# 2005 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2005.

## Events

* Morag Fraser is appointed as a judge of the Miles Franklin Award, following the resignation of three judges in late 2004
* Murray Bail is accused of plagiarism over several passages in his novel Eucalyptus. Bail later accepts the breach and intends adding an acknowledgment in future editions
* The Victorian town of Shepparton unveils a statue of Joseph Furphy, author of Such is Life
* Collins Booksellers, Australia's third largest national bookseller, goes into voluntary administration

## Major publications
### Literary fiction

* Diane Armstrong – Winter Journey
* Anne Bartlett – Knitting
* Geraldine Brooks – March
* Brian Castro – The Garden Book
* J. M. Coetzee – Slow Man
* Gregory Day – The Patron Saint of Eels
* Robert Drewe – Grace
* Arabella Edge – The God of Spring
* Delia Falconer – The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers
* Kate Grenville – The Secret River
* Sonya Hartnett – Surrender
* Wendy James – Out of the Silence
* Nicholas Jose – Original Face
* Stephen Lacey – Sandstone
* Steven Lang – An Accidental Terrorist
* Carolyn Leach-Paholski – The Grasshopper Shoe
* Andrew McCann – Subtopia
* Roger McDonald – The Ballad of Desmond Kale
* Alex Miller – Prochownik's Dream
* Joanna Murray-Smith – Sunnyside
* Eva Sallis – The Marsh Birds
* Elizabeth Stead – The Book of Tides
* Carrie Tiffany – Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living
* Ian Townsend – Affection
* Christos Tsiolkas – Dead Europe
* Brenda Walker – The Wing of Night
* Tim Winton – The Turning

### Children's and Young Adult fiction

* Randa Abdel-Fattah – Does My Head Look Big in This?
* Isobelle Carmody – Alyzon Whitestarr
* Kate Constable – The Tenth Power
* Gary Crew – The Lace Maker's Daughter
* Mem Fox – Hunwick's Egg
* Morris Gleitzman – Once
* Kerry Greenwood – The Rat and the Raven
* Sonya Hartnett – Surrender
* Barry Jonsberg – It's Not All About You, Calma!
* Justine Larbalestier – Magic or Madness
* Victor Kelleher – Dogboy
* Mardi McConnochie – Fivestar
* Garth Nix – Drowned Wednesday
* Penni Russon – Breathe
* Scott Westerfeld
** Pretties
** Touching Darkness
** Uglies
* Markus Zusak – The Book Thief

### Crime

* Robert G. Barrett – Crime Scene Cessnock
* John Birmingham – Designated Targets: World War 2.2
* Peter Corris – Saving Billie
* Colin Cotterill – Thirty-Three Teeth
* Michelle de Kretser – The Hamilton Case
* Garry Disher – Snapshot
* Greg Flynn – The Berlin Cross
* Robert Gott – A Thing of Blood
* Kerry Greenwood – Death by Water
* Gabrielle Lord – Dirty Weekend
* P. D. Martin – Body Count
* Chris Nyst – Crook as Rookwood
* Leigh Redhead – Rubdown
* Matthew Reilly – Seven Ancient Wonders
* Michael Robotham – Lost
* Heather Rose – The Butterfly Man
* Steve J. Spears – Innocent Murder
* Peter Temple – The Broken Shore

### Romance

* Lilian Darcy – The Father Factor
* Marion Lennox – Bride by Accident

### Science fiction and fantasy

* K. A. Bedford – Eclipse
* Damien Broderick – Godplayers
* Cecilia Dart-Thornton – The Well of Tears
* Marianne de Pierres – Crash Deluxe
* Sara Douglass – Darkwitch Rising
* Greg Egan – "Riding the Crocodile"
* Kate Forsyth – The Shining City
* Catherine Jinks – Evil Genius
* Juliet Marillier – Blade of Fortriu
* Sean Williams
** Ascent (with Shane Dix)
** The Blood Debt
** The Hanging Mountains

### Drama

* Chris Aronsten – Human Resources
* Jane Brodie – A Single Act
* Catherine Lazaroo – Asylum

### Poetry

* Alan Gould – The Past Completes Me: Selected Poems 1973-2003
* John Kinsella – The New Arcadia
* Jennifer Maiden – Friendly Fire
* Jaya Savige – Latecomers

### Non-fiction

* R.J.B. Bosworth – Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship 1915-1945
* Richard Broome – Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800
* Helen Ennis – Margaret Michaelis: Love, Loss and Photography
* Pamela Freeman – The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop's Early Years
* Tom Keneally – A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia
* Maria Nugent – Botany Bay: Where Histories Meet

### Biographies

* John Baxter – We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light
* Richie Benaud – My Spin on Cricket
* Eric Campbell – Absurdistan: A Bumpy Ride Through Some of the World's Scariest, Weirdest Places
* Maryanne Convoy – Morris West: Literary Maverick
* Peter C. Doherty – The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: A Life in Science
* Graham Freudenberg – A Figure of Speech: A Political Memoir
* Gavin Fry – Albert Tucker
* Aneurin Hughes – Billy Hughes: Prime Minister and Controversial Founding Father of the Australian Labor Party
* Sandy McCutcheon – The Magician's Son
* William McInnes – A Man's Got to Have a Hobby: Long Summers with My Dad
* Brenda Niall – Judy Cassab: A Portrait
* Barry Pearce – Jeffrey Smart
* Jacob G. Rosenberg – East of Time
* Mandy Sayer – Velocity
* Craig Sherborne – Hoi Polloi
* Steve Waugh – Out of My Comfort Zone
* Elisabeth Wynhausen – Dirt Cheap: Life at the Wrong End of the Job Market

## Awards and honours
### Lifetime achievement

| Award | Author |
| Christopher Brennan Award | Fay Zwicky |
| Patrick White Award | Fay Zwicky |

### Literary

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| The Age Book of the Year | Gay Bilson | Plenty: Digressions on Food | Lantern |
| ALS Gold Medal | Gail Jones | Sixty Lights | Harvill Press |
| Colin Roderick Award | Peter Temple | The Broken Shore | Text Publishing |
| Nita Kibble Literary Award | Gay Bilson | Plenty | Lantern |

### Fiction
#### International

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize | Best Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Andrew McGahan | The White Earth | Allen and Unwin |
| Commonwealth Writers' Prize | Best First Novel, SE Asia and South Pacific region | Larissa Behrendt | Home | University of Queensland Press |

#### National

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not awarded | | |
| The Age Book of the Year Award | Gail Jones | Sixty Lights | Harvill Press |
| The Australian/Vogel Literary Award | Andrew O'Connor | Tuvalu | Allen and Unwin |
| Miles Franklin Award | Andrew McGahan | The White Earth | Allen and Unwin |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Tim Winton | The Turning | Picador |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Tim Winton | The Turning | Picador |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Sonya Hartnett | Surrender | Walker Books |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Gail Jones | Sixty Lights | Harvill Press |

### Children and Young Adult
#### National

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Michael Gerard Bauer | The Running Man | Omnibus Books |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Younger Readers | Sonya Hartnett | The Silver Donkey | Viking Books |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Picture Book | Alison Lester | Are We There Yet? A Journey Around Australia | Viking Books |
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Early Childhood | Mem Fox, illus. Judy Horacek | Where is the Green Sheep? | Viking Books |
| Davitt Award | Young Adult | Joanna Baker | Devastation Road | Lothian |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Sherryl Clark | Farm Kid | Puffin Books |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Young People's | Steven Herrick | By the River | Allen and Unwin |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Prue Mason | Camel Rider | Puffin Books |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Young Adult | Joanne Horniman | Secret Scribbled Notebooks | Allen and Unwin |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Young Adult Fiction | Scott Westerfeld | So Yesterday | Penguin Books |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Writing for Young Adults | Anthony Eaton | Fireshadow | University of Queensland Press |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Children's | Joanne Crawford and Grace Fielding | A Home for Bilby | Magabala Books |

### Crime and Mystery
#### National

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Davitt Award | Novel | Kathryn Fox | Malicious Intent | Macmillan |
| Davitt Award | Readers' Choice | Leigh Redhead | Peepshow | Allen & Unwin |
| Davitt Award | Young Adult Novel | Joanna Baker | Devastation Road | Lothian |
| Ned Kelly Award | Novel | Michael Robotham | Lost | Time Warner Book Group |
| Ned Kelly Award | First novel | Malcolm Knox | A Private Man | Vintage Books |
| Ned Kelly Award | True crime | Helen Garner | Joe Cinque's Consolation | Picador |
| Ned Kelly Award | True crime | Tony Reeves | Mr Big | Allen & Unwin |
| Ned Kelly Award | Lifetime Achievement | Stuart Coupe | | |

### Science fiction

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Aurealis Award | Sf Novel | Damien Broderick | K-Machines | Thunder's Mouth Press |
| Aurealis Award | Sf Short Story | Sean Williams | The Seventh Letter | "Bulletin" Magazine, Summer Reading Edition |
| Aurealis Award | Fantasy Novel | Juliet Marillier | Wildwood Dancing | Pan Macmillan |
| Aurealis Award | Fantasy Short Story | Margo Lanagan | "A Fine Magic" | Eidolon Books (Eidolon I) |
| Aurealis Award | Horror Novel | Will Elliott | The Pilo Family Circus | ABC Books |
| Aurealis Award | Horror Novel | Edwina Grey | Prismatic | Lothian Books |
| Aurealis Award | Horror Short Story | Stephen Dedman | "Dead of Winter" | Weird Tales |
| Ditmar Award | Novel | Sean Williams | The Crooked Letter | Voyager |
| Ditmar Award | Novella/Novelette | Paul Haines | "The Last Days of Kali Yuga" | NFG Magazine |
| Ditmar Award | Short Story | Margo Lanagan | "Singing My Sister Down" | Black Juice |
| Ditmar Award | Collected Work | Margo Lanagan | Black Juice | Allen & Unwin |
| Australian Shadows Award | | Lee Battersby | "Father Muerte and the Flesh" | Aurealis |

### Poetry

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not awarded | | |
| The Age Book of the Year | Dipti Saravanamuttu | The Colosseum | Five Islands Press |
| Anne Elder Award | Max Ryan | Rainswayed Night | Dangerously Poetic Press |
| Grace Leven Prize for Poetry | Noel Rowe | Next to Nothing | Vagabond Press |
| Mary Gilmore Prize | Not awarded | | |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Samuel Wagan Watson | Smoke Encrypted Whispers | University of Queensland Press |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Sarah Day | The Ship | Brandl and Schlesinger |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | M. T. C. Cronin | <More Or Less Than> 1-100 | Shearsman Books |
| Western Australian Premier's Book Awards | Miriam Wei Wei Lo | Against Certain Capture | Five Islands Press |

### Drama

| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Wesley Enoch | The Story of the Miracles at Cookie's Table | Currency Press |

### Non-Fiction

| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Non-Fiction | Not awarded | |
| The Age Book of the Year | Non-fiction | Gay Bilson | Plenty: Digressions on Food | Lantern |
| National Biography Award | Biography | Robert Hillman | The Boy in the Green Suit | Scribe Publications |
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | John Hughes | The Idea of Home: Autobiographical Essays | Giramondo Publishing |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Eileen Chanin and Steven Miller | Degenerates and Perverts: the 1939 Exhibition of French and British Contemporary Art | Melbourne University Publishing |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Community and Regional History | Joe Hajdu | Samurai in the Surf: the Arrival of the Japanese on the Gold Coast in the 1980s | Pandanus Books |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | General History | Sally Neighbour | In the Shadow of Swords: on the Trail of Terrorism from Afghanistan to Australia | HarperCollins |
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Young People's | Allan Baillie | My Story: Riding with Thunderbolt, the Diary of Ben Cross | Scholastic Press |
| Nita Kibble Literary Award | | Gay Bilson | Plenty: Digressions on Food | Lantern |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | Non-fiction | Geoffrey Bardon and James Bardon | Papunya – A Place Made After the Story | Miegunyah Press |
| Queensland Premier's Literary Awards | History | Shane White and Graham White | The Sounds of Slavery: Discovering African History Through Songs, Sermons and Speech | Beacon Press |
| Victorian Premier's Literary Award | Non-fiction | Robert Dessaix | Twilight of Love: Travels with Turgenev | Picador |

## Deaths

* 11 April – John Brosnan, sf and cinema writer (born 1947)
* 10 May – Percy Trezise, children's writer (born 1923)
* 13 May – Shelton Lea, poet (born 1946)
* 29 August – Margaret Scott, poet and novelist (born in Bristol, England, 1934)
* 8 September – Donald Horne, social and political commentator (born 1921)
* 14 October – Barney Roberts, poet and short story writer (born 1920)
* 18 October – Philip Martin, poet (born 1931)
* 1 November –
** Jenny Boult, poet (born 1951)
** Michael Thwaites, poet (born 1915)
* 22 December – Bill Scott, poet and children's writer (born 1923)