''The Zookeeper's War'' (2007) is a novel by

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n author Steven Conte. It won the inaugural

Prime Minister's Literary Award The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.Berlin Zoo The Berlin Zoological Garden (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,2 ...

just prior to World War II. As the zoo's workers are conscripted and replaced by PoWs, Vera and her husband Axel fight to maintain the zoo's standards and to survive as the world about them disintegrates.

Notes

* Dedication: For my grandmother, Marion Marcus, 1901-2003. With love and thanks for other stories.

Reviews

* John Bailey in ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' noted: "Conte's prose style is unhurried and unforced, rarely indulging in acrobatic feats and only occasionally hinting at the journeyman status sometimes evident in first novels.""The Zookeeper's War" by John Bailey, ''The Age'', 28 August 2007
/ref>

Awards and nominations

* 2008 shortlisted

Commonwealth Writer's Prize Commonwealth Writers (established in 2011) is the cultural initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation. It aims to inspire, develop and connect writers across the Commonwealth. Its flagship is a literary award for short stories, the Commonwealth Sh ...

— South East Asia and South Pacific Region - Best First Novel * 2008 winner

Prime Minister's Literary Award The Australian Prime Minister's Literary Awards (PMLA) were announced at the end of 2007 by the incoming First Rudd ministry following the 2007 election. They are administered by the Minister for the Arts.2007 Australian novels Novels set during World War II Novels set in Berlin Novels set in zoos Fourth Estate books {{2000s-WWII-novel-stub