This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2000.

Events

* ''

Drylands Drylands are defined by a scarcity of water. Drylands are zones where precipitation is balanced by evaporation from surfaces and by transpiration by plants (evapotranspiration). The United Nations Environment Program defines drylands as tropical ...

'' by

Thea Astley Thea Beatrice May Astley (25 August 1925 – 17 August 2004) was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958. At the time of her death, she had won more Miles Franklin ...

and ''

Benang ''Benang: From the Heart'' is a 1999 Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Kim Scott. The award was shared with ''Drylands'' by Thea Astley. Context of Novel One of the main contexts in the novel deals with the process of " ...

'' by

Kim Scott Kim Scott (born 18 February 1957) is an Australian novelist of Aboriginal Australian ancestry. He is a descendant of the Noongar people of Western Australia. Biography Scott was born in Perth in 1957 and is the eldest of four siblings with a ...

were joint winners of the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

Major publications

Novels

* Peter Carey, ''

True History of the Kelly Gang ''True History of the Kelly Gang'' is a novel by Australian writer Peter Carey, based loosely on the history of the Kelly Gang. It was first published in Brisbane by the University of Queensland Press in 2000. It won the 2001 Booker Prize and ...

'' * Rodney Hall, ''

The Day We Had Hitler Home ''The Day We Had Hitler Home'' is a 2000 novel by the Australian author Rodney Hall. Awards and nominations *Miles Franklin Literary Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the hig ...

'' *

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

, '' Conditions of Faith'' *

Frank Moorhouse Frank Thomas Moorhouse (21 December 1938 – 26 June 2022) was an Australian writer. He won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing. His work has been published in the United Kingdom, ...

, ''

Dark Palace ''Dark Palace'' is a novel by the Australian author Frank Moorhouse that won the 2001 Miles Franklin Literary Award. The novel forms the second part of the author's "Edith Trilogy", following ''Grand Days'', which was published in 1993; and p ...

Short story anthologies

Carmel Bird Carmel Bird (born 1940) is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and essays. She has written books on the art of writing, and has edited anthologies of essays and stories. In 2016, she was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Writing ...

(editor), ''The Penguin Century of Australian Stories''

Poetry

Dorothy Hewett Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author, and a romantic feminist icon. In writing and in her life, Hewett was an experimenter. As her circumstances and beliefs changed, she progressed ...

and John Kinsela, ''Wheatlands''

Children's and young adult fiction

Jaclyn Moriarty Jaclyn Moriarty (born 1968 in Perth) is an Australian novelist, most known for her young adult literature. She is a recipient of the Davitt Award and the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction. Biography Moriarty was raised in the north-west ...

, '' Feeling Sorry for Celia'' *

Sonya Hartnett Sonya Louise Hartnett (born 1968) is an Australian author of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. She has been called "the finest Australian writer of her generation". For her career contribution to "children's and young adult literat ...

, '' Thursday's Child'' *

James Moloney James "Jim" Moloney (born 20 September 1954) is an Australian children's author. A prolific writer whose books span an age range from seven- to seventeen-year-olds, he is best known for his young adult novels. He has been nominated and won awa ...

, '' Touch Me'' * John Marsden, ''

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...

'' *

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 1973) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated film adaptation of a 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. Other books he has written and illustrated inc ...

, ''

The Lost Thing ''The Lost Thing'' is a picture book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan that was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning animated short film. Plot Set in the near future, a dystopian Melbourne, Australia, ''The Lost Thing'' is a story abou ...

Plays

Hannie Rayson Hannie Rayson (born 1957) is an Australian playwright and newspaper columnist. She is recognised as one of Australia's most significant playwrights. Biography Rayson was born in Melbourne, Victoria and graduated from the University of Melbourne ...

, ''Life After George'' *

David Williamson David Keith Williamson Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australians, Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Vi ...

**'' Face to Face'' **''

The Great Man ''The Great Man'' is a 1956 American film noir drama film directed by and starring José Ferrer. The screenplay was written by Ferrer and Al Morgan, Morgan's novel of the same name the source material. It was loosely based on the controversial ...

Non-fiction

* Brian Matthews, ''A Fine and Private Place'' *

Wendy McCarthy Wendy Elizabeth McCarthy (born 22 July 1941 in , New South Wales) is an Australian businesswoman, activist and former university administrator. McCarthy has worked for reform across the public, private and community sectors, in education, fami ...

, ''Don't Fence Me In'' * Margaret Scott, ''Changing Countries: On moving from one island to another''

Honours

Ray Parkin Raymond Edward Parkin (6 November 191019 June 2005) was an Australian naval seaman, writer, draftsman, artist and historian. He is noted for his memoirs of World War II (including his time as a prisoner-of-war), and for a major work on James Co ...

, , "for service to Australian war literature through autobiographical works, and to historical research as author of ''HM Bark Endeavour''

Deaths

A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

) of deaths in 2000 of Australian literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including year of birth. * 4 March – Michael Noonan, novelist and radio scriptwriter (born 1921) * 11 March –

Gerald Glaskin Gerald Glaskin (G. M. Glaskin) (16 December 1923 – 11 March 2000) was an Australian author. Biography Early life Gerald Marcus Glaskin was born on 16 December 1923 in North Perth in Western Australia. He attended Perth Modern School and se ...

, writer (born 1923) * 17 March – Jack Davis, playwright, poet and Indigenous rights campaigner (born 1917) * 6 May –

Elizabeth O'Conner Elizabeth O'Conner (1913 – 6 May 2000), born under the name Barbara Willard Lowe, was an Australian novelist. Elizabeth O'Conner was born in Dunedoo in New South Wales. After a childhood spent in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains region of New ...

, novelist (born 1913) * 25 May –

Elizabeth Durack Elizabeth Durack Clancy CMG, OBE (6 July 1915 – 25 May 2000) was a Western Australian artist and writer. Early life Born in the Perth suburb of Claremont on 6 July 1915, she was a daughter of Kimberley pioneer, Michael Patrick Durack ...

, artist and writer (born 1915) * 22 June – John Joseph Jones, poet, folk singer, musician, playwright and theatre director (born 1930) * 25 June –

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award. Biography Judith Wright was born in Armidale, New Sou ...

, poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights (born 1915) * 3 July –

Nancy Cato Nancy Fotheringham Cato (11 March 19173 July 2000) was an Australian writer who published more than twenty historical novels, biographies and volumes of poetry. Cato is also known for her work campaigning on environmental and conservation issu ...

, historical novelist, biographer and poet (born 1917) * 13 July –

A. D. Hope Alec Derwent Hope (21 July 190713 July 2000) was an Australian poet and essayist known for his satirical slant. He was also a critic, teacher and academic. He was referred to in an American journal as "the 20th century's greatest 18th-centur ...

, poet and essayist (born 1907) * 10 August –

Clement Semmler Clement Semmler OBE, AM (23 December 1914 – 10 August 2000), often referred to as Clem Semmler, was an Australian author, literary critic, broadcaster and radio and television executive. Early life and education Semmler was born Clement Wil ...

, author, literary critic, broadcaster and radio and television executive (born 1914) * 17 August – Leslie Rees, children's writer and dramatist (born 1905) * 1 November –

Ian Moffitt Ian Moffitt (31 July 1926 – 1 November 2000) was an Australian journalist and novelist best known for his best-selling novel ''The Retreat Of Radiance''. He headed News Limited bureau in New York in the early 1960s and was an outstanding fea ...

, journalist and novelist (born 1926)

References

{{Years in Australian literature 2000 in Australia Australian literature by year 20th-century Australian literature 2000 in literature