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2008 in Australian literature

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This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2008.

Events

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  • "The Bulletin" magazine publishes its last issue, the first was in 1880[1]
  • The Australia Council for the Arts announces Christopher Koch and Gerald Murnane as recipients of its 2008 emeritus writers awards[2]
  • The Australian Federal Government announces funding for a new chair of Australian Literature based at the University of Western Australia[3]
  • Clunes, Victoria, holds its second Booktown weekend[4]
  • The first Crime and Justice Festival in held in Melbourne over the weekend of 19–20 July[5]
  • Australia wins the right to host the 2010 World SF convention in Melbourne[6]
  • A number of previously unknown Banjo Paterson poems are found in an old cash book dating back to the Boer War[7]
  • UNESCO names Melbourne as its second City of Literature, after Edinburgh received the first such award in 2004[8]
  • Caro Llewellyn, a former director of the Sydney Writers' Festival and PEN World Voices Festival in New York, is appointed as director of the new Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas (now called the Wheeler Centre) in Melbourne[9]
  • The Indie Book Awards are presented for the first time[10]

Major publications

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Literary fiction

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Children's and Young Adult fiction

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Crime and Mystery

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Romance

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  • Anne Gracie – The Stolen Princess
  • Stephanie Laurens – The Edge of Desire
  • Margaret Leigh – The Heart Divided
  • Estelle Pinney – Burnt Sunshine

Science Fiction and Fantasy

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Drama

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Poetry

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See also 2008 in poetry

  • Robert Adamson – The Golden Bird: New and Selected Poems, winner of the C.J. Dennis Prize for Poetry in the 2009 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards, shortlisted for the 2009 Age Book of the Year Awards
  • Michael Brennan – Unanimous Night
  • David Brooks – The Balcony, finalist for the 2008 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3669-3
  • Elizabeth Hodgson – Skin Painting, winner of the 2007 David Unaipon Award; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3677-8
  • Sarah Holland-Batt – Aria
  • Clive James – Opal Sunset: Selected Poems, 1958–2008
  • John Kinsella – Divine Comedy, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3666-2
  • Anthony Lawrence – Bark, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3664-8
  • David Malouf – Revolving Days, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3635-8
  • Peter Rose editor – The Best Australian Poems 2008 Black Inc., ISBN 978-1-86395-303-0

Non-fiction

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Biographies

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Awards and honours

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Lifetime achievement

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Award Author
Christopher Brennan Award Not awarded
Patrick White Award[26] John Romeril

Literary

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Award Author Title Publisher
The Age Book of the Year[27] Don Watson American Journeys Random House
ALS Gold Medal[28] Michelle de Kretser The Lost Dog Allen & Unwin
Colin Roderick Award[29] Malcolm Knox Jamaica Allen & Unwin
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] Tim Winton Breath Hamish Hamilton
Nita Kibble Literary Award[31] Carol Lefevre Nights in the Asylum Vintage

Fiction

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International

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Award Region Category Author Title Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize[32] SE Asia and South Pacific Best Novel Steven Carroll The Time We Have Taken HarperCollins
Best First Novel Karen Foxlee The Anatomy of Wings University of Queensland Press

National

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Award Author Title Publisher
ABC Fiction Award[33] Kain Massin God for the Killing ABC Books
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[34] Roger McDonald The Ballad of Desmond Kale Vintage Books
The Age Book of the Year Award[35] Tim Winton Breath Hamish Hamilton
Australia-Asia Literary Award David Malouf The Complete Stories Knopf
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[36] Andrew Cromme Document Z Allen and Unwin
Barbara Jefferis Award[37] Rhyll McMaster Feather Man Brandl and Schlesinger
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[30] Tim Winton Breath Hamish Hamilton
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[30] Toni Jordan Addition Text Publishing
Miles Franklin Award[38] Steven Carroll The Time We Have Taken HarperCollins
Nita Kibble Literary Award Carol Lefevre Nights in the Asylum Vintage Books
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[39] Steven Conte The Zookeeper's War HarperCollins
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[40] Michelle de Kretser The Lost Dog Allen & Unwin
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Helen Garner The Spare Room Text Publishing
South Australian Premier's Awards Roger McDonald The Ballad of Desmond Kale Vintage Books
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Helen Garner The Spare Room Text Publishing
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Stephen Scourfield Other Country Allen & Unwin

Children and Young Adult

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National

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Aurealis Award Young Adult Novel Melina Marchetta Finnikin of the Rock Viking Press
Young Adult Short Story Trent Jamieson "Cracks" Shiny, magazine
Children's Book of the Year Award[41] Older Readers Sonya Hartnett The Ghost's Child Viking Books
Younger Readers Carole Wilkinson Dragon Moon Black Dog Books
Picture Book Matt Ottley Requiem for a Beast Lothian
Early Childhood Aaron Blabey Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley Viking Books
Davitt Award Young Adult Novel Mandy Sayer The Night has a Thousand Eyes Fourth Estate
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] Children's & YA Shaun Tan Tales from Outer Suburbia Allen & Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Children's Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas The Peasant Prince Viking Books
Young People's James Roy Town University of Queensland Press
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Children's Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas The Peasant Prince Viking Books
Young Adult Matt Ottley Requiem for a Beast Lothian
South Australian Premier's Awards Children's Michael Gerard Bauer Don't Call Me Ishmael Omnibus Books
Victorian Premier's Literary Award Young Adult Fiction Brigid Lowry Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful Allen and Unwin
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Children's Liz Lofthouse and Robert Ingpen Ziba Came on a Boat Viking Books
Writing for Young Adults Ken Spillman Love is a UFO Pan Macmillan

Crime and Mystery

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National

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Davitt Award[42] Novel Katherine Howell Frantic Pan Macmillan
Young adult novel Mandy Sayer The Night Has a Thousand Eyes Fourth Estate
True crime Janet Fife-Yeomans Killing Jodie Penguin
Readers' Choice Lindy Cameron Scarlet Stiletto: The First Cut Mira Books
Ned Kelly Awards[43] Novel Michael Robotham Shatter Sphere Books
First novel Chris Womersley The Low Road Scribe
True crime Evan McHugh Red Centre, Dark Heart Penguin
Lifetime achievement Marele Day

Science fiction

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Aurealis Award SF Novel K. A. Bedford Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
SF Short Story Simon Brown "The Empire" Dreaming Again, Voyager
Fantasy Novel Alison Goodman The Two Pearls of Wisdom HarperCollins
Fantasy Short Story Cat Sparks "Sammarynda Deep" Paper Cities, Senses 5 Press
Horror Novel John Harwood The Seance Random House
Horror Short Story Kirstyn McDermott "Painlessness" Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2
Ditmar Award Novel Sean Williams Saturn Returns Orbit Books
Novella/Novelette Cat Sparks "Lady of Adestan" Orb #7
Short Story Rick Kennett "The Dark and What It Said" Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #28
Collected Work Jonathan Strahan ed. The New Space Opera HarperCollins
Russell B. Farr ed. Fantastic Wonder Stories Ticonderoga Publications

Poetry

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Award Author Title Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[34] John Tranter Urban Myths: 210 Poems University of Queensland Press
The Age Book of the Year J. S. Harry Not Finding Wittgenstein Giramondo Publishing
Anne Elder Award[44] Sarah Holland-Batt Aria University of Queensland Press
Sandy Fitts View from the Lucky Hotel Five Islands Press
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry[45] Alan Wearne The Australian Popular Songbook Giramondo Publishing
Mary Gilmore Prize[46] Nathan Shepherdson Sweeping the Light Back into the Mirror University of Queensland Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Kathryn Lomer Two Kinds of Silence University of Queensland Press
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards David Malouf Typewriter Music University of Queensland Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Award Lisa Gorton Press Release Giramondo Publishing
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Hal Colebatch The Light River Connorcourt Publishing

Drama

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Award Author Title Publisher
Patrick White Playwrights' Award Nicki Bloom Bloodwood

Non-Fiction

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[34] Non-Fiction Jacob Rosenberg Sunrise West Brandl and Schlesinger
The Age Book of the Year Non-fiction Don Watson American Journeys Random House
Children's Book of the Year Award Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Frances Watts, illus David Legge Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books ABC Books
Davitt Award True crime Janet Fife-Yeomans Killing Jodie Penguin Books
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[30] Non-Fiction Don Watson American Journeys Random House
National Biography Award[47] Biography Philip Dwyer Napoleon: The Path To Power 1769–1799 Bloomsbury Publishing
Graham Seal These Few Lines: A Convict Story – The Lost Lives of Myra & William Sykes ABC Books
Prime Minister's Literary Awards Non-fiction Philip Jones Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers Wakefield Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Non-fiction Tom Griffiths Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica University of New South Wales Press
New South Wales Premier's History Awards Australian History Paul Ham Vietnam: The Australian War HarperCollins
Community and Regional History Dianne Johnson, in collaboration with the residents of the Gully and their descendants Sacred Waters: the story of the Blue Mountains Gully Traditional Owners Halstead Press
General History Michael A. McDonnell The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia University of North Carolina Press
Young People's Robert Lewis and Tim Gurry Australians in the Vietnam War Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Non-fiction Craig Sherborne Muck Black Inc
History Professor Marilyn Lake and Professor Henry Reynolds Drawing the Global Colour Line Melbourne University Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Award Non-fiction Meredith Hooper The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's

Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica

Allen & Unwin
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Non-fiction Antonio Buti Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience University of Western Australia Press
Western Australian history Ruth Marchant James Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction Town of Cottesloe

Deaths

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Bulletin shuts down after 128 years
  2. ^ "Critically acclaimed writers honoured with top literary prize". Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  3. ^ "Government funds new Chair in Australian Literature". Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  4. ^ The book of regenesis
  5. ^ Crime and Justice Festival
  6. ^ Aussiecon 4
  7. ^ Poet's works discovered in war diary
  8. ^ Write at the centre
  9. ^ Centre for writing and books gains services of a mind much travelled
  10. ^ ""Indie Book Awards"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait by K. A. Bedford". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Red Queen by Honey Brown". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Fivefold by Nathan Burrage". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  15. ^ "The Twisted Citadel by Sara Douglass". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  16. ^ "The Chaos Crystal by Jennifer Fallon". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Deep Water by Pamela Freeman". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  18. ^ "The Dragon Queens by Traci Harding". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch by Simon Haynes". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Heir to Sevenwaters by Juliet Marillier". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  21. ^ "The Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  22. ^ "Earth Ascendant by Sean Williams". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  23. ^ "The Pig Iron People by John Doyle". Austlit. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Ninety by Joanna Murray-Smith". Austlit. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  25. ^ "On Rage by Germaine Greer". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners". Austlit. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  27. ^ Steger, Jason (22 August 2008). "US travel memoir wins Age Book of the Year Award". The Age. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  28. ^ "ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  30. ^ a b c d e ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2012 & prior"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Kibble Literary Award". Australian National University. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  32. ^ ""2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize"". Literary Awards. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  33. ^ "ABC Fiction Award announces 2008 winner Accessed: 2008-06-28". Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  34. ^ a b c "Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  35. ^ Steger, Jason (22 August 2008). "US travel memoir wins Age Book of the Year Award". The Age. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2024.
  36. ^ ""Austlit – Australian/Vogel Award 2006-2008"". Austlit. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  37. ^ ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  38. ^ "Miles Franklin Award winner 2008 - Steven Carroll". ABC Radio National. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  39. ^ ""Prime Minister's Literary Awards - Shortlist and winners: 2021-2008"". Creative Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  40. ^ ""Lost Dog wins NSW literary gong"". AAP Bulletin Wire 2, 19 May 2008. ProQuest 455573294. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  41. ^ ""CBCA – Winners 2008"". CBCA. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  42. ^ ""LibraryThing: Davitt Awards 2008"". LibraryThing. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  43. ^ "2008 Ned Kelly Award Winners". Australian Crime Writers. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  44. ^ 2008 National Literary Awards Results Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ "Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry prize (2008-2012)". Austlit. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  46. ^ "Mary Gilmore Award". Association for the Study of Australian Literature. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  47. ^ ""National Biography Award – Past Winners"". State Library of NSW. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  48. ^ "Nancy Phelan (1913-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  49. ^ "Alan Collins (1928-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  50. ^ "John Button (1933-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  51. ^ "Pamela Bone (1940-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  52. ^ "John Hooker (1932-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  53. ^ "Justina Williams (1916-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  54. ^ "Patricia Rolfe (1920-2008)". Austlit. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  55. ^ "Eleanor Spence (1928-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  56. ^ "Jacob G. Rosenberg (1922-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  57. ^ "Ivan Southall (1921-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  58. ^ "Dorothy Porter (1954-2008)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.

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