2004 in Australian literature explained

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2004.

Events

• John Hay, Peter Porter, Elizabeth Webby, W. H. Wilde, and Barbara Ker Wilson are all recognised in the 2004 Australia Day Honours.^[1]
• Peter Craven is sacked as editor of Quarterly Essay and the annual The Best Australian... anthologies after a dispute with Black Inc. publisher Morry Schwartz.^[1]
• Kenneth Dutton, Nick Enright, Morag Fraser, David Myers, and Brenda Niall are recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list.^[2]
• Independent book publishers Text (Australia) and Canongate (UK) form a joint venture. The Text Media Group, purchased by John Fairfax earlier this year, sells Text Publishing to the joint venture partners.^[2]
• Sydney Morning Herald Literary Editor, Malcolm Knox exposes Norma Khouri and her 'factual' account of honour killings in Jordan as a fabrication.^[3]
• Mark Rubbo, David Marr and Kerryn Goldsworthy resign as Miles Franklin Award judges in protest at changes to the charter governing the award's administration.^[4]
• Inaugural Chief Minister's Northern Territory Book History Awards held^[5]

Major publications

Literary fiction

• Sarah Armstrong – Salt Rain
• Larissa Behrendt – Home
• Carmel Bird – Cape Grimm
• Steven Carroll – The Gift of Speed
• John Charalambous – Furies
• Bryce Courtenay – Brother Fish
• Sophie Cunningham – Geography
• Jack Dann – The Rebel: An Imagined Life of James Dean
• Nick Earls – The Thompson Gunner
• Susan Johnson – The Broken Book
• Gail Jones – Sixty Lights
• Stefan Laszczuk – The Goddamn Bus of Happiness
• Amanda Lohrey – The Philosopher's Doll
• Colleen McCullough – Angel Puss
• Andrew McGahan – The White Earth
• Monica McInerney – The Alphabet Sisters
• Emily Maguire – Taming the Beast
• Steven Orr – Hill of Grace
• Eva Sallis – Fire Fire
• Nicholas Shakespeare – Snowleg
• Celestine Hitiura Vaite – Frangipani
• Gerard Windsor – I Have Kissed Your Lips
• Charlotte Wood – The Submerged Cathedral
• Arnold Zable – Scraps of Heaven

Children's and Young Adult fiction

• Joanna Baker – Devastation Road
• Michael Gerard Bauer – The Running Man
• Sherryl Clark – Farm Kid
• Joanne Crawford and Grace Fielding – A Home for Bilby
• Anthony Eaton – Fireshadow
• Sonya Hartnett – The Silver Donkey
• Steven Herrick – By the River
• Joanne Horniman – Secret Scribbled Notebooks
• Prue Mason – Camel Rider
• Garth Nix – Grim Tuesday
• Scott Westerfeld – So Yesterday

Crime

• Peter Corris – The Coast Road^[6]
• Colin Cotterill – The Coroner's Lunch^[7]
• Kathryn Fox – Malicious Intent
• Jane Goodall – The Walker^[8]
• Kerry Greenwood
  • Earthly Delights^[9]
  • Heavenly Pleasures^[10]
• Malcolm Knox – A Private Man
• Barry Maitland – No Trace^[11]
• Tara Moss – Covet ^[12]
• Tony Park – Far Horizon^[13]
• Steve J. Spears – Murder by Manuscript^[14]

Romance

• Christine Balint – Ophelia's Fan
• Catherine Jinks – Spinning Around
• Stephanie Laurens – The Ideal Bride
• Rachael Treasure – The Stockmen
• Lynne Wilding – Outback Sunset

Science Fiction and Fantasy

• John Brosnan – Mothership
• Jack Dann – The Rebel
• Marianne de Pierres – Nylon Angel
• Rob Gerrand — (edited)
• Richard Harland – The Black Crusade
• Simon Haynes – Hal Spacejock: Just Desserts
• Liam Hearn – Brilliance of the Moon
• Margo Lanagan – Black Juice
• Glenda Larke – The Tainted
• Maxine McArthur – Less than Human
• Fiona McIntosh – Bridge of Souls
• Sophie Masson – Snow, Fire, Sword
• Josephine Pennicott – A Fire in the Shell
• Cherry Wilder – The Wanderer
• Kim Wilkins – Brilliance of the Moon
• Sean Williams – The Crooked Letter

Drama

• Martin Flanagan – The Call
• Michael Gurr – Julia Three
• Debra Oswald – Mr Bailey's Minder
• Abe Pogos – Toby
• Alana Valentine – Run Rabbit Run!
• David Williamson – Amigos

Poetry

• M. T. C. Cronin –
• Luke Davies – Totem
• Sarah Day – The Ship
• Noel Rowe – Next to Nothing
• Dipti Saravanamuttu – The Colosseum
• Samuel Wagan Watson – Smoke Encrypted Whispers

Non-fiction

• Peter Carey – Wrong About Japan: A Father's Journey with His Son
• Graeme Davison with Sheryl Yelland – Car Wars: How the Car Won Our Hearts and Conquered Our Cities
• Sally Neighbour – In the Shadow of Swords: on the Trail of Terrorism from Afghanistan to Australia

Biographies

• Michael Ackland – Henry Handel Richardson: A Life
• Phillip Adams – Adam's Ark
• Gay Bilson – Plenty: Digressions on Food
• Max Brown – Charmian and George: The Marriage of George Johnston and Charmian Clift
• Don Chipp – Keep the Bastards Honest
• Michael Duffy – Latham and Abbott
• Carolly Erikson – The Girl from Botany Bay: The True Story of Mary Broad and Her Extraordinary Escape
• Peter FitzSimons – Steve Waugh
• Tim Flannery – Country
• John Hughes – The Idea of Home: Autobiographical Essays
• John Marsden – I Am What I Am: My Life and Curious Times
• Siobhan O'Brien – A Life by Design: The Art and Lives of Florence Broadhurst
• Sue Pieters-Hawke and Hazel Flynn – Hazel's Journey: A Personal Experience of Alzheimer's
• Peter Roebuck – Sometimes I Forgot to Laugh
• Charles Tingwell – Bud: A Life
• Stevie Wright and Glenn Goldsmith – Hard Road: The Life and Times of Stevie Wright

Awards and honours

Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.

Lifetime achievement

Award	Author
Christopher Brennan Award^[15]	Kris Hemensley
Patrick White Award^[16]	Nancy Phelan

Literary

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Award^[17]	Luke Davies	Totem	Allen & Unwin
ALS Gold Medal^[18]	Laurie Duggan	Mangroves	University of Queensland Press
Colin Roderick Award^[19]	Alan Wearne	The Lovemakers	ABC Books
	Tim Winton	The Turning	Picador
Nita Kibble Literary Award^[20]	Fiona Capp	That Oceanic Feeling	Allen & Unwin

Fiction

International

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Commonwealth Writers' Prize^[21]	Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Michelle de Kretser	The Hamilton Case	Knopf
	Best First Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region	Nada Awar Jarrar	Somewhere, Home	Heineman

National

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature^[22]		Moral Hazard	Picador
The Age Book of the Year Award	Andrew McGahan	The White Earth	Allen & Unwin
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award^[23]	Julienne van Loon	Road Story	Allen & Unwin
Miles Franklin Award^[24]	Shirley Hazzard	The Great Fire	Farrar Straus and Giroux
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Brian Castro	Shanghai Dancing	Giramondo Publishing
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards	J. M. Coetzee	Elizabeth Costello	Secker & Warburg
Victorian Premier's Literary Award	Annamarie Jagose	Slow Water	Vintage Books
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards	Brett D'Arcy	The Mindless Ferocity of Sharks	Vintage Books

Children and Young Adult

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Children's Book of the Year Award	Older Readers	Melina Marchetta	Saving Francesca	Viking Books
	Younger Readers	Carole Wilkinson	Dragon Keeper	Black Dog Books
	Picture Book	Joan Grant, illus. Neil Curtis	Cat and Fish	Lothian
	Early Childhood	Pamela Allen	Grandpa and Thomas	Viking Books
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Children's	Kierin Meehan	Night Singing	Puffin Books
	Young People's	David Metzenthen	Boys of Blood and Bone	Penguin Books
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards	Children's	Carole Wilkinson	Dragonkeeper	Black Dog Books
	Young Adult	Martine Murray	How to Make a Bird	Allen & Unwin
Victorian Premier's Literary Award	Young Adult Fiction	Margo Lanagan	Black Juice	Allen & Unwin
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards	Writing for Young Adults	Colin Bowles	Nights in the Sun	Penguin Books
	Children's	Mark Greenwood	The Legend of Lasseter's Reef	Cygnet

Crime and Mystery

National

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Davitt Award^[25]	Novel	Janette Turner Hospital	Due Preparations for the Plague	HarperCollins
	Readers' Choice	Lindy Cameron	Thicker Than Water	HarperCollins
	Young Adult Novel	Ruth Starke	Muck-Up Day	Lothian
Ned Kelly Award^[26]	Novel	Jon Cleary	Degrees of Connection	HarperCollins
	First novel	Jane R. Goodall	The Walker	Hodder Headline
		Wayne Grogan	Junkie Pilgrim	Brandl and Schlesinger
	True crime	Peter Rees	Killing Juanita	Allen & Unwin
	Lifetime achievement	Bob Bottom

Science fiction

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Aurealis Award	Novel	K. A. Bedford	Eclipse	Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy
	Short Story	Trent Jamieson	"Slow and Ache"	Aurealis
	Fantasy Novel	Juliet Marillier	Blade of Fortriu	Pan Macmillan
	Fantasy Short Story	Richard Harland	"The Greater Death of Saito Saku"	Agog! (Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales)
		Rosaleen Love	"Once Giants Roamed the Earth"	Aqueduct Press (The Traveling Tide); Agog! (Daikaiju! Giant Monster Tales)
	Horror Novel	No award.
	Horror Short Story	Lee Battersby	"Pater Familias"	Shadowed Realms
	Young Adult Novel	Isobelle Carmody	Alyzon Whitestarr	Penguin Books
Ditmar Award	Novel	K. J. Bishop	The Etched City	Prime Books
	Novella/Novelette	Lucy Sussex	"La Sentinelle"
	Short Story	Trudi Canavan	"Room for Improvement"	Forever Shores
	Collected Work	Cat Sparks ed.	Agog! Terrific Tales	Agog! Press
		Peter McNamara and Margaret Winch eds.	Forever Shores	Wakefield Press

Poetry

Award	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature	Dorothy Porter	Wild Surmise	Picador
The Age Book of the Year	Dipti Saravanamuttu	The Colosseum	Five Islands Press
Anne Elder Award	Lidija Cvetkovic	War is Not the Season for Figs	University of Queensland Press
Grace Leven Prize for Poetry^[27]	Luke Davies	Totem	Allen & Unwin
Mary Gilmore Prize^[28]	Michael Brennan	The Imageless World	Salt Publishing
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Pam Brown	Dear Deliria: New & Selected Poems	Salt Publishing
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards	Judith Beveridge	Wolf Notes	Giramondo Publishing
Victorian Premier's Literary Award	Judith Beveridge	Wolf Notes	Giramondo Publishing
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards	John Kinsella	Peripheral Light	Fremantle Arts Centre Press

Non-Fiction

Award	Category	Author	Title	Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature	Non-Fiction	Rebe Taylor	Unearthed: The Aboriginal Tasmanians of Kangaroo Island	Wakefield Press
The Age Book of the Year	Non-Fiction	Peter Robb	A Death in Brazil	Duffy and Snellgrove
National Biography Award^[29]	Biography	Barry Hill	Broken Song: T.G.H. Strehlow and Aboriginal Possession	Knopf
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards	Non-Fiction	Inga Clendinnen	Dancing with Strangers	Text Publishing
New South Wales Premier's History Awards	Australian History	Stuart Macintyre and Anna Clark	The History Wars	Melbourne University Press
	Community and Regional History	Patricia Crawford and Ian Crawford	Contested Country: A History of the Northcliffe Area	University of Western Australia Press
	General History	Edward Duyker	Citizen Labillardiere: A Naturalist's Life in Revolution and Exploration (1755–1834)	Melbourne University Press
	Young People's	David Hollinsworth	They Took the Children	Working Title Press
Nita Kibble Literary Award		Fiona Capp	That Oceanic Feeling	Allen and Unwin
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards	Non-fiction	Peter Robb	A Death in Brazil	Duffy and Snellgrove
	History	Inga Clendinnen	Dancing with Strangers	Text Publishing
Victorian Premier's Literary Award	Non-fiction	Graeme Davison	Car Wars: How the Car Won Our Hearts and Conquered Our Cities	Allen and Unwin

Deaths

• 3 January –
  • Len Fox, journalist, historian, social activist and painter (born 1905)^[30]
  • Barbara Jefferis, novelist and dramatist (born 1917)^[31]
• 8 January – Norman Talbot, poet (born 1936)
• 17 February – Bruce Beaver, poet (born 1928)^[32]
• 11 April – Wilbur G. Howcroft, writer for children (born 1917)^[33]
• 7 July – Elisabeth MacIntyre, writer for children (born 1916)^[34]
• 17 August – Thea Astley, novelist (born 1925)^[35]
• 8 November – Peter Mathers, novelist and short story writer (born 1931 in Fulham, England)^[36]

See also

• 2004 in Australia
• 2004 in literature
• 2004 in poetry
• List of years in literature
• List of years in Australian literature

References

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

Notes and References

1. http://www.austlit.edu.au/news/newsMarchApril2004 The Austlit Gateway News March/April 2004
2. http://www.austlit.edu.au/news/newsJulyAugust2004 The Austlit Gateway News July/August 2004
3. http://www.austlit.edu.au/news/newsSeptemberOctober2004 The Austlit Gateway News September/October 2004
4. News: Book prize controversy . The Age . https://web.archive.org/web/20121103051140/http://www.theage.com.au/news/Editorial/Book-prize-controversy/2004/12/22/1103391832587.html . 3 November 2012 . live . 21 April 2009 . Melbourne . 23 December 2004 .
5. Web site: Chief Minister’s Northern Territory History Book Award Northern Territory Library. ntl.nt.gov.au. 6 December 2019.
6. Web site: The Coast Road by Peter Corris. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
7. Web site: The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
8. Web site: The Walker by Jane Goodall. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
9. Web site: Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
10. Web site: Heavenly Pleasures by Kerry Greenwood. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
11. Web site: No Trace by Barry Maitland. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
12. Web site: Covet by Tara Moss. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
13. Web site: Far Horizon by Tony Park. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
14. Web site: Murder by Manuscript by Steven J. Spears. National Library of Australia. 25 February 2024.
15. Web site: Austlit — FAW Christopher Brennan Award . Austlit. 11 September 2023.
16. Web site: Austlit — Patrick White Award - Past Winners . Austlit. 10 September 2023.
17. Web site: 2004-08-21 . Totem wins The Age Book of the Year . 15 July 2024 . The Age . en . 25 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220625102656/https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/totem-wins-the-age-book-of-the-year-20040821-gdyhwi.html . live .
18. Web site: ALS Gold Medal — Previous Winners . Association for the Study of Australian Literature. 13 January 2024.
19. Web site: Colin Roderick Award — Other Winners . James Cook University. 16 January 2024.
20. Web site: Kibble Literary Award . Australian National University . 26 February 2024.
21. Web site: Commonwealth Writers' Prize Regional Winners 1987-2007 . Commonwealth Foundation. 18 January 2024.
22. Web site: State Library of South Australia. Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature – Past Literary Award Winners. 18 April 2024.
23. Web site: "Austlit – Australian/Vogel Award 2003-2005" . Austlit. 16 February 2024.
24. Web site: Austlit — Miles Franklin Literary Award (1957-) . Austlit. 21 September 2023.
25. Web site: "LibraryThing: Davitt Awards 2004" . LibraryThing. 19 January 2024.
26. Web site: 2004 Ned Kelly Award Winners . https://web.archive.org/web/20160327181222/http://www.austcrimewriters.com/ned-kelly-award-winners/10 . 2016-03-27 . 19 January 2024 . Australian Crime Writers.
27. Web site: Austlit — Grace Leven Poetry Prize 2002-2004 . Austlit. 13 February 2024.
28. Web site: Mary Gilmore Award . . 13 February 2024.
29. Web site: "National Biography Award – Past Winners" . State Library of NSW. 1 August 2024.
30. Web site: Len Fox . 2023-09-08 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
31. Web site: Barbara Jefferis . 2023-09-16 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
32. Web site: Bruce Beaver . 2023-10-01 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
33. Web site: Wilbur G. Howcroft . 2023-09-16 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
34. Web site: Elisabeth MacIntyre . 2023-09-16 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
35. Web site: Thea Astley . 2023-09-26 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.
36. Web site: Peter Mathers . 2024-02-14 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . The University of Queensland.