Steve Toltz (born 1972 in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
) is an Australian novelist.
Early life and education
Toltz attended
Killara High School and graduated from the
University of Newcastle,
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, in 1994. Prior to his literary career, he lived in
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, and
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, variously working as a cameraman, telemarketer, security guard, private investigator, English teacher, and screenwriter.
Works
''
A Fraction of the Whole'', his first novel, was released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim. It is a comic novel which tells the history of a family of Australian outcasts. The narration of the novel alternates between Jasper Dean, a philosophical, idealistic boy, who grows up throughout the novel and his father, Martin Dean, a philosopher and shut-in described at the start of the novel as "the most hated man in all of Australia". This is in contrast with Terry Dean, Jasper's uncle, whom Jasper describes as "the most beloved man in all of Australia". The novel spans the entirety of Martin's life and several years after (a range never specified in the text, but starting after World War II and ending in the early 2000s), and is set in Australia, Paris, and Thailand.
The novel has repeatedly been compared favourably to
John Kennedy Toole's
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
winning novel ''
A Confederacy of Dunces''. ''A Fraction of the Whole'' was shortlisted for the 2008
Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
and the 2008
Guardian First Book Award.
His second novel, ''Quicksand'', published in 2015, won the
Russell Prize,
while his third, ''Here Goes Nothing'', was longlisted for the 2022
Nib Literary Award.
Personal life
Toltz married French-Australian artist and painter Marie Peter-Toltz
in 2005. They have one son born in 2012.
Bibliography
* ''
A Fraction of the Whole'' (2008)
* ''Quicksand'' (2015)
* ''Here Goes Nothing'' (2022)
References
External links
Steve Toltz Official WebsiteBookbrowse BiographyA Fraction of the Whole and Quicksand – Reviews and review links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toltz, Steve
Writers from Sydney
Living people
1972 births
Australian male novelists