2021 in Australian literature

This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2021.

Major publications

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Literary fiction

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Collected essays

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Children's and young adult fiction

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Crime and mystery

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Poetry

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Non-fiction

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Awards and honours

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

Lifetime achievement

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Award Author
Melbourne Prize for Literature[45] Christos Tsiolkas
Patrick White Award[46] Adam Aitken

Literary

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Award Author Title Publisher
ALS Gold Medal[47] Nardi Simpson Song of the Crocodile Hachette Australia
Colin Roderick Award[48] Sofie Laguna Infinite Splendours Allen & Unwin
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[49] Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words Affirm Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[50] Ellen van Neerven Throat University of Queensland Press
Stella Prize[51] Evie Wyld The Bass Rock Penguin Random House
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[52][53] Laura Jean McKay The Animals in That Country Scribe

Fiction

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National

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Award Author Title Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[54] Not awarded
The Age Book of the Year[55] Robbie Arnott The Rain Heron Text Publishing
ARA Historical Novel Prize[56] Jock Serong The Burning Island Text Publishing
The Australian/Vogel Literary Award[57] Emma Batchelor Now That I See You Allen & Unwin
Barbara Jefferis Award[58] Not awarded
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction[49] Craig Silvey Honeybee Allen & Unwin
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction[49] Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words Affirm Press
Miles Franklin Award[59] Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[60] Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[61][62] Kate Grenville A Room Made of Leaves Text Publishing
Queensland Literary Awards[63] Nardi Simpson Song of the Crocodile Hachette Australia
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[52][53] Laura Jean McKay The Animals in That Country Scribe

Children and Young Adult

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National

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
ARA Historical Novel Prize[56] Children and Young Adult Katrina Nannestad We are Wolves ABC Books
Children's Book of the Year Award[64] Older Readers Davina Bell The End of the World is Bigger than Love Text
Younger Readers Kate Gordon Aster's Good, Right Things Riveted Press
Picture Book Meg McKinlay, illus. Matt Ottley How to Make a Bird Walker Books
Early Childhood Libby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman, illus. Mel Pearce No! Never! Lothian Books
Eve Pownall Award for Information Books Pamela Freeman, illus. Liz Anelli Dry to Dry: The Seasons of Kakadu Walker Books
Nan Chauncy Award[65] Jan Nicholls
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[49] Children's Amelia Mellor The Grandest Bookshop in the World Affirm Press
Young Adult Kate O'Donnell This One is Ours University of Queensland Press
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[61][62] Children's Amelia Mellor The Grandest Bookshop in the World Affirm
Young People's Davina Bell The End of the World is Bigger than Love Text
Queensland Literary Awards[63] Children's Kirli Saunders, illustrated by Dub Leffler Bindi Magabala Books
Young Adult Cath Moore Metal Fish, Falling Snow Text
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[53] Young Adult Fiction Cath Moore Metal Fish, Falling Snow Text

Crime and Mystery

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National

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Davitt Award[66] Novel Sally Hepworth The Good Sister Pan Macmillan
Young adult novel Christie Nieman Where We Begin Pan Macmillan
Children's novel Lian Tanner A Clue for Clara Allen & Unwin
True crime Louise Milligan Witness: An Investigation into the Brutal Cost of Seeking Justice Hachette Australia
Debut novel Leah Swann Sheerwater HarperCollins
Readers' choice Katherine Kovacic The Shifting Landscape Echo Publishing
Ned Kelly Award[67] Novel Garry Disher Consolation Text Publishing
First novel Loraine Peck The Second Son Penguin Books
True crime Bret Christian Stalking Claremont HarperCollins

Poetry

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Award Author Title Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[54] Not awarded
Anne Elder Award[68] Ella Jeffery Dead Bolt Puncher & Wattmann
Mary Gilmore Award[69] Em König Breathing Plural Cordite
Prime Minister's Literary Awards[60] Stephen Edgar The Strangest Place: New and Selected Poems Black Pepper
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[61][62] Ellen van Neerven Throat University of Queensland Press
Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection[63] Ouyang Yu Terminally Poetic Ginninderra Press
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[53] David Stavanger Case Notes UWA Publishing

Drama

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[61][62] Script Laurence Billiet Freeman General Strike and Matchbox Pictures
Play Dylan Van Den Berg Milk The Street Theatre
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[53] Angus Cerini Wonnangatta Sydney Theatre Company

Non-Fiction

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Award Category Author Title Publisher
Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature[54] Non-Fiction Not awarded
Indie Book Awards Book of the Year[49] Non-Fiction Julia Baird Phosphorescence Random House
Illustrated Non-Fiction Lauren Camilleri & Sophia Kaplan Plantopedia Smith Street Books
National Biography Award[70] Biography Cassandra Pybus Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse Allen & Unwin
New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards[61][62] Non-Fiction Kate Fullagar The Warrior, the Voyager, and the Artist: Three Lives in an Age of Empire Yale University Press
New South Wales Premier's History Awards[71] Australian History Grace Karskens People of the River: Lost worlds of early Australia Allen & Unwin
Community and Regional History Matthew Colloff Landscapes of Our Hearts: Reconciling people and environment Thames & Hudson
General History Luke Keogh The Wardian Case: How a simple box moved plants and changed the world The University of Chicago Press
Queensland Literary Awards[63] Non-Fiction Luke Stegemann Amnesia Road: Landscape, violence and memory NewSouth Publishing
Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[53] Non-Fiction Paddy Manning Body Count: How Climate Change is Killing Us Simon & Schuster

Deaths

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See also

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References

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