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

Events

*"The Bulletin" magazine publishes its last issue, the first was in 1880
/ref> *The Australia Council for the Arts announces

Christopher Koch Christopher John Koch AO (16 July 1932 – 23 September 2013) was an Australian novelist, known for his 1978 novel '' The Year of Living Dangerously'', which was adapted into an award-winning film. He twice won the Miles Franklin Award (for ' ...

and

Gerald Murnane Gerald Murnane (born 25 February 1939) is an Australian writer, perhaps best known for his novel ''The Plains'' (1982). ''The New York Times'', in a big feature published on 27 March 2018, called him "the greatest living English-language writer ...

as recipients of its 2008 emeritus writers awards *The Australian Federal Government announces funding for a new chair of Australian Literature based at the University of Western Australia *

Clunes, Victoria Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. At the 2016 census it had a population of 1,728. History Pre-colonial The Djadja Wurrung people were the first inhabitants of the region ...

, holds its second Booktown weekendThe book of regenesis
/ref> *The first Crime and Justice Festival in held in Melbourne over the weekend of 19–20 JulyCrime and Justice Festival
/ref> *Australia wins the right to host the 2010 World SF convention in MelbourneAussiecon 4
/ref> *A number of previously unknown Banjo Paterson poems are found in an old cash book dating back to the Boer War
/ref> *UNESCO names Melbourne as its second

City of Literature UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The ''Network'' was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields. The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gas ...

, after Edinburgh received the first such award in 2004Write at the centre
/ref> *

Caro Llewellyn Caro Llewellyn (born 1965) is an Australian business executive, artistic director, festival manager and nonfiction writer. As of 2020, she is chief executive officer of the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne. Career Llewellyn is the daughter of Ri ...

, 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 The Wheeler Centre, originally Centre of Books, Writing and Ideas, is a literary and publishing centre founded as part of Melbourne's bid to be a Unesco Creative City of Literature, which designation it earned in 2008. It is named after its pat ...

) in MelbourneCentre for writing and books gains services of a mind much travelled
/ref>

Major publications

Literary fiction

Debra Adelaide Debra Adelaide (born 1958) is an Australian novelist, writer and academic. She teaches creative writing at the University of Technology Sydney. Biography Adelaide was born in Sydney and grew up in the Sutherland Shire. A contemporary of writers ...

– ''The Household Guide to Dying'' *

Murray Bail Murray Bail (born 22 September 1941) is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction. In 1980 he shared the Age Book of the Year award for his novel ''Homesickness.'' He was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He has lived most ...

– ''

The Pages The Pages is an island group in the Australian state of South Australia consisting of two small islands and a reef located in Backstairs Passage, a strait separating Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula. The island group has been loca ...

'' * Geraldine Brooks – ''

People of the Book People of the Book or Ahl al-kitāb ( ar, أهل الكتاب) is an Islamic term referring to those religions which Muslims regard as having been guided by previous revelations, generally in the form of a scripture. In the Quran they are ident ...

'' * Peter Carey – '' His Illegal Self'' *

Luke Davies Luke Davies (born 1962) is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are '' Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction'' (which was adapted for the screen in 2006) and the screenplay for the film '' Lion'', which e ...

– ''God of Speed'' *

Robert Drewe Robert Duncan Drewe (born 9 January 1943) is an Australian novelist, non-fiction and short story writer. Biography Robert Drewe was born on 9 January 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Perth. He grew ...

– ''The Rip'' * Richard Flanagan – '' Wanting'' * Helen Garner – '' The Spare Room'' *

Peter Goldsworthy Peter David Goldsworthy AM (born 12 October 1951) is an Australian writer and medical practitioner. He has won major awards for his short stories, poetry, novels, and opera libretti. Goldsworthy began his writing life as a poet, as described i ...

– ''Everything I Knew'' *

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for '' The Idea of Perfectio ...

– ''

The Lieutenant ''The Lieutenant'' is an American television series, the first created by Gene Roddenberry. It aired on NBC on Saturday evenings in the 1963–1964 television schedule. It was produced by Arena Productions, one of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's most ...

'' * Vicki Hastrich – ''The Great Arch'' *

Wendy James Wendy James (born 21 January 1966) is an English singer-songwriter most notable for her work with the pop band Transvision Vamp. Transvision Vamp Born in London to Norwegian parents, James was adopted soon after birth. She left home at the ag ...

– ''The Steele Diaries'' * Susan Johnson – ''Life in Seven Mistakes'' * Toni Jordan – ''Addition'' *

Sofie Laguna Sofie Laguna (born 1968) is an Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied law before deciding that being a lawyer was not for her. She has worked as an actor and is now a writer and playwright. She now lives in Melbourne. Awards ...

– ''One Foot Wrong'' * Nam Le – '' The Boat'' * Joan London – ''

The Good Parents ''The Good Parents'' is the second full-length novel written by Joan London. It was first published in 2008. The book concerns an eighteen-year-old girl, Maya de Jong, who moves to Melbourne and becomes involved in a relationship with her boss. ...

'' *

Louis Nowra Mark Doyle, better known by his stage name Louis Nowra, (born 12 December 1950) is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist. He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights. His works have been performed by all o ...

– ''

Ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...

'' * Kevin Rabelais – ''The Landscape of Desire'' * Claire Thomas – ''fugitive blue'' * Steve Toltz – ''

A Fraction of the Whole ''Fraction of the Whole'' is a 2008 novel by Steve Toltz. It follows three generations of the eccentric Dean family in Australia and the people who surround them. Characters Jasper Dean Jasper Dean is Martin Dean's illegitimate son and Terry D ...

'' * Ian Townsend – ''The Devil's Eye'' *

Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...

– '' The Slap'' *

Tim Winton Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. He has written novels, children's books, non-fiction books, and short stories. In 1997, he was named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and has won the Miles Fr ...

– ''

Breath Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen. All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular ...

'' *

Arnold Zable Arnold Zable (born 1947) is an Australian writer, novelist, storyteller and human rights advocate. His books include the memoir ''Jewels and Ashes'', three novels: ''Café Scheherazade'', ''Scraps of Heaven'', and ''Sea of Many Returns'', two co ...

– ''Sea of Many Returns''

Children's and Young Adult fiction

Isobelle Carmody Isobelle Jane Carmody (born 16 June 1958) is an Australian writer of science fiction, fantasy, children's literature, and young adult literature. She is recipient of the Aurealis Award for best children's fiction. Biography Isobelle Carmody wa ...

– ''The Stone Key'' * Kate Constable – ''Always Mackenzie'' *

Alison Croggon Alison Croggon (born 1962) is a contemporary Australian poet, playwright, fantasy novelist, and librettist. Life and career Born in the Transvaal, South Africa, Alison Croggon's family moved to England before settling in Australia, first in Bal ...

—''The Singing'' *

Mem Fox Merrion Frances "Mem" Fox, AM (born Merrion Frances Partridge; 5 March 1946) is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and ...

and

Helen Oxenbury Helen Gillian Oxenbury (born 1938) is an English illustrator and writer of children's picture books. She lives in North London. She has twice won the annual Kate Greenaway Medal, the British librarians' award for illustration and been runner-up ...

– ''Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes'' * Jackie French – ''A Rose for the Anzac Boys'' * Mark Greenwood and Frane Lessac – ''Simpson and His Donkey'' *

Jack Heath Jack Heath is an Australian writer of fiction for children and adults who is best known for the Danger, Scream, Liars and Timothy Blake series. He has been shortlisted for the ACT Book of the Year Award, CBCA Notable Book Award, Nottinghamshire ...

– ''Money Run'' * Simone Howell – ''Everything Beautiful'' * Catherine Jinks – ''Genius Squad'' * Maureen McCarthy – ''Somebody's Crying'' *

Melina Marchetta Carmelina Marchetta (born 25 March 1965) is an Australian writer and teacher. Marchetta is best known as the author of teen novels, '' Looking for Alibrandi'', ''Saving Francesca'' and '' On the Jellicoe Road''. She has twice been awarded the C ...

– ''Finnikin of the Rock'' *

Sophie Masson Sophie Masson is a French-Australian fantasy and children's author. Early life and education Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia of French parents who are of mixed ancestry (French, Basque, Spanish and Portuguese). Masson, the third in a fam ...

– ''The Case of the Diamond Shadow'' *

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the '' Old Kingdom'', '' Seventh Tower'' and '' Keys to the Kingdom'' series. He has frequently been asked if hi ...

– '' Superior Saturday'' * Penni Russon – ''The Indigo Girls'' *

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 ...

– ''Tales from Outer Suburbia'' * Lili Wilkinson – ''The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend'' * Sean Williams – ''Dust Devils''

Crime and Mystery

Peter Corris Peter Robert Corris (8 May 1942 – 30 August 2018) was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-w ...

– ''Open File'' * Leah Giarratano – ''Voodoo Doll'' *

Kerry Greenwood Kerry Isabelle Greenwood (born 1954) is an Australian author and lawyer. She has written many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted as the popular tele ...

– ''Murder on a Midsummer Night'' * Marion Halligan – ''Murder on the Apricot Coast'' * Jarad W. Henry – ''Blood Sunset'' * Katherine Howell – ''The Darkest Hour'' *

Barry Maitland Barry Maitland (born 1941 in Scotland) is an Australian author of crime fiction. After studying architecture at Cambridge, Maitland practised and taught in the UK before moving to Australia, where he became a Professor of Architecture at the ...

– ''Bright Air'' * P.D. Martin – ''Fan Mail'' * Camilla Nelson – ''Crooked'' * Alex Palmer – ''The Tattooed Man'' * Bronwyn Parry – ''As Darkness Falls'' *

Kel Robertson Kel Robertson is an Australian novelist who was born in the 1950s on the south coast of New South Wales. His novel ''Smoke & Mirrors'' shared the 2009 Ned Kelly Award for Best Novel, with ''Deep Water'' by Peter Corris. Robertson lived in Sydne ...

– ''

Smoke and Mirrors Smoke and mirrors is a classic technique in magical illusions that makes an entity appear to hover in empty space. It was documented as early as 1770 and spread widely after its use by the charlatan Johann Georg Schröpfer, who claimed the app ...

'' *

Michael Robotham Michael Robotham (born 9 November 1960) is an Australian crime fiction writer who has twice won the CWA Gold Dagger award for best novel and twice been shortlisted for the Edgar Award for best novel. His eldest child is Alexandra Hope Robotham, ...

– '' Shatter''

Romance

Anne Gracie Anne Gracie is an Australian author of historical romance novels. Her books have been shortlisted for the RITA Award and she has twice won the Australian Romance Writer of the Year award and National Readers Choice Award (USA). She lives in Melbo ...

– ''The Stolen Princess'' * Stephanie Laurens – ''The Edge of Desire'' * Margaret Leigh – ''The Heart Divided'' * Estelle Pinney – ''Burnt Sunshine''

Science Fiction and Fantasy

* K. A. Bedford – ''Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait'' *

Honey Brown Honey Brown (born 1972) is an Australian novelist who grew up in Campbell Town, Tasmania. She attended Campbell Town High School and Launceston College before moving to Victoria. In 2009 she was involved in a farming accident which left her p ...

– ''Red Queen'' * Nathan Burrage – ''Fivefold'' *

Sara Douglass Sara Warneke (2 June 1957 – 27 September 2011), better known by her pen name Sara Douglass, was an Australian fantasy writer who lived in Hobart, Tasmania. She was a recipient of the Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. Biography A ...

– ''The Twisted Citadel'' *

Greg Egan Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, ...

– ''Incandescence'' *

Jennifer Fallon Jennifer Fallon (born 1959) is an Australian author of fantasy and science fiction. She is also a businesswoman, trainer and business consultant. Jennifer has a master's degree from the Creative Arts faculty of QUT. A computer trainer and appli ...

– ''The Chaos Crystal'' *

Pamela Freeman Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for both adults and children. Most of her work is fantasy but she has also written mystery stories, science fiction, family dramas and non-fiction. Her first adult series, the ''Castings Trilo ...

– ''Deep Water'' * Alison Goodman – ''

The Two Pearls of Wisdom ''The Two Pearls of Wisdom'' (also known as ''Eon'', ''Eon: Dragoneye Reborn'', or ''Eon: Rise of the Dragoneye'') is a 2008 fantasy novel by Alison Goodman. It follows the story of Eon, who has potential to become a Dragoneye, being able to ...

'' * Traci Harding – ''The Dragon Queens'' *

Simon Haynes Simon Haynes is an Australian writer of speculative fiction novels and short stories, particularly the Hal Spacejock series. Haynes also uses his experience with computers to write software which he designs for himself and then shares for free ...

– ''Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch'' * Margo Lanagan – '' Tender Morsels'' * Fiona McIntosh – ''Rogue Agent'' *

Juliet Marillier Juliet Marillier (born 27 July 1948) is a New Zealand-born writer of fantasy, focusing predominantly on historical fantasy. Biography Juliet Marillier was educated at the University of Otago, where she graduated with a BA in languages and a ...

– ''Heir to Sevenwaters'' * K.E. Mills – ''The Accidental Sorcerer'' * Sean Williams – ''Earth Ascendent''

Drama

* John Doyle – ''The Pig Iron People'' * Tom Holloway – ''Beyond the Neck'' *

Joanna Murray-Smith Joanna Murray-Smith (born 17 April 1962) is a Melbourne-based Australian playwright, screenwriter, novelist, librettist and newspaper columnist. Life and career Murray-Smith was born in Mount Eliza, Victoria; her father was the literary editor ...

– ''Ninety''

Poetry

''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, * Elizabeth Hodgson – ''Skin Painting'', winner of the 2007 David Unaipon Award; University of Queensland Press, *

Sarah Holland-Batt Sarah Holland-Batt is a contemporary Australian poet, critic, and academic. Early life and education Born in Southport, Queensland, Sarah Holland-Batt grew up in Australia and Denver, Colorado. She was educated at the University of Queensland ...

– ''Aria'' *

Clive James Clive James (born Vivian Leopold James; 7 October 1939 – 24 November 2019) was an Australian critic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and lyricist who lived and worked in the United Kingdom from 1962 until his death in 2019.John Kinsella – ''Divine Comedy'', University of Queensland Press, * Anthony Lawrence – ''Bark'', University of Queensland Press, *

David Malouf David George Joseph Malouf AO (; born 20 March 1934) is an Australian poet, novelist, short story writer, playwright and librettist. Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008, Malouf has lectured at both the University of Que ...

– ''Revolving Days'', University of Queensland Press, * Peter Rose editor – ''The Best Australian Poems 2008'' Black Inc.,

Non-fiction

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

– ''On Rage'' *

Chloe Hooper Chloe Melisande Hooper (born 1973) is an Australian author. Her first novel, ''A Child’s Book of True Crime'' (2002), was short-listed for the Orange Prize for Literature and was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book. In 2005, she turned to rep ...

– ''The Tall Man''

Biographies

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

– ''The Costello Memoirs'' * Jacqueline Kent – ''An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin'' *

Andrew Riemer Andrew Riemer (29 February 1936 – 5 June 2020) was an Australian literary critic and author, for three decades the book reviewer of the Sydney Morning Herald. Born in Budapest, he moved to Sydney at age 11. He lectured in English at the Universi ...

– ''A Family History of Smoking''

Awards and honours

Lifetime achievement

Fiction

International

National

Children and Young Adult

National

Crime and Mystery

National

Science Fiction

Non-Fiction

Poetry

Drama

Deaths

* 11 January – Nancy Phelan, author (born 1913) * 27 March – Alan Collins, short story writer (born 1928) * 8 April – John Button, politician and author (born 1933) * 26 April – Pamela Bone, journalist and author (born 1940) * 29 April –

John Hooker John Hooker may refer to: *John Hooker (English constitutionalist) (c. 1527–1601), English writer, solicitor, antiquary, civic administrator and advocate of republican government *John Lee Hooker (1912–2001), American blues singer-songwriter an ...

, author (born 1932) * 21 June – Justina Williams, poet (born 1916) * 24 August – Patricia Rolfe, short story writer and critic (born 1920) * 30 September – Eleanor Spence, writer for children (born 1928) * 30 October – Jacob G. Rosenberg, poet and memoirist (born 1922) * 15 November –

Ivan Southall Ivan Francis Southall AM, DFC (8 June 192115 November 2008) was an Australian writer best known for young adult fiction. He wrote more than 30 children's books, six books for adults, and at least ten works of history, biography or other non-fi ...

, writer for children (born 1921) * 10 December –

Dorothy Porter Dorothy Featherstone Porter (26 March 1954 – 10 December 2008) was an Australian poet. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award for lifetime achievement in poetry. Early life Porter was born in Sydney. Her father was barrister ...

, poet (born 1954)

References

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

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Australian literature by year 21st-century Australian literature 2008 in literature