This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2021.
Major publications Literary fiction David Allan-Petale – Locust Summer Aravind Adiga – Amnesty Michael Mohammed Ahmad – The Other Half of You Miles Allinson – In Moonland Larissa Behrendt – After Story Steven Carroll – O Michelle de Kretser – Scary Monsters Jennifer Down – Bodies of Light Briohny Doyle – Echolalia Max Easton – The Magpie Wing Nikki Gemmell – The Ripping Tree Anita Heiss – Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray: River of Dreams Tom Keneally – Corporal Hitler's Pistol John Kinsella – Pushing Back Emily Maguire – Love Objects Jennifer Mills – The Airways Alice Pung – One Hundred Days Diana Reid – Love & Virtue Nicolas Rothwell – Red Heaven Claire Thomas – The Performance Christos Tsiolkas – 7 ½ Michael Winkler – Grimmish
Short story collections Tony Birch – Dark as Last Night
Children's and young adult fiction Felicity Castagna – Girls in Boys' Cars Sophie Gonzales – Only Mostly Devastated Katrina Nannestad – Rabbit, Soldier, Angel Thief
Crime and mystery Tim Ayliffe – The Enemy Within Mark Brandi – The Others B. M. Carroll – You Had It Coming Candice Fox – The Chase Helen FitzGerald – Ash Mountain Jack Heath – Kill Your Brother Charlotte McConaghy – Once There Were Wolves Debra Oswald – The Family Doctor Kyle Perry – The Deep Michael Robotham – When You Are Mine Laurta Elizabeth Woollett – The Newcomer
Science fiction and fantasy Max Barry – The 22 Murders of Madison May Greg Egan – The Book of All Skies Jay Kristoff – Empire of the Vampire Shelley Parker-Chan – She Who Became the Sun Angela Slatter – All the Murmuring Bones Janeen Webb – The Five Star Republic with Andrew Enstice
Poetry Eunice Andrada – Take Care Evelyn Araluen – Dropbear Pam Brown – Stasis Shuffle Maxine Beneba Clarke – How Decent Folk Behave Andy Jackson – Human Looking Elfie Shiosaki – Homecoming Maria Takolander – Trigger Warning
Non-fiction Randa Abdel-Fattah – Coming of Age in the War on Terror Julia Banks – Power Play: Breaking Through Bias, Barriers and Boys' Clubs Alison Croggon – Monsters: A reckoning Jaivet Ealom – Escape From Manus Mehreen Faruqi – Too Migrant, Too Muslim, Too Loud Ross Garnaut – Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession Stan Grant – With the Falling of the Dusk Dale Kent – The Most I Could Be Scott Ludlam – Full Circle: A search for the world that comes next Mark McKenna – Return to Uluru Henry Reynolds – Truth-Telling: History, sovereignty and the Uluru Statement Jeff Sparrow – Crimes Against Nature: Capitalism and Global Heating Corey Tutt and Blak Douglas (illustrator) – The First Scientists: Deadly Inventions and Innovations from Australia's First Peoples
Collected essays Chelsea Watego – Another Day in the Colony
Awards and honours
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement AwardAuthor Melbourne Prize for Literature Christos TsiolkasPatrick White AwardAdam Aitken
Literary
Award Author Title Publisher ALS Gold Medal Nardi Simpson Song of the Crocodile Hachette Australia Colin Roderick Award Sofie Laguna Infinite Splendours Allen & Unwin Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words Affirm Press New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ellen van Neerven Throat University of Queensland Press Stella Prize Evie Wyld The Bass Rock Penguin Random House Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Laura Jean McKay The Animals in That Country Scribe
Fiction
National
Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Not awarded The Age Book of the Year Robbie Arnott The Rain Heron Text Publishing ARA Historical Novel Prize Jock Serong The Burning Island Text Publishing The Australian/Vogel Literary Award Emma Batchelor Now That I See You Allen & Unwin Barbara Jefferis Award Not awarded Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction Craig Silvey Honeybee Allen & Unwin Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction Pip Williams The Dictionary of Lost Words Affirm Press Miles Franklin Award Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing Prime Minister's Literary Awards Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Kate Grenville A Room Made of Leaves Text Publishing Queensland Literary Awards Nardi Simpson Song of the Crocodile Hachette Australia Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Laura Jean McKay The Animals in That Country Scribe Voss Literary Prize Amanda Lohrey The Labyrinth Text Publishing
Children and Young Adult National
Award Category Author Title Publisher ARA Historical Novel Prize Children and Young Adult Katrina Nannestad We are Wolves ABC BooksChildren's Book of the Year Award Older Readers Davina BellThe End of the World is Bigger than LoveText Younger ReadersKate GordonAster's Good, Right ThingsRiveted Press Picture BookMeg McKinlay, illus. Matt OttleyHow to Make a BirdWalker Books Early ChildhoodLibby Hathorn & Lisa Hathorn-Jarman, illus. Mel PearceNo! Never!Lothian BooksEve Pownall Award for Information BooksPamela Freeman, illus. Liz AnelliDry to Dry: The Seasons of KakaduWalker BooksNan Chauncy AwardJan NichollsIndie Book Awards Book of the Year Children's Amelia Mellor The Grandest Bookshop in the World Affirm Press Young Adult Kate O'Donnell This One is Ours University of Queensland PressNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Children'sAmelia MellorThe Grandest Bookshop in the WorldAffirm Young People'sDavina BellThe End of the World is Bigger than LoveTextQueensland Literary AwardsChildren'sKirli Saunders, illustrated by Dub LefflerBindiMagabala BooksYoung AdultCath MooreMetal Fish, Falling SnowText Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Young Adult FictionCath MooreMetal Fish, Falling SnowText
Crime and Mystery
National
Award Category Author Title PublisherDavitt Award 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 Hachette Australia Debut novel Leah Swann Sheerwater HarperCollins Readers' choice Katherine Kovacic The Shifting Landscape Echo PublishingNed Kelly Award Novel Garry Disher Consolation Text Publishing First novel Loraine Peck The Second Son Penguin Books True crime Bret Christian Stalking Claremont HarperCollins
Poetry
Award Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Not awarded Anne Elder AwardElla JefferyDead BoltPuncher & WattmannMary Gilmore Award Em König Breathing Plural CorditePrime Minister's Literary Awards Stephen Edgar The Strangest Place: New and Selected Poems Black Pepper New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ellen van NeervenThroatUniversity of Queensland PressJudith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry CollectionOuyang YuTerminally PoeticGinninderra Press Victorian Premier's Literary AwardsDavid StavangerCase NotesUWA Publishing
Drama
Award Category Author Title PublisherNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards ScriptLaurence BillietFreemanGeneral Strike and Matchbox Pictures PlayDylan Van Den BergMilkThe Street TheatreVictorian Premier's Literary AwardsAngus CeriniWonnangattaSydney Theatre CompanyPatrick White Playwrights' Award Award Kamarra Bell-Wykes Who's Gonna Love 'Em? I am that i AM Malthouse Theatre Fellowship Emme Hoy
Non-Fiction
Award Category Author Title Publisher Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature Non-Fiction Not awarded Indie Book Awards Book of the Year Non-Fiction Julia Baird Phosphorescence Random House Illustrated Non-Fiction Lauren Camilleri & Sophia Kaplan Plantopedia Smith Street Books National Biography Award Biography Cassandra Pybus Truganini: Journey Through the Apocalypse Allen & UnwinNew South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Non-FictionKate FullagarThe Warrior, the Voyager, and the Artist: Three Lives in an Age of EmpireYale University PressNew South Wales Premier's History Awards Australian History Grace KarskensPeople of the River: Lost worlds of early AustraliaAllen & Unwin Community and Regional History Matthew ColloffLandscapes of Our Hearts: Reconciling people and environmentThames & Hudson General History Luke KeoghThe Wardian Case: How a simple box moved plants and changed the worldThe University of Chicago Press Queensland Literary Awards Non-Fiction Luke StegemannAmnesia Road: Landscape, violence and memoryNewSouth Publishing Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Non-FictionPaddy ManningBody Count: How Climate Change is Killing UsSimon & Schuster
Deaths 1 May – Kate Jennings, poet and writer (died in the United States) (b. 1948) 25 April – Valerie Parv, romance novelist (b. 1951) 16 May – Vera Deacon, historian (b. 1926) 16 September – Tim Thorne, poet (b. 1944) 22 November – Stuart Macintyre, historian (b. 1947)Celebrated historians Babette Smith, Stuart Macintyre have died Doug MacLeod, children's writer, poet, screenwriter and playwright (b. 1959) Babette Smith, historian (b. 1942) 26 November – Desmond O'Grady, journalist and author (died in Rome) (b. 1929) 26 December – Paul B. Kidd, radio broadcaster and true crime writer (b. 1945)
See also 2021 in Australia 2021 in literature 2021 in poetry List of years in Australian literature List of years in literature List of Australian literary awards
References