Matthew Condon (born 1962) is a prize-winning Australian writer and journalist.

Biography

Educated at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

and the

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

, Germany, he is the author of ten novels and short story collections, including ''The Lulu Magnet'', ''A Night at the Pink Poodle'', ''The Motorcycle Cafe'', and ''The Pillow Fight''. T''he Trout Opera'', an epic novel that took him more than ten years to write, examines the Australian character through its chief protagonist Wilfred Lampe, a rabbiter and farm hand who spends his entire life in the township of Dalgety, on the banks of the Snowy River. '' The Sydney Daily Telegraph'' described the novel as "an instant classic". In 2013, Condon published ''Three Crooked Kings'', the first part of a biography of former Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis who was charged in 1989 and later jailed on multiple corruption charges. The book was based on Condon's extensive interviews with Lewis and others as well as archival material. The biography is continued in ''Jacks and Jokers'' (2014) and ''All Fall Down'' (2015). the author was writing for ''

The Weekend Australian Magazine ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of bot ...

'', the father of three children, based in

Byron Bay Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah'') is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of New South Wales, Australia (in Bundjalung Country). It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headland adjac ...

. In late 2020 he released a podcast in conjunction with Whooshkaa Studios, "Ghost Gate Road", an investigation into the Queensland criminal Vince O'Dempsey and circumstances surrounding the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub firebombing in 1973 and the murder of Barbara McCulkin and her two children in 1974. He was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in the

2019 Australia Day Honours The 2019 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2019 by the Governor General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove. The Au ...

for "service to the community".

Bibliography

Novels

*''The Motorcycle Cafe'', 1988 *''Usher'', 1991 *''The Ancient Guild of Tycoons'', 1994 *''A Night at the Pink Poodle'', 1995 *''The Pillow Fight'', 1998 *''Lime Bar'', 2001 *''The Trout Opera'', 2007 *''Mulligan: On Being a Hack Golfer'', 2007

Children's fiction

*''The Tunnel'', 1997

Short story collections

*''The Lulu Magnet'', 1996

Short fiction

*"Tattoo" (1996) in ''Original Sin'' (ed. Robyn Sheahan)

Non-fiction

*''Brisbane'', 2010, written about the city Brisbane, where Matthew grew up. *''Three Crooked Kings'', 2013 *''Jacks and Jokers'', 2014 *''All Fall Down'', 2015 *''Little Fish Are Sweet'', 2016 () *''The Night Dragon'', 2019

Edited

*''Smashed: Australian Drinking Stories'', 1996

Awards and nominations

New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, th ...

, Fiction, 1989: shortlisted for ''The Motorcycle Cafe'' *NBC Banjo Awards, NBC Banjo Award for Fiction, 1992: shortlisted for ''Usher'' *NBC Banjo Awards, NBC Banjo Award for Fiction, 1995: shortlisted for ''The Ancient Guild of Tycoons'' * Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story, 1996: shortlisted for "Tattoo" *Warana Writers' Awards, Steele Rudd Award, 1996: winner for ''A Night at the Pink Poodle'' * Steele Rudd Award, 1997: joint winner for ''The Lulu Magnet'' *

, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, 2008: shortlisted for ''The Trout Opera '' *

Queensland Premier's Literary Awards The Queensland Premier's Literary Awards were an Australian suite of literary awards inaugurated in 1999 and disestablished in 2012. It was one of the most generous suites of literary awards within Australia, with $225,000 in prize money across ...

, Best Fiction Book, 2008: shortlisted for ''The Trout Opera'' * Australia-Asia Literary Award, 2008: longlistedAustralia-Asia Literary Award 2008
*John Oxley Library Award, 2013 for ''Three Crooked Kings'' * Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) 26 January 2019 *

Queensland Literary Awards The Queensland Literary Awards is an awards program established in 2012 by the Queensland literary community, funded by sponsors and administered by the State Library of Queensland. Like the former Queensland Premier's Literary Awards, the QLAs ...

, Queensland Premier's Award for a work of State Significance, 2019: shortlisted for ''The Night Dragon''

References

External links

Matthew Condon at Random House AustraliaMatthew Condon OAM in Conversation with Susan Johnson Interview

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Condon, Matthew 1962 births 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian male writers 21st-century Australian novelists Australian male novelists Australian male short story writers Living people Journalists from Queensland Writers from Queensland 20th-century Australian short story writers 21st-century Australian short story writers 21st-century Australian male writers University of Queensland alumni Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia