2007 in Australian literature
The year 2007 in Australian literature involves some significant new books, drama, poetry and events.
For an overview of world literature see 2007 in literature.
See also: 2006 in Australian literature, 2007 in Australia, 2008 in Australian literature.
Events
- Surrender by Sonya Hartnett, and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak are named as Honor Books in the 2007 American Library Association's Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature[1].
- "The Guardian" newspaper from the UK reports that Borders plans to sell its Australian stores[2].
- The small township of Clunes, about 20 kilometres north of Ballarat in Victoria, decides to try to set up Australia's first dedicated booktown. The first weekend event takes place on 20 May[3].
- AustLit (www.austlit.edu.au), the major Australian literature resource for research and teaching housed at the University of Queensland, announces the commencement of "Black Words", a literary website specialising in Australian Indigenous writers and storytellers and their works[4].
- Federal Education minister, Julie Bishop, announces that the Australian Government will allocate funds to $A1.5m to create a Chair of Australian Literature in an Australian university[5].
- Charlie Rimmer, Group Commercial Manager for Angus and Robertson bookshops, writes to a number of Australian independent publishers indicating that the bookshop chain will refuse to stock their books without compensation[6].
- Lonely Planet, the iconic Australian publisher of travel guides, is sold to the commercial division of the BBC in a deal reportedly worth $A200 million[7].
- Australia's new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, announces a major new literary prize of $100,000 in both fiction and non-fiction categories[8].
- Australia-Asia Literary Award established.
Major publications
Literary fiction
Children's and Young Adult fiction
Crime and Mystery
Romance
- Claiming the Courtesan - Anna Campbell
- The Billionaire's Scandalous Marriage - Emma Darcy
- Cafe du Jour - Lilian Darcy
- Duet - Kimberley Freeman
- Tomorrow's Princess - Anna Jacobs
- Serendipity - Melanie La'Brooy
- Lands Beyond the Sea - Tamara McKinley
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Drama
- The Narcissist - Stephen Carleton
- Toy Symphony - Michael Gow
- King Tide - Katherine Thomson
Poetry
- Event - Judith Bishop
- Urban Elegies - David Brooks, Sydney: Island Press (Australia)
- Press Release - Lisa Gorton
- Two Kinds of Silence - Kathryn Lomer,University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3612-9
- Typewriter Music - David Malouf, winner of the 2008 Arts Queensland Judith Wright Calanthe Award
- El Dorado - Dorothy Porter
- The Best Australian Poems 2007 - Peter Rose, Black Inc., ISBN 978-1-86395-417-4
- Old/New World- Peter Skrznecki, University of Queensland Press, ISBN 978-0-7022-3586-3
- The Incoming Tide - Petra White
Non-fiction
- Killing Jodie - Janet Fife-Yeomans
- Slicing the Silence: Voyaging to Antarctica - Tom Griffiths
- Cultural Amnesia: Notes in the Margin of My Time - Clive James
- Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers - Philip Jones
- Red Centre, Dark Heart - Evan McHugh
- Another Country - Nicholas Rothwell
- Underbelly: The Gangland War - John Silvester and Andrew Rule
Biographies
- Napoleon: The Path To Power 1769-1799 - Philip Dwyer
- Where the Sea Takes Us - Kim Huynh
- The Mascot - Mark Kurzem
- Life Class: The Education of a Biographer - Brenda Niall
- Muck - Craig Sherborne
- Communism: A Love Story - Jeff Sparrow
Awards and honours
Lifetime achievement
Fiction
International
National
Children and Young Adult
International
National
Crime and Mystery
International
National
Science Fiction
Non-Fiction
Poetry
Deaths
- 1 February - Elizabeth Jolley, author (b. 1923)
- 22 February - Joyce Lee, poet (b. 1913)
- 2 March - David A. Myers, poet and publisher (b. 1942)
- 23 May - John Croyston, poet (b. 1933)
- 11 July - Glenda Adams, author (b. 1939)
- 11 July - Noel Rowe, poet (b. 1951)
- 1 August - Mona Brand, playwright (b. 1915)
- 24 August - Philip Grundy, translator (b. 1932)
- 16 October - Steven J. Spears, author and playwright (b. 1951)
- 31 October - Eric Rolls, author (b. 1923)
- 24 December - Jan McKemmish, author (b. 1950)
See also
References
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.