This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2023.

Events

* July: Publisher Hachette Australia withdraws from publication the book titled '' Special Operations Group'' by Christophe Glasl after Victoria Police expressed concerns about the accuracy of the book * December:

Yumna Kassab Yumna Kassab is an Australian novelist. She was appointed the inaugural Parramatta Laureate in Literature for 2024. Career Yumna Kassab was born and grew up at Parramatta. She spent two years of her childhood in Lebanon with her family. Afte ...

is announced as inaugural Parramatta Laureate of Literature for 2024

Major publications

Literary fiction

* Hossein Asgari – ''Only Sound Remains'' * Tony Birch – ''Women & Children'' * Jen Craig – ''Wall'' *

Lauren Aimee Curtis Lauren Aimee Curtis is an Australian writer. She was born in Sydney in 1988. She is best known for her debut novel ''Dolores'' which was nominated for several literary prizes. It was also named a ''New Statesman'' Book of the Year. Her second book, ...

– ''Strangers in the Port'' * Trent Dalton – ''Lola in the Mirror'' * André Dao – '' Anam'' *

Gregory Day Gregory Day is an Australian novelist, poet, and musician. Life Gregory Day is a novelist, poet, essayist and musician based in Victoria, Australia. He is well known for novels which document generational, demographic, and environmental chang ...

– ''The Bell of the World'' *

Ali Cobby Eckermann Ali Cobby Eckermann (born 1963) is an Australian poet of Aboriginal Australian ancestry. She is a Yankunytjatjara woman born on Kaurna land in South Australia. Eckermann has written poetry collections, verse novels and a memoir, and has been ...

– ''She Is the Earth'' (verse novel) * Lexi Freiman – '' The Book of Ayn'' * Madeleine Gray – '' Green Dot'' *

Kate Grenville Catherine Elizabeth Grenville (born 1950) is an Australian author. She has published fifteen books, including fiction, non-fiction, biography, and books about the writing process. In 2001, she won the Orange Prize for Fiction, Orange Prize for ...

– ''Restless Dolly Maunder'' * John Kinsella – ''Cellnight: A verse novel'' *

Melissa Lucashenko Melissa Lucashenko is an Indigenous Australians, Indigenous Australian writer of adult literary fiction and literary non-fiction, who has also written young adult fiction, novels for teenagers. In 2013 at the Walkley Awards, she won the "Featu ...

– '' Edenglassie'' *

Kate Morton Kate Morton is an Australian author. She is known for her best-selling novels, including '' The House at Riverton'', '' The Forgotten Garden'', and '' The Distant Hours''. Her seventh book, ''Homecoming'', was published in April 2023. Early ...

– ''Homecoming'' * Angela O'Keeffe – ''

The Sitter ''The Sitter'' is a 2011 American black comedy film directed by David Gordon Green and written by Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka. The film follows a slacker college student (played by Jonah Hill) who, after being suspended, is forced by h ...

'' * Mirandi Riwoe – ''Sunbirds'' * Sanya Rushdi – ''

Hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

'' * Tracy Sorensen – ''The Vitals'' * Lucy Treloar – ''Days of Innocence and Wonder'' *

Christos Tsiolkas Christos Tsiolkas is an Australian author, playwright, and screenwriter. He is especially known for '' The Slap'', which was both well-received critically and highly successful commercially. Several of his books have been adapted for film and t ...

– ''The In-Between'' *

Pip Williams Philip "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947), sometimes spelt Phillip, is an English record producer, arranger, and guitarist. He is best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues, but has also worked with a large number of we ...

– '' The Bookbinder of Jericho'' *

Charlotte Wood Charlotte Wood (born 1965) is an Australian novelist. ''The Australian'' newspaper described Wood as "one of our ustralia'smost original and provocative writers". Early life and education Wood was born in Cooma, New South Wales. She has a Ph ...

– '' Stone Yard Devotional'' *

Alexis Wright Alexis Wright (born 25 November 1950) is an Aboriginal Australian writer. She is best known for winning the Miles Franklin Award for her 2006 novel '' Carpentaria''. She was the first writer to win the Stella Prize twice, in 2018 for her "colle ...

– '' Praiseworthy''

Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Melissa Kang &

Yumi Stynes Yumi Tasma Stynes (born 2 June 1975) is an Australian feminist podcaster and author. She is the presenter of the ABC Radio podcast ''Ladies, We Need to Talk'' about female health and sexuality, and thSBS AudiopodcastSEEN where she talks with tra ...

– ''Welcome to Sex,'' illustrated by Jenny Latham'''' * Will Kostakis – ''We Could Be Something'' *

Alice Pung Alice Pung (born 1981) is an Australian writer, editor and lawyer. Her books include the memoirs ''Unpolished Gem'' (2006), ''Her Father's Daughter'' (2011) and the novel ''Laurinda'' (2014). Pung is a practising solicitor. She has also worke ...

– ''Millie Mak the Maker'', illustrated by Sher Rill Ng * Lili Wilkinson – ''A Hunger of Thorns'' * Dianne Wolfer – ''Scout and the Rescue Dogs''

Short story collections

J. M. Coetzee John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...

– ''

The Pole and Other Stories ''The Pole and Other Stories'' is a 2023 book by J. M. Coetzee. In the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada it was published as the novella "The Pole" along with five stories that were written over the previous two decades. In the United State ...

'' *

Laura Jean McKay Laura Jean McKay (born 1978) is an Australian author and creative writing lecturer. In 2021, she won the Victorian Prize for Literature and the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her novel '' The Animals in That Country''. Life and career Born in 197 ...

– ''Gunflower'' *

Graeme Simsion Graeme C. Simsion is a New Zealand-born Australian author, screenwriter, playwright, and Data modeling, data modeller, best known for his first novel ''The Rosie Project''. Early life and education Simsion was born in New Zealand and moved to ...

– ''Creative Differences: And Other Stories''

Crime and mystery

* Tim Ayliffe – ''Killer Traitor Spy'' * Ashley Kalagian Blunt – ''Dark Mode'' * Shelley Burr – ''Ripper'' * Candice Fox – ''Fire With Fire'' * Megan Goldin – ''Dark Corners'' *

Chris Hammer Chris Hammer (born 1960) is an Australian journalist and writer of crime fiction. He is known for his best-selling Martin Scarsden series of novels. Early life and education Chris Hammer was born in 1960. Career Hammer has a 30-year caree ...

– ''The Seven'' * Amanda Hampson – ''The Tea Ladies'' *

Sally Hepworth Sally Hepworth (born 1980) is an Australian writer. She wrote seven books, most notably '' The Secrets of Midwives'', a novel published in 2015, and ''The Good Sister'', which won the 2021 Adult crime novel Davitt Award. Hepworth and her works h ...

– '' Darling Girls'' * Fiona McIntosh – ''Dead Tide'' * Benjamin Stevenson – ''Everyone on this train is a suspect'' *

Chris Womersley Chris Womersley (born 1968 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian author of crime fiction, short stories and poetry. He trained as a radio journalist and has travelled extensively to such places as India, South-East Asia, South America, Nort ...

– ''Ordinary Gods and Monsters''

Science fiction and fantasy

Greg Egan Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, and the Lo ...

** " Didicosm" ** ''Scale'' * Shelley Parker-Chan – '' He Who Drowned the World''

Poetry

Stuart Barnes Stuart Barnes (born 22 November 1962 in Grays, Essex) is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England at international level. ...

– ''Like to the Lark'' * Dan Hogan – ''Secret Third Thing'' * John Kinsella – ''Harsh Hakea: Collected Poems Volume Two (2005–2014)'' * David McCooey – ''The Book of Falling'' * Jennifer Maiden – ''Golden Bridge: New Poems'' *

Pi O П. O. (or Pi O, born 1951) is a Greek-Australian, working class, anarchist poet. Biography Born in Katerini, Greece, П. O. came to Australia with his family around 1954. After time in Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, the fam ...

– ''The Tour'' * Tais Rose Wae – ''Riverbed Sky Songs'' * Grace Yee – '' Chinese Fish''

Non-Fiction

* Katie Ariel – '' The Swift Dark Tide'' * Chanel Contos – ''Consent Laid Bare'' *

Robyn Davidson Robyn Davidson is an Australian writer best known for her 1980 book ''Tracks'', about her 2,700 km (1,700 miles) trek across the deserts of Western Australia using camels. Her career of travelling and writing about her travels has spanned ...

– ''Unfinished Woman'' *

Marele Day Marele Day (born 4 May 1947) is an Australian author of mystery novels. She won the Shamus Award for her first Claudia Valentine novelpage 62-64, ''Great Women Mystery Writers'', 2nd Ed. by Elizabeth Blakesley Lindsay, 2007, publ. Greenwood Press ...

– ''Reckless'' * Martin Flanagan – ''The Empty Honour Board'' *

Clementine Ford Clementine Ford is an American actress known for her appearance as Molly Kroll on Showtime's ''The L Word''. In April 2009, she joined the cast of the soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' in the role of Mackenzie Browning. She left the s ...

– ''I Don't'' *

Anna Funder Anna Funder (born 1966) is an Australian author. She is the author of ''Stasiland'', ''All That I Am (novel), All That I Am'', ''Wifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible Life'' and the novella ''The Girl With the Dogs.'' Anna’s book ''Wifedom'' w ...

– ''Wifedom: Mrs Orwell's Invisible Life'' *

Michael Gawenda Michael Gawenda (born 1947) is an Australian journalist and was editor of ''The Age'' from 1997 to 2004. He was appointed inaugural Director of the Centre for Advanced Journalism at the University of Melbourne, launched in 2008. The centre's missi ...

– ''My Life as a Jew'' * Stan Grant – ''The Queen is Dead: The Time has Come for a Reckoning'' * Susan Johnson – ''Aphrodite's Breath'' *

Christine Kenneally Christine Kenneally (born in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian-American journalist who writes on science, language and culture. Trained as a linguist, she has written for ''The New York Times'', the ''New Yorker'', ''Slate'', ''New Scienti ...

– ''Ghosts of the Orphanage'' *

Sarah Krasnostein Sarah Krasnostein is an American-Australian non-fiction writer. Education Born in the United States, Krasnostein completed a BA/LLB (honours) degree from the University of Melbourne in 2005. She was admitted as an attorney of the State of Ne ...

– ''On Peter Carey'' * David Marr – ''Killing for Country: A Family Story'' * Ross McMullin – ''Life So Full of Promise'' *

Alex Miller Alex Miller (born 4 July 1949) is a Scottish football manager and former player. As a player, he had a 15-year career with Rangers, winning several trophies. As a manager, he won the 1991–92 Scottish League Cup with Hibernian. He subsequen ...

– ''A Kind of Confession: The Writer's Private World'' *

Matt Preston Matt Preston (born 21 July 1961) is an English-Australian food critic, writer, food journalist, television and radio presenter. Preston has a weekly national food column that appears in NewsCorp's metro newspapers. He is also a senior editor ...

– ''Big Mouth'' * Alecia Simmonds – ''Courting: An Intimate History of Love and the Law'' *

Margaret Simons Margaret Simons (born 1960) is an Australian academic, freelance journalist and author. She has written numerous articles and essays as well as many books, including a biography of Senate leader of the Australian Labor Party, Penny Wong and Aust ...

– ''Tanya Plibersek: On Her Own Terms'' * Christine Wallace – ''Political Lives: Australian Prime Ministers and Their Biographers''

Drama

* Nicholas Brown – ''Sex Magick'' *

Joanna Murray-Smith Joanna Murray-Smith (born 17 April 1962) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, novelist, librettist, and newspaper columnist. Early life and education Joanna Murray-Smith was born on 17 April 1962 in Mount Eliza, Victoria. Her father was ...

– ''Julia''

Awards and honours

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

Lifetime achievement

Literary

Fiction

Children and Young Adult

Crime and Mystery

National

Poetry

Drama

Non-Fiction

Deaths

* 21 January –

Gabrielle Williams Gabrielle Leigh Williams (born 27 October 1982) is an Australian politician. She has been a Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since November 2014, representing the electorate of ...

, author of young adult fiction (born

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

) * 3 February – Portia Robinson, historian (born

1926 In Turkey, the year technically contained only 352 days. As Friday, December 18, 1926 ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Saturday, January 1, 1927 '' (Gregorian Calendar)''. 13 days were dropped to make the switch. Turkey thus became the ...

) * 19 April –

Lee Harding Lee Harding (born 8 June 1983) is an Australian singer from Frankston, Victoria. He is best known for placing third in the Australian Idol (season 3), third season of ''Australian Idol'' in 2005. Career Bedrock Prior to competing in ''Australi ...

, novelist (born

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

) * 21 April –

John Tranter John Ernest Tranter (29 April 1943 – 21 April 2023) was an Australian poet, publisher and editor. He published more than twenty books of poetry; devising, with Jan Garrett, the long running ABC radio program ''Books and Writing''; and foundin ...

, poet, publisher and editor (born

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

) * 22 April –

Barry Humphries John Barry Humphries (17 February 1934 – 22 April 2023) was an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He appeare ...

, comedian, author, actor and satirist (born

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

) * 2 May –

Gabrielle Carey Gabrielle Carey (10 January 1959 – 2 May 2023) was an Australian writer who co-wrote the teen novel, '' Puberty Blues'' with Kathy Lette. This novel was the first teenage novel published in Australia that was written by teenagers. Carey bec ...

, novelist (born

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

) * 22 May – Andrew Burke, poet (born

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

) * 30 June – Ron Pretty, poet (born

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

) * 6 August –

Elizabeth Webby Elizabeth Anne Webby (née Loder; 9 February 1942 – 6 August 2023) was an Australian literary critic, editor and scholar of literature. Emeritus Professor Webby retired from the Chair of Australian Literature at the University of Sydney in 20 ...

, scholar of Australian literature (born

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

) * 18 November –

Nan Witcomb Nancy Witcomb (27 May 1928 – 17 November 2023) was an Australian poet. She was best known around the world for her simple poems published over three decades from the 1970s until the 1990s as ''The Thoughts of Nanushka'', Nanushka being her pse ...

, poet and radio broadcaster (born 1927/1928) * 21 November –

Dale Spender Dale Spender (22 September 1943 – 21 November 2023) was an Australian feminist scholar, teacher, writer and consultant. In 1983, Dale Spender was co-founder of and editorial advisor to Pandora Press, the first of the feminist imprints devo ...

, feminist writer (born

) * 10 December –

Michael Blakemore Michael Howell Blakemore AO OBE (18 June 1928 – 10 December 2023) was an Australian actor, writer and theatre director who also made some films. A former Associate Director of the National Theatre, in 2000 he became the only individual to ...

, actor, writer and theatre director (born

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

) * 12 December – Shirley Barber, children's author and illustrator (born

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

in the Channel Islands) * 30 December –

John Pilger John Richard Pilger (; 9 October 1939 – 30 December 2023) was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar and documentary filmmaker. From 1962, he was based mainly in Britain. He was also a visiting professor at Cornell University in New York. ...

, journalist and filmmaker (born

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

) (died in the United Kingdom)

References

{{Years in Australian literature 2023 in Australia Australian literature by year Years of the 21st century in Australia 2023 in literature

Events

Major publications

Literary fiction

Children's and Young Adult fiction

Short story collections

Crime and mystery

Science fiction and fantasy

Poetry

Non-Fiction

Drama

Awards and honours

Lifetime achievement

Literary

Fiction

Children and Young Adult

Crime and Mystery

National

Poetry

Drama

Non-Fiction

Deaths

See also

References