The Colin Roderick Award is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

James Cook University James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...

for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life". It was first presented in 1967 and has a prize of A$20,000. Starting in 1980, the H. T. Priestley Memorial Medal has also been bestowed upon the award winner. The Award was founded by Colin Roderick, an Australian "writer, editor, academic and educator".

Award winners

* 2022: Emily Bitto, ''Wild Abandon'' * 2021: Sofie Laguna, ''Infinite Splendours'' *2020: Sally Young, ''Paper Emperors: The rise of Australia’s newspaper empires'' * 2019:

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 True Colour of the Sea'' * 2018:

Jock Serong Jock may refer to: Common meanings * Jock (stereotype), a North American term for a stereotypical male athlete * Jock, a derogatory term for Scottish people mostly used by the English * Short for jockstrap, an item of male protective undergarmen ...

, ''On the Java Ridge'' * 2016: Josephine Wilson, ''Extinctions'' * 2015: Gail Jones, ''A Guide to Berlin'' * 2014: Michael Wilding, ''Wild Bleak Bohemia : Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall - A Documentary'' *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

: Ashley Hay, ''The Railwayman's Wife'' &

Stephen Edgar Stephen Edgar (born 1951) is an Australian poet, editor and indexer. Background and education Edgar was born in Sydney, where he attended Sydney Technical High School. After time spent living in London, he later returned to Australia, going o ...

, ''Eldershaw'' *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Thomas Keneally Thomas Michael Keneally, Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 7 October 1935) is an Australian novelist, playwright, essayist, and actor. He is best known for his non-fiction novel ''Schindler's Ark'', the story of Oskar Schindler's rescu ...

, ''The Daughters of Mars'' * 2011: Gillian Mears, '' Foal's Bread'' *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Karen Kissane
''Worst of Days: Inside the Black Saturday Firestorm'' *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

: Michael Cathcart,
The Water Dreamers
' *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

Graham Freudenberg Norman Graham Freudenberg (; 12 May 1934 – 26 July 2019) was an Australian author and political speechwriter who worked with the Australian Labor Party for over forty years, beginning when he was appointed Arthur Calwell's press secretary in ...

, ''Churchill and Australia'' & James Boyce, ''Van Diemen's Land'' *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

: Malcolm Knox, ''

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

'' * 2006: Deborah Robertson, '' Careless'' *

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris (dwarf planet), Er ...

Peter Temple Peter Temple (10 March 1946 – 8 March 2018) was an Australian crime fiction writer, mainly known for his '' Jack Irish'' novel series. He won several awards for his writing, including the Gold Dagger in 2007, the first for an Australian. He ...

, '' The Broken Shore'' *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: Alan Wearne, ''The Lovemakers'' &

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 Mile ...

, '' The Turning'' *

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, '' The Tyrant's Novel'' *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains independence from Indonesia and ...

: Don Watson, ''Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously ser ...

PM'' *

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

: Peter Rose, ''Rose Boys'' * 2000: 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 a ...

'' * 1999:

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 ' ...

, '' Out of Ireland'' * 1998:

Robert Dessaix Robert Dessaix (born 17 February 1944) is an Australian novelist, essayist and journalist. Biography Robert Dessaix was born in Sydney and adopted at an early age by Tom and Jean Jones, after which he was known as Robert Jones. Tom Jones, a ...

, ''(And So Forth)'' * 1997: Peter Edwards, ''A Nation at War'' * 1996:

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator, activist and public scientist. He was awarded Australian of the Ye ...

, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay, Illustrator Peter Schouten, ''Tree Kangaroos'' * 1995:

Judy Cassab Judy Cassab (15 August 19203 November 2015), born Judit Kaszab, was an Australian painter. Early years Judy Cassab was born in Vienna, on 15 August 1920 to Jewish Hungarian parents. She began painting at twelve years old and began studying at ...

, ''Diaries'' * 1994: Patrick Buckridge, ''The Scandalous Penton: A Biography of Brian Penton'' * 1993: Cassandra Pybus, ''Gross Moral Turpitude: The Orr Case Reconsidered'' * 1992: Ruth Park, ''A Fence Around the Cuckoo'' * 1991: Joan Dugdale, ''Struggle of Memory'' * 1990: Roland Griffiths-Marsh, ''Sixpenny Soldier'' * 1989:

Chris Symons Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian (given name), Christian, Christina (given name), Christina, Christine (name), Christine, and Christos (given name), Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, ...

, '' John Bishop: A Life for Music'' * 1988: Peter Carey, '' Oscar and Lucinda'' * 1987:

Nancy Phelan Nancy Phelan (2 August 1913 – 11 January 2008) was an Australian writer who published over 25 books, including novels, biographies, memoirs, travel books and a cookbook.Bennie (2008) p. 18 She travelled widely throughout Europe, the Pacif ...

, ''Home Is the Sailor and the Best of Intentions'' * 1986: Fr

Tom Boland Thomas Boland was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a half back. Boland was playing for St Joseph's, a Dundee Junior side when he became Dundee Hibernian's first-ever signing on 28 May 1909, four days after the club had been fo ...

, ''

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

'' * 1985: John Gunn, ''The Defeat of Distance:

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the List of airlines by foundation date, world's third-oldest airline sti ...

1919-1939'' * 1984:

Alan Gould Alan Gould (born 22 March 1949) is a contemporary Australian novelist, essayist and poet. Life and career Gould was born in London to an English father and an Icelandic mother. His family lived in Northern Ireland, Germany and Singapore ...

, ''The Man Who Stayed Below'' * 1983:

Dudley McCarthy Dudley McCarthy (24 July 1911 – 3 October 1987) was an Australian military history, military historian, soldier and diplomat. He served in the Second World War as an intelligence officer and later authored of one of the volumes of the official ...

, '' Gallipoli to the

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

'' * 1982: Geoffrey Serle, ''

John Monash General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became c ...

: A Biography'' * 1981:

Gavin Souter Gavin Geoffrey Souter AO (born 2 May 1929) is an Australian journalist and historian. He was born in Sydney, the son of a bank manager, Archibald Souter and Roma Souter, wasPhilip O'Brien, "Spinning words of gold", ''The Canberra Times'', 26 ...

, ''A Company of Heralds'' * 1980: Allan Grocott, ''Convicts, Clergymen and Churches'' * 1979:

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 Frankli ...

, ''Hunting the Wild Pineapple'' * 1978: Leslie Rees, ''History of Australian Drama'' * 1977: Alan Marshall, ''The Complete Stories of Alan Marshall'' * 1976:

, ''Lion and Kangaroo'' * 1975: Denis Murphy, ''

TJ Ryan Thomas Joseph Ryan (1 July 1876 – 1 August 1921) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1915 to 1919, as leader of the state Labor Party. He resigned to enter federal politics, sitting in the House of Repres ...

'' *

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom K ...

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 Quee ...

, '' Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems'' *

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

: Dorothy Green, ''Ulysses Bound:

Henry Handel Richardson Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson (3 January 187020 March 1946), known by her pen name Henry Handel Richardson, was an Australian author. Life Born in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, into a prosperous family that later fell on hard tim ...

and Her Fiction'' *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

: Sir Keith Hancock, ''Discovering Monaro'' *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

: Geoffrey Serle, ''The Rush to Be Rich'' *

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and 1 ...

: Margaret Lawrie, ''Myths and Legends of

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian ma ...

'' *

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 ** Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

: Francis Webb, ''Collected Poems'' *

1968 The year was highlighted by Protests of 1968, protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechos ...

, ''A Peculiar People'' *

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establ ...

: Douglas Stewart, ''Collected Poems, 1936-1967''

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.jcu.edu.au/foundation-for-australian-literary-studies/colin-roderick-award Australian literary awards Awards established in 1967