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

Events

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 ...

, W. H. Wilde, and Barbara Ker Wilson are all recognised in the 2004 Australia Day Honours.The Austlit Gateway News March/April 2004
/ref> * 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. *Kenneth Dutton,

Nick Enright Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director. Early life Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in East Maitland, New So ...

, Morag Fraser, David Myers, and

Brenda Niall Brenda Mary Niall (born 25 November 1930) is an Australian biographer, literary critic and journalist. She is noted for her work on Australia's well-known Boyd family of artists and writers. Educated at Genazzano FCJ College, in Kew, Victoria, ...

are recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list.The Austlit Gateway News July/August 2004
/ref> *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. *''Sydney Morning Herald'' Literary Editor,

Malcolm Knox Sir Thomas Malcolm Knox (28 November 1900 – 6 April 1980) was a British philosopher who served as Principal of St Andrews University from 1953 to 1966 and vice-president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh from 1975 to 1978. Biography K ...

exposes

Norma Khouri Norma Khouri is the pen name of author Norma Bagain Toliopoulos (born Norma Bagain in Jordan in 1970). She is the author of the book titled ''Forbidden Love (novel), Forbidden Love'' (known under its original title in Australia, Britain, and Commonw ...

and her 'factual' account of honour killings in Jordan as a fabrication.The Austlit Gateway News September/October 2004
/ref> *Mark Rubbo, David Marr and Kerryn Goldsworthy resign as

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...

judges in protest at changes to the charter governing the award's administration. * Inaugural

Chief Minister's Northern Territory Book History Awards The Chief Minister's Northern Territory History Book Award is the premier prize for written works pertaining to the history of the Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Aust ...

held

Major publications

Literary fiction

* Sarah Armstrong – '' Salt Rain'' * Larissa Behrendt – ''Home'' * Carmel Bird – ''Cape Grimm'' * Steven Carroll – '' The Gift of Speed'' * John Charalambous – ''Furies'' *

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

– '' Miss Ambar Regrets'' *

Bryce Courtenay Arthur Bryce Courtenay, (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book '' The Power of One''. Background and early ye ...

– '' Brother Fish'' * Sophie Cunningham – ''Geography'' *

Jack Dann Jack Dann (born February 15, 1945) is an American writer best known for his science fiction, as well as an editor and a writing teacher, who has lived in Australia since 1994. He has published over seventy books, the majority being as editor or c ...

– ''The Rebel: An Imagined Life of James Dean'' * Nick Earls – ''The Thompson Gunner'' * Robert Engwerda – ''Backwaters'' * Susan Johnson – ''The Broken Book'' * Gail Jones – ''

Sixty Lights ''Sixty Lights'' is a 2004 novel by Australian author Gail Jones. Themes The novel explores the themes of the family relationships, marriage, death and loss. The novel also explore deeper themes of an individuals inner mindscape, femininity ...

'' * Stefan Laszczuk – ''The Goddamn Bus of Happiness'' * Amanda Lohrey – ''The Philosopher's Doll'' *

Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Lif ...

– ''Angel Puss'' * Andrew McGahan – '' The White Earth'' * Monica McInerney – ''The Alphabet Sisters'' * Emily Maguire – ''Taming the Beast'' * Steven Orr – ''Hill of Grace'' *

Eva Sallis Eva Katerina Sallis (also Eva Hornung

– ''Fire Fire'' * Nicholas Shakespeare – ''Snowleg'' * Celestine Hitiura Vaite – ''Frangipani'' * Gerard Windsor – ''I Have Kissed Your Lips'' * Charlotte Wood – '' The Submerged Cathedral'' * Denise Young – ''The Last Ride'' * Arnold Zable – ''Scraps of Heaven''

Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Joanna Baker – ''Devastation Road'' *

Michael Gerard Bauer Michael Gerard Bauer (born 1955 in Brisbane) is an Australian full-time children's and young adult author, and was formerly an English teacher. Biography Bauer was born in Brisbane and attended Marist College Ashgrove before attending the Univ ...

– '' The Running Man'' * Sherryl Clark – ''Farm Kid'' * Robert Corbert – ''

Shelf Life Shelf life is the length of time that a commodity may be stored without becoming unfit for use, consumption, or sale. In other words, it might refer to whether a commodity should no longer be on a pantry shelf (unfit for use), or no longer on a s ...

'' * Joanne Crawford and Grace Fielding – ''A Home for Bilby'' * Anthony Eaton – '' Fireshadow'' * Jon Flanagan – '' The Ruins of Gorlan'' *

Sonya Hartnett Sonya Louise Hartnett (born 23 March 1968) is an Australian author of fiction for adults, young adults, and children. She has been called "the finest Australian writer of her generation". For her career contribution to "children's and young adu ...

– '' The Silver Donkey'' * Steven Herrick – ''By the River'' * Joanne Horniman – ''Secret Scribbled Notebooks'' * Prue Mason – ''Camel Rider'' *

James Moloney James "Jim" Moloney (born 20 September 1954) is an Australian children's author. A prolific writer whose books span an age range from seven- to seventeen-year-olds, he is best known for his young adult novels. He has been nominated and won aw ...

– '' The Book of Lies'' *

Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...

– ''

Grim Tuesday ''Grim Tuesday'' is the second novel in the series ''The Keys to the Kingdom'' by Garth Nix. It continues the story of Arthur Pehaligon and his quest to fulfil a mysterious Will in order to reclaim an otherworldly House from seven antagonistic ...

'' * Emily Rodda ** '' Dragon's Nest'' ** '' Isle of the Dead'' ** '' Shadowgate'' ** '' The Sister of the South'' *

Scott Westerfeld Scott David Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is an American writer of young adult fiction, best known as the author of the ''Uglies series, Uglies'' and the ''Leviathan (Westerfeld novel), Leviathan'' series. Early life Westerfeld was born in Dal ...

– '' So Yesterday''

Crime

Peter Corris Peter Robert Corris (8 May 1942 – 30 August 2018) was an Australian academic, historian, journalist and a novelist of historical and crime fiction. As crime fiction writer, he was described as "the Godfather of contemporary Australian crime-w ...

– ''The Coast Road'' * Colin Cotterill – ''The Coroner's Lunch'' * Kathryn Fox – '' Malicious Intent'' * Jane Goodall – ''The Walker'' *

Kerry Greenwood Kerry Isabelle Greenwood (17 June 1954 – 26 March 2025) was an Australian author and lawyer. She wrote many plays and books, most notably a string of historical detective novels centred on the character of Phryne Fisher, which was adapted a ...

** ''Earthly Delights'' ** ''Heavenly Pleasures'' *

– '' A Private Man'' * Barry Maitland – ''No Trace'' *

Tara Moss Tara Rae Moss (born 2 October 1973) is a Canadian-Australian author, documentary maker and presenter, journalist and UNICEF national ambassador for child survival. Biography Moss was born in Victoria, British Columbia, where she attended schoo ...

– ''Covet'' * Tony Park – ''Far Horizon'' * Steve J. Spears – ''Murder by Manuscript''

Romance

* Christine Balint – ''Ophelia's Fan'' *

Catherine Jinks Catherine Jinks (born 1963) is an Australian writer of fiction books for all age groups. She has won many awards including the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award four times, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award, the ...

– ''Spinning Around'' * Stephanie Laurens – ''The Ideal Bride'' * Rachael Treasure – ''The Stockmen'' * Lynne Wilding – ''Outback Sunset''

Science Fiction and Fantasy

John Birmingham John Birmingham (born 7 August 1964) is a British-born Australian author, known for the 1994 memoir ''He Died with a Felafel in His Hand'', the ''Axis of Time'' trilogy, and the well-received space opera series, the ''Cruel Stars'' trilogy. ...

– '' Weapons of Choice'' * John Brosnan – ''Mothership'' * Alison Croggon – '' The Riddle'' * Cecilia Dart-Thornton – '' The Iron Tree'' * Marianne de Pierres – '' Nylon Angel'' * Jennifer Fallon – '' Wolfblade'' * Rob Gerrand — '' The Best Australian Science Fiction Writing : A Fifty Year Collection'' (edited) * Richard Harland – '' The Black Crusade'' * John Harwood – ''The Ghost Writer'' * Simon Haynes – ''Hal Spacejock: Just Desserts'' * Nathan Hobby – '' The Fur'' * Liam Hearn – '' Brilliance of the Moon'' * Ian Irvine – '' The Life Lottery'' * Margo Lanagan – '' Black Juice'' * Glenda Larke – ''The Tainted'' * Maxine McArthur – '' Less than Human'' * Fiona McIntosh ** '' Blood and Memory'' ** '' Bridge of Souls'' *

Sophie Masson Sophie Masson is a French-Australian fantasy and children's author. Early life and education Sophie Masson was born in Indonesia of French parents who are of mixed ancestry (French, Basque, Spanish and Portuguese). Masson, the third in a f ...

– ''Snow, Fire, Sword'' * Josephine Pennicott – ''A Fire in the Shell'' *

Matthew Reilly Matthew John Reilly (born 2 July 1974) is an internationally bestselling Australian action thriller writer.
". Retrieved 10 ...

– '' Hover Car Racer'' * Cherry Wilder and Katya Reimann – ''The Wanderer'' * Kim Wilkins – '' Giants of the Frost'' * Sean Williams – '' The Crooked Letter''

Drama

* Martin Flanagan – ''The Call'' * Michael Gurr – ''Julia 3'' * Debra Oswald – ''Mr Bailey's Minder'' * Abe Pogos – ''Toby'' * Alana Valentine – ''Run Rabbit Run!'' *

David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...

– '' Amigos''

Poetry

* M. T. C. Cronin – *

Luke Davies Luke Davies (born 1962) is an Australian writer of poetry, novels and screenplays. His best known works are '' Candy: A Novel of Love and Addiction'' (which was adapted for the screen in 2006) and the screenplay for the film ''Lion'', which ea ...

– ''

Totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

'' * 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 Donald Leslie Chipp, AO (21 August 1925 – 28 August 2006) was an Australian politician who was the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats, leading the party from 1977 to 1986. He began his career as a member of the Liberal Party, winnin ...

– ''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 Peter John FitzSimons (born 29 June 1961) is an Australian author, journalist, and radio and television presenter. He is a former national representative rugby union player and was the chair of the Australian Republic Movement from 2015 to 20 ...

– ''Steve Waugh'' *

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities tha ...

– ''Country'' *

John Hughes John Hughes may refer to: Arts and Entertainment Literature *John Hughes (poet) (1677–1720), English poet *John Hughes (1790–1857), English author *John Ceiriog Hughes (1832–1887), Welsh poet *John Hughes (writer) (born 1961), Australian au ...

– ''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 Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely rega ...

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

Literary

Fiction

International

National

Children and Young Adult

National

Crime and Mystery

National

Science fiction

Poetry

Drama

Non-Fiction

Deaths

* 3 January – ** Len Fox, journalist, historian, social activist and painter (born

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

) ** Barbara Jefferis, novelist and dramatist (born

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

) * 8 January – Norman Talbot, poet (born

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

) * 17 February – Bruce Beaver, poet (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 ...

) * 11 April – Wilbur G. Howcroft, writer for children (born

) * 7 July – Elisabeth MacIntyre, writer for children (born

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

) * 17 August –

Thea Astley Thea Beatrice May Astley (25 August 1925 – 17 August 2004) was an Australian novelist and short story writer. She was a prolific writer who was published for over 40 years from 1958. At the time of her death, she had won more Miles Franklin ...

, novelist (born

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

) * 8 November – Peter Mathers, novelist and short story writer (born

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

in Fulham, England)

References

Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page. {{Years in Australian literature Australian literature by year

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

21st-century Australian literature 2004 in literature

Events

Major publications

Literary fiction

Children's and Young Adult fiction

Crime

Romance

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Drama

Poetry

Non-fiction

Biographies

Awards and honours

Lifetime achievement

Literary

Fiction

International

National

Children and Young Adult

National

Crime and Mystery

National

Science fiction

Poetry

Drama

Non-Fiction

Deaths

See also

References