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[1]
The Australia Council for the Arts announces Christopher Koch and Gerald Murnane as recipients of its 2008 emeritus writers awards[2]
The Australian Federal Government announces funding for a new chair of Australian Literature based at the University of Western Australia[3]
Clunes, Victoria , holds its second Booktown weekend[4] The first Crime and Justice Festival in held in Melbourne over the weekend of 19–20 July[5]
Australia wins the right to host the 2010 World SF convention in Melbourne[6]
A number of previously unknown Banjo Paterson poems are found in an old cash book dating back to the Boer War [7]
UNESCO names Melbourne as its second City of Literature , after Edinburgh received the first such award in 2004[8]
Caro Llewellyn , 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 ) in Melbourne[9] Major publications [ ] Literary fiction [ ] Debra Adelaide – The Household Guide to Dying Murray Bail – The Pages Geraldine Brooks – People of the Book Peter Carey – His Illegal Self Luke Davies – God of Speed Robert Drewe – The Rip Richard Flanagan – Wanting Helen Garner – The Spare Room Peter Goldsworthy – Everything I Knew Kate Grenville – The Lieutenant Vicki Hastrich – The Great Arch
Wendy James – The Steele Diaries Susan Johnson – Life in Seven Mistakes Toni Jordan – Addition Sofie Laguna – One Foot Wrong Nam Le – The Boat Joan London – The Good Parents Louis Nowra – Ice Kevin Rabelais – The Landscape of Desire
Claire Thomas – fugitive blue
Steve Toltz – A Fraction of the Whole Ian Townsend – The Devil's Eye
Christos Tsiolkas – The Slap Tim Winton – Breath Arnold Zable – Sea of Many Returns Children's and Young Adult fiction [ ] Isobelle Carmody – The Stone Key Kate Constable – Always Mackenzie Alison Croggon —The Singing Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury – 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 – Money Run Simone Howell – Everything Beautiful
Catherine Jinks – Genius Squad Maureen McCarthy – Somebody's Crying
Melina Marchetta – Finnikin of the Rock Sophie Masson – The Case of the Diamond Shadow Garth Nix – Superior Saturday Penni Russon – The Indigo Girls Shaun Tan – Tales from Outer Suburbia Lili Wilkinson – The (Not Quite) Perfect Boyfriend Sean Williams – Dust Devils Crime and Mystery [ ] Peter Corris – Open File Leah Giarratano – Voodoo Doll Kerry Greenwood – Murder on a Midsummer Night Marion Halligan – Murder on the Apricot Coast Jarad W. Henry – Blood Sunset
Katherine Howell – The Darkest Hour Barry Maitland – Bright Air P.D. Martin – Fan Mail
Camilla Nelson – Crooked
Alex Palmer – The Tattooed Man
Bronwyn Parry – As Darkness Falls
Kel Robertson – Smoke and Mirrors Michael Robotham – Shatter Romance [ ] Anne Gracie – 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 – Red Queen Nathan Burrage – Fivefold Sara Douglass – The Twisted Citadel Greg Egan – Incandescence Jennifer Fallon – The Chaos Crystal Pamela Freeman – Deep Water Alison Goodman – The Two Pearls of Wisdom Traci Harding – The Dragon Queens Simon Haynes – Hal Spacejock: No Free Lunch Margo Lanagan – Tender Morsels Fiona McIntosh – Rogue Agent Juliet Marillier – 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 – 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 AwardsMichael Brennan – Unanimous Night David Brooks – The Balcony , finalist for the 2008 Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry ; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3669-3 Elizabeth Hodgson – Skin Painting , winner of the 2007 David Unaipon Award; University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3677-8
Sarah Holland-Batt – Aria Clive James – Opal Sunset: Selected Poems, 1958–2008 John Kinsella – Divine Comedy , University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3666-2 Anthony Lawrence – Bark , University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3664-8 David Malouf – Revolving Days , University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3635-8 Peter Rose editor – The Best Australian Poems 2008 Black Inc., ISBN 978-1-86395-303-0 Non-fiction [ ] Germaine Greer – On Rage Chloe Hooper – The Tall Man Biographies [ ] Peter Costello – The Costello Memoirs Jacqueline Kent – An Exacting Heart: The Story of Hephzibah Menuhin Andrew Riemer – A Family History of Smoking Awards and honours [ ] Lifetime achievement [ ] Fiction [ ] International [ ] National [ ] Children and Young Adult [ ] National [ ] Crime and Mystery [ ] National [ ] Science Fiction [ ]
Award
Category
Author
Title
Publisher
Aurealis Award SF Novel
K. A. Bedford
Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing
SF Short Story
Simon Brown
"The Empire"
Dreaming Again , Voyager
Fantasy Novel
Alison Goodman
The Two Pearls of Wisdom HarperCollins
Fantasy Short Story
Cat Sparks
"Sammarynda Deep "
Paper Cities , Senses 5 Press
Horror Novel
John Harwood
The Seance
Random House
Horror Short Story
Kirstyn McDermott
"Painlessness"
Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2
Ditmar Award Novel
Sean Williams
Saturn Returns
Orbit Books
Novella/Novelette
Cat Sparks
"Lady of Adestan"
Orb #7
Short Story
Rick Kennett
"The Dark and What It Said"
Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #28
Collected Work
Jonathan Strahan ed.
The New Space Opera
HarperCollins
Russell B. Farr ed.
Fantastic Wonder Stories
Ticonderoga Publications
Non-Fiction [ ]
Award
Category
Author
Title
Publisher
The Age Book of the Year Non-fiction
Don Watson
American Journeys
Random House
Children's Book of the Year Award Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
Frances Watts , illus David Legge
Parsley Rabbit's Book about Books
ABC Books
Davitt Award True crime
Janet Fife-Yeomans
Killing Jodie
Penguin Books
National Biography Award
Philip Dwyer
Napoleon: The Path To Power 1769–1799
Bloomsbury Publishing
Graham Seal
These Few Lines: A Convict Story – The Lost Lives of Myra & William Sykes
ABC Books
Prime Minister's Literary Awards Non-fiction
Philip Jones
Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers
Wakefield Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Non-fiction
Tom Griffiths
Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica
University of New South Wales Press
New South Wales Premier's History Awards Australian History
Paul Ham
Vietnam: The Australian War
Harper Collins
Community and Regional History
Dianne Johnson, in collaboration with the residents of the Gully and their descendants
Sacred Waters: the story of the Blue Mountains Gully Traditional Owners
Halstead Press
General History
Michael A. McDonnell
The Politics of War: Race, Class and Conflict in Revolutionary Virginia
University of North Carolina Press
Young People's
Robert Lewis and Tim Gurry
Australians in the Vietnam War
Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd
Queensland Premier's Literary Awards Non-fiction
Craig Sherborne
Muck
Black Inc
History
Professor Marilyn Lake and Professor Henry Reynolds
Drawing the Global Colour Line
Melbourne University Press
South Australian Premier's Awards Non-fiction
Jacob G. Rosenberg
Sunrise West
Brandl and Schlesinger
Victorian Premier's Literary Award Non-fiction
Meredith Hooper
The Ferocious Summer: Palmer's
Penguins and the Warming of Antarctica
Allen & Unwin
Western Australian Premier's Book Awards Non-fiction
Antonio Buti
Sir Ronald Wilson: A Matter of Conscience
University of Western Australia Press
Western Australian history
Ruth Marchant James
Cottesloe: A Town of Distinction
Town of Cottesloe
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 , 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 , writer for children (born 1921)
10 December – Dorothy Porter , poet (born 1954) See also [ ] References [ ] Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.
Years in
Australian literature (1860–present)
19th century 20th century 21st century
