2016_in_Australian_literature
2016 in Australian literature
Literature-related events in Australia during the year of 2016
This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2016.
Literary fiction
- Melissa Ashley – The Birdman's Wife[1]
- Georgia Blain – Between a Wolf and a Dog[2]
- Hannah Kent – The Good People
- Heather Rose – The Museum of Modern Love
- Josephine Wilson – Extinctions
Children's and young adult fiction
- Trace Balla – Rockhopping
- Maxine Beneba Clarke – The Patchwork Bike
- Georgia Blain – Special[3]
- Andy Griffiths – The Tree House Fun Book and The 78-Storey Treehouse
- Zana Fraillon – The Bone Sparrow
- Tania McCartney – Smile/Cry: A Beginner's Book of Feelings
- Shivaun Plozza – Frankie
- Richard Roxburgh – Artie and the Grime Wave
- Shaun Tan – Tales from Outer Suburbia
- Claire Zorn – One Would Think the Deep
Crime
- Peter Corris – That Empty Feeling[4]
- Candice Fox and James Patterson – Never Never[5]
- Jane Harper – The Dry
- Emily Maguire – An Isolated Incident[6]
- Barry Maitland – Slaughter Park[7]
- Adrian McKinty – Rain Dogs[8]
- David Whish-Wilson – Old Scores[9]
Science fiction and fantasy
- Alison Croggon – The Bone Queen[10]
- Juliet Marillier – Den of Wolves[11]
- Anthony O'Neill – The Dark Side[12]
- C. S. Pacat – Kings Rising[13]
- Lian Hearn – Emperor of the Eight Islands[14]
- Angela Slatter – Vigil[15]
Poetry
- John Kinsella (poet) – Drowning in Wheat
- Susan Varga – Rupture: Poems 2012–2015
Biographies
- Deng Thiak Adut with Ben McKelvey – Songs of a War Boy: My Story
- Julia Baird – Victoria: The Queen
- Jimmy Barnes –Working Class Boy
- Mark Colvin – Light and Shadow: Memoirs of a Spy's Son
- Suzanne Falkiner – Mick: A Life of Randolph Stow
- Stan Grant – Talking to My Country
- Cory Taylor – Dying: A Memoir
Non-fiction
- Richard Fidler – Ghost Empire
- Peter FitzSimons – Victory at Villers-Bretonneux: Why a French town will never forget the Anzacs
- Clementine Ford – Fight Like A Girl
- Helen Garner – Everywhere I Look
- David Hunt – True Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia Volume 2
- Lynne Kelly – The Memory Code
- Tara Moss – Speaking Out: A 21st Century Handbook For Women and Girls
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement
Literary
More information Award, Author ...
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALS Gold Medal[17] | Brenda Niall | Mannix | Text Publishing |
| Colin Roderick Award[18] | Gail Jones | A Guide to Berlin | Random House |
| Nita Kibble Literary Award[19] | Fiona Wright | Small Acts of Disappearance | Giramondo Publishing |
| Stella Prize[20] | Charlotte Wood | The Natural Way of Things | Allen & Unwin |
| Victorian Prize for Literature[21] | Mary Anne Butler | Broken | Currency Press |
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Fiction
National
More information Award, Author ...
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[22] | Katherine Brabon | The Memory Artist | Allen & Unwin |
| Barbara Jefferis Award[23] | Peggy Frew | Hope Farm | Scribe |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[24] | Charlotte Wood | The Natural Way of Things | Allen & Unwin |
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[24] | Lucy Treloar | Salt Creek | Macmillan |
| Miles Franklin Award[25] | A. S. Patrić | Black Rock White City | Transit Lounge |
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards[26] | Lisa Gorton (joint winner) | The Life of Houses | Giramondo |
| Charlotte Wood (joint winner) | The Natural Way of Things | Allen & Unwin | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[27] | Merlinda Bobis | Locust Girl: A Lovesong | Spinifex Press |
| Queensland Literary Awards[28] | Georgia Blain | Between a Wolf and a Dog | Scribe |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award[21] | Mireille Juchau | The World Without Us | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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Children and young adult
National
More information Award, Category ...
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Fiona Wood | Cloudwish | Macmillan Australia |
| Younger Readers | Morris Gleitzman | Soon | Viking Books | |
| Picture Book | Nadia Wheatley, text
Armin Greder, illus. |
Flight | Windy Hollow Books | |
| Early Childhood | Anna Walker | Mr Huff | Penguin Random House | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Rebecca Young & Matt Ottley | Teacup | Scholastic Australia |
| Young People's | Alice Pung | Laurinda | Black Inc. | |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Young Adult Fiction | Marlee Jane Ward | Welcome to Orphancorp | Xou Pty Ltd |
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Crime and mystery
National
More information Award, Category ...
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davitt Award[29] | Novel | Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | Echo Publishing |
| Young adult novel | Fleur Ferris | Risk | Random House | |
| Children's novel | R. A Spratt | Friday Barnes, Under Suspicion | Random House | |
| True crime | Alecia Simmonds | Wild Man | Affirm Press | |
| Debut novel | Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | Echo Publishing | |
| Fleur Ferris | Risk | Random House | ||
| Readers' choice | Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | Echo Publishing | |
| Ned Kelly Award[29] | Novel | Dave Warner | Before It Breaks | Fremantle Press |
| First novel | Emma Viskic | Resurrection Bay | Echo Publishing | |
| True crime | Gideon Haigh | Certain Admissions | Penguin | |
| Lifetime acheivement | Not awarded | |||
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Science fiction
More information Award, Category ...
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurealis Award | Sf Novel | Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff | Gemima: The Illuminae Files 2 | Allen & Unwin |
| Sf Short Story | Samantha Murray | "Of Sight, of Mind, of Heart" | Clarkesworld 122 | |
| Fantasy Novel | Jay Kristoff | Nevernight | Harper Voyager | |
| Fantasy Short Story | Thoraiya Dyer | "Where the Pelican Builds Her Nest" | In Your Face (FableCroft Publishing) | |
| Horror Novel | Kaaron Warren | The Grief Hole | IFWG Publishing Australia | |
| Horror Short Story | TR Napper | "Flame Trees" | Asimov’s Science Fiction | |
| Young Adult Novel | Alison Goodman | Lady Helen and the Dark Days Pact | HarperCollins Publishers | |
| Young Adult Short Story | Leife Shallcross | "Pretty Jennie Greenteeth" | Strange Little Girls (Belladonna Publishing) | |
| Ditmar Award | Novel | Lisa L. Hannett | Lament for the Afterlife | ChiZine Publications |
| Best Novella or Novelette | Sean Williams | "Of Sorrow and Such" | Of Sorrow and Such (Tor.com) | |
| Best Short Story | Kathleen Jennings | "A Hedge of Yellow Roses" | Hear Me Roar (Ticonderoga Publications) | |
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Non-fiction
More information Award, Category ...
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[24] | Non-Fiction | Magda Szubanski | Reckoning: A Memoir | Text Publishing |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Magda Szubanski | Reckoning: A Memoir | Text Publishing |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Stuart Macintyre | Australia’s Boldest Experiment: War and Reconstruction in the 1940s | NewSouth Books |
| Community and Regional History | Tanya Evans | Fractured Families: Life on the Margins in Colonial New South Wales | University of New South Wales Press | |
| General History | Ann McGrath | Illicit Love: Interracial Sex and Marriage in the United States and Australia | Nebraska University Press | |
| Queensland Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Fiona Wright | Small Acts of Disappearance: Essays on Hunger | Giramondo |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Non-fiction | Gerald Murnane | Something for the Pain | Text Publishing |
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Poetry
More information Award, Author ...
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Elder Award[30] | John Hawke | Aurelia | Cordite Books |
| Mary Gilmore Award[31] | Benedict Andrews | Lens Flare | Pitt Street Poetry |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[32] | Joanne Burns | brush | Giramondo |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Alan Loney | Crankhandle | Cordite Books |
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Drama
More information Award, Category ...
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Script | Cate Shortland | Deadline Gallipoli, Episode 4: "The Letter" | Matchbox Pictures & Full Clip Productions |
| Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Award | Lewis Treston | Hot Tub | Sydney Theatre Company |
| Fellowship | Andrew Bovell |
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- 31 January – David Lake, science fiction novelist (born 1929 in India)[33]
- 3 February – Dimitris Tsaloumas, poet (born 1921 in Greece)[34]
- 19 February – Kim Gamble, illustrator of children's books (born 1952)[35]
- 3 April – Bob Ellis, writer, journalist, filmmaker, and political commentator (born 1942)[36]
- 20 April – Dame Leonie Judith Kramer, author, editor and academic (born 1924)[37]
- 16 May – Gillian Mears, short story writer and novelist (born 1964)[38]
- 5 July – Cory Taylor, writer (born 1955)[39]
- 15 July – Billy Marshall Stoneking, poet, playwright, filmmaker and teacher (born 1947 in Orlando, Florida)[40]
- 4 September – Richard Neville, writer and social commentator (born 1941)[41]
- 8 September – Inga Clendinnen, author and historian (born 1934)[42]
- 3 October – Narelle Oliver, award-winning children's author-illustrator, artist and print maker (born 1960)[43]
- 19 November – Margaret Paice, children's writer and illustrator (born 1920)[44]
- 9 December – Georgia Blain, novelist, journalist and biographer (born 1964)[45]
- 12 December –
- Anne Deveson, writer, broadcaster, filmmaker and social commentator (born 1930 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)[46]
- Shirley Hazzard, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (died in Manhattan, New York)(born 1931)[47]
- "The Birdman's Wife by Melissa Ashley". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Between a Wolf and a Dog by Georgia Blain". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Special by Georgia Blain". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Austlit — That Empty Feeling by Peter Corris". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "Austlit — Never Never by Candice Fox and James Patterson". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "Austlit — An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "Austlit — Slaughter Park by Barry Maitland". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "Austlit — Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "Austlit — Old Scores by David Whish-Wilson". Austlit. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
- "The Bone Queen by Alison Croggon". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Den of Wolves by Juliet Marillier". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "The Dark Side by Anthony O'Neill". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Kings Rising by C. S. Pacat". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Emperor of the Eight Islands by Lian Hearn". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- "Vigil by Angela Slatter". ISFDB. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- Jason Steger (17 October 2016). "Carmel Bird wins the $20,000 Patrick White Award". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 September 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.
- ""Charlotte Wood's The Natural Way of Things wins $50,000 Stella prize"". The Guardian, 19 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- "Victorian Premier's Literary Awards 2016". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
- "Brabon wins 2016 Vogel Award". Books+Publishing. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ""Barbara Jefferis Award"". Australian Society of Authors. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ""Indie Book Awards - Winners 2016"". Australian Independent Booksellers. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- Lucy Clark (26 August 2016). "'The most momentous news of my life': AS Patric wins Miles Franklin award". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ""Prime Minister's Literary Awards - Shortlist and winners: 2021-2008"". Creative Australia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ""Locust Girl by Merlinda Bobis wins Christina Stead prize for fiction"". The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ""2016 Queensland Literary Awards"". The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- Steger, Jason (26 August 2016). "It's a crime spree as Emma Viskic snaffles four writing awards". The Age. 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.
- "2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards announced". Australian Arts Review. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- "David J. Lake (1929-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- "Dimitris Tsaloumas Death Notice". The Age. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- "Kim Gamble (1952-2016)". NCACL. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- "Bob Ellis (1942-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- "Leonie KRAMER Death Notice". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- "Gillian Mears (1964-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Cory Taylor (1955-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Billy Marshall-Stoneking (1947-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Richard Neville (1941-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- "Inga Clendinnen (1934-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Narelle Oliver (1960-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Margaret Dawn Cantle (1920-2016)". Te Tairaawhiti Whakapapa. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- "Georgia Blain (1964-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Anne Deveson (1930-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
- "Shirley Hazzard (1931-2016)". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.