salt Creek
- Charlotte Wood – The Natural Way of Things
Children's and Young Adult fiction[edit]
- Nick Earls – New Boy
- John Flanagan — The Tournament at Gorlan
- Mem Fox – This & That
- Mem Fox – Nellie Belle
- Andy Griffiths – The 65-Storey Treehouse
- John Larkin — The Pause
- Maureen McCarthy – Stay With Me
- Sophie Masson – Hunter's Moon
- Gillian Mears – The Cat with the Coloured Tail
- Louis Nowra – Prince of Afghanistan
- Emily Rodda – Two Moons
- R. A. Spratt — Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion
- Lili Wilkinson – Green Valentine
- Fiona Wood – Cloudwish
Crime and mystery[edit]
- Peter Corris – Gun Control
- Garry Disher – The Heat
- Mark Dapin – R&R
- Candice Fox – Fall
- Katherine Howell – Tell the Truth
- Adrian McKinty – Gun Street Girl
- Barry Maitland – Ash Island
- Michael Robotham – Close Your Eyes
- Emma Viskic – Resurrection Bay
- Dave Warner – Before It Breaks
Science Fiction and Fantasy[edit]
- K. A. Bedford – Black Light
- John Birmingham
- James Bradley – Clade
- Trudi Canavan — Angel of Storms
- Isobelle Carmody – The Red Queen
- Kate Forsyth — The Beast's Garden
- Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff — Illuminae
- Jane Rawson – Formaldehyde
Romance[edit]
Poetry[edit]
- Robert Adamson – Net Needle
- David Brooks – Open House
- Clive James – Sentenced to Life
- Les Murray – Waiting for the Past
Drama[edit]
- Matthew Whittet – Seventeen
Biographies[edit]
- David Day – Paul Keating : The Biography
- Peter Garrett – Big Blue Sky : A Memoir
- Kate Grenville – One Life : My Mother's Story
- Erik Jensen – Acute Misfortune: The Life and Death of Adam Cullen
- Gerald Murnane – Something for the Pain : A Memoir of the Turf
- Brenda Niall – Mannix
- Magda Szubanski – Reckoning : A Memoir
- Tim Winton – Island Home : A Landscape Memoir
Non-fiction[edit]
- Joel Deane – Catch and Kill: The Politics of Power
- Andrew Fowler – The War on Journalism: Media Moguls, Whistleblowers and the Price of Freedom
- Gideon Haigh – Certain Admissions
- Lucy Sussex – Blockbuster! : Fergus Hume and the Mystery of the Hansom Cab
- Sam Vincent – Blood & Guts
Awards and honours[edit]
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement[edit]
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Christopher Brennan Award[2] | Gig Ryan |
| Melbourne Prize for Literature[3] | Chris Wallace-Crabbe |
| Patrick White Award[4] | Joan London |
Literary[edit]
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALS Gold Medal[5] | Jennifer Maiden | Drones and Phantoms | Giramondo Publishing |
| Colin Roderick Award[6] | Not awarded | ||
| Nita Kibble Literary Award[7] | Joan London | The Golden Age | Vintage Books |
| Stella Prize[8] | Emily Bitto | The Strays | Affirm Press |
| Victorian Prize for Literature[9] | Alan Atkinson | The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation | NewSouth |
Fiction[edit]
National[edit]
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[10] | Murray Middleton | When There’s Nowhere Else to Run | Allen & Unwin |
| Barbara Jefferis Award[11] | Not awarded | ||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[12] | Sonya Hartnett | Golden Boys | Penguin |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[12] | Maxine Beneba Clarke | Foreign Soil | Hachette |
| Miles Franklin Award[13] | Sofie Laguna | The Eye of the Sheep | Allen & Unwin |
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards[14] | Joan London | The Golden Age | Random House |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[15] | Mark Henshaw | The Snow Kimono | Text Publishing |
| Queensland Literary Awards[16] | Joan London | The Golden Age | Random House |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award[9] | Rohan Wilson | To Name Those Lost | Allen & Unwin |
Children and Young Adult[edit]
National[edit]
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Claire Zorn | The Protected | University of Queensland Press |
| Younger Readers | Libby Gleeson | The Cleo Stories : The Necklace and the Present | Allen & Unwin | |
| Picture Book | Freya Blackwood, text Irema Kobald | My Two Blankets | Little Hare, Hardie Grant Egmont | |
| Early Childhood | Libby Gleeson, illus. Freya Blackwood | Go to Sleep, Jessie! | Little Hare, Hardie Grant Egmont | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Catherine Norton | Crossing | Omnibus/Scholastic Australia |
| Tamsin Janu | Figgy in the World | Omnibus/Scholastic Australia | ||
| Young People's | Jaclyn Moriarty | The Cracks in the Kingdom | Pan Macmillan Australia | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Young Adult Fiction | Claire Zorn | The Protected | University of Queensland Press |
Crime and Mystery[edit]
International[edit]
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| CWA Gold Dagger Award[17] | Michael Robotham | Life or Death | Hachette |
National[edit]
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davitt Award[18] | Novel | Liane Moriarty | Big Little Lies | Penguin Books |
| Young adult novel | Ellie Marney | Every Word | Allen & Unwin | |
| Childrens' novel | Judith Rossell | Withering-By-Sea | HarperCollins | |
| True crime | Caroline Overington | Last Woman Hanged | HarperCollins | |
| Debut novel | Christine Bongers | Intruder | Random House | |
| Readers' choice | Sandi Wallace | Tell Me Why | Clan Destine Press | |
| Ned Kelly Award[19] | Novel | Candice Fox | Eden | Random House |
| First novel | Jock Serong | Quota | Text Publishing | |
| True crime | Helen Garner | This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial | Text Publishing | |
| Lifetime achievement | Not awarded |
Science fiction[edit]
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurealis Award | Sf Novel | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Illuminae | Allen & Unwin |
| Sf Short Story | Sean Williams | "All the Wrong Places" | Meeting Infinity (Solaris Books) | |
| Fantasy Novel | Trent Jamieson | Day Boy | Text Publishing | |
| Fantasy Short Story | Rowena Cory Daniels | "The Giant's Lady" | Legends 2 (Newcon Press) | |
| Horror Novel | Trent Jamieson | Day Boy | Text Publishing | |
| Horror Short Story | Joanne Anderton | "Bullets" | In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep (AHWA) | |
| Young Adult Novel | Kathryn Barker | In the Skin of a Monster | Allen & Unwin | |
| Young Adult Short Story | Deborah Kalin | "The Miseducation of Mara Lys" | Cherry Crow Children (Twelfth Planet Press) | |
| Ditmar Award | Novel | Glenda Larke | The Lascar's Dagger | Hachette |
| Best Novella or Novelette | Sean Williams | "The Legend Trap" | Kaleidoscope (Twelfth Planet Press) | |
| Best Short Story | Cat Sparks | "The Seventh Relic" | Phantazein (FableCroft Publishing) |
Non-Fiction[edit]
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[12] | Non-Fiction | Don Watson | The Bush: Travels in the Heart of Australia | Penguin |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Don Watson | The Bush : Travels in the Heart of Australia | Penguin |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Alan Atkinson | The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation | Oxford University Press |
| Community and Regional History | Babette Smith | The Luck of the Irish : How a Shipload of Convicts Survived the Wreck of the Hive to Make a New Life in Australia | Allen & Unwin | |
| General History | Warwick Anderson & Ian R Mackay | Intolerant Bodies : A Short History of Autoimmunity | Johns Hopkins University Press | |
| Queensland Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Don Watson | The Bush : Travels in the Heart of Australia | Penguin |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Non-fiction | Alan Atkinson | The Europeans in Australia: Volume Three: Nation | Oxford University Press |
Poetry[edit]
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Elder Award[20] | Cathy Altmann | Circumnavigation | Poetica Christi Press |
| Mary Gilmore Award[21] | Not awarded | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[22] | David Malouf | Earth Hour | University of Queensland Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Jill Jones | The Beautiful Anxiety | Puncher and Wattmann |
Drama[edit]
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Script | Jennifer Kent | The Babadook | Causeway Films |
| Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Award | Neil Levi | Kin | Sydney Theatre Company |
| Fellowship | Tommy Murphy |
Deaths[edit]
- 28 January — Lionel Gilbert, historian, author, and academic, (born 1924)[23]
- 29 January — Colleen McCullough, novelist (born 1937)[24]
- 13 February — Faith Bandler, author and civil rights activist (born 1918)[25]
- 23 February — James Aldridge, novelist (born 1918)[26]
- 20 March — Malcolm Fraser, politician and author (born 1930)[27]
- 23 March — Alan Seymour, playwright (born 1927)[28]
- 20 May — J. S. Harry, poet (born 1939)[29]
- 20 August — Veronica Brady, poet and critic (born 1929)[30]
- 4 October — Nan Hunt, children's writer who also wrote as N. L. Ray (born 1918)[31]
See also[edit]
- 2015 in Australia
- 2015 in literature
- 2015 in poetry
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of years in literature
- List of Australian literary awards
References[edit]
- ^ "Austlit — Resistance by John Birmingham". Austlit. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
- ^ National Literary Awards Results 2015 (PDF). Fellowship of Australian Writers Victoria. 2015. p. 15.
- ^ "Austlit — Melbourne Prize". Austlit. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
- ^ ""London wins 2015 Patrick White Literary Award"". Books+Publishing, 29 October 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ^ "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 Stella Prize — 2015"". The Stella prize. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2015". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- ^ "Middleton wins 2015 Vogel". Books+Publishing. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b c ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2015"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Miles Franklin Literary Award: Sofie Laguna wins for novel The Eye Of The Sheep". ABC News, 23 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
- ^ ""Prime Minister's Literary Awards - Shortlist and winners: 2021-2008"". Creative Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ ""Rejected 32 times, The Snow Kimono by Mark Henshaw wins NSW Premier's Literary Award"". Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ ""2015 Queensland Literary Awards"". The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ ""The Crime Writers' Association - Past Winners"". CWA. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Announcing the 15th Davitt Awards' Results for Best Crime Books". Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Awards: Hugo and Ned Kelly Winners". Shelf Awareness. 24 August 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Austlit — Anne Elder Award". Austlit. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
- ^ ""Don Watson wins Book of the Year in 2015 NSW Premier's Literary Awards with a grand and gloomy portrait of The Bush"". The Age, 18 May 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ "OBITUARY: Dr Lionel Gilbert OAM 1924-2015". Northern Daily Leader. Fairfax Regional Media. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (29 January 2015). "Colleen McCullough, Author of 'The Thorn Birds', Dies at 77". New York Times. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
- ^ "Political activist and writer Faith Bandler AC dies aged 96". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- ^ "Remembering James Aldridge". Text Publishing. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Malcolm Fraser (1930-2015)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- ^ Gilbert, W. Stephen (1 April 2015). "Alan Seymour obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
- ^ Stasko, Nicolette (4 June 2015). "JS Harry, the virtuoso poet who took her curious rabbit on world discovery tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Veronica Brady (1929-2015)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ "Nan Hunt (1918-2015)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.
 Years in Australian literature (1855–present) | |
|---|---|
| 19th century | |
| 20th century |
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| 21st century | |