2009 in Australian literature
overview of the events of 2009 in literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2009.
Events
HarperCollins takes over ABC Books – the publishing arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Caro Llewellyn, resigns as director of the new Centre for Books, Writing and Ideas (now called the Wheeler Centre) in Melbourne before taking up the role. Chrissy Sharp, the Australian general manager of Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, is appointed to take her place.
The Australia-Asia Literary Award, based in Western Australia, is suspended.
Major publications
Literary fiction
Steven Amsterdam – Things We Didn't See Coming
Peter Carey – Parrot and Olivier in America
Steven Carroll – The Lost Life
Brian Castro – The Bath Fugues
Nick Cave – The Death of Bunny Munro
Tracy Crisp – Black Dust Dancing
Deborah Forster – The Book of Emmett
Andrea Goldsmith – Reunion
Marion Halligan – Valley of Grace
Sonya Hartnett – Butterfly
Eva Hornung – Dog Boy
Katherine Johnson – Pescador's Wake
Tom Keneally – The People's Train
Kate Legge – The Marriage Club
David Malouf – Ransom
Alex Miller – Lovesong
Jennifer Mills – The Diamond Anchor
Liane Moriarty – What Alice Forgot
Kristina Olsson – The China Garden
Sonia Orchard – The Virtuoso
Susan Varga – Headlong
Children's and Young Adult fiction
Allan Baille – Krakatoa Lighthouse
Alyssa Brugman – Girl Next Door
Judith Clarke – The Winds of Heaven
Mem Fox
Hello, Baby!
The Goblin and the Empty Chair
Odo Hirsch – Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool
Paul Jennings – The Nest
Justine Larbalestier – How to Ditch Your Fairy
Sophie Masson – The Madman of Venice
David Metzenthen – Jarvis 24
Tohby Riddle – The Lucky Ones
Lili Wilkinson – Pink
Sean Williams – The Scarecrow
Crime and Mystery
Robert G. Barrett – High Noon in Nimbin
Sydney Bauer – Move to Strike
Marshall Browne – The Iron Heart
Peter Corris – Deep Water
Marianne Delacourt – Sharp Shooter
Garry Disher – Blood Moon
Kathryn Fox – Blood Born
Leah Giarratano – Black Ice
Kerry Greenwood – Forbidden Fruit
Bronwyn Parry – Dark Country
Romance
Michelle Douglas – The Aristocrat and The Single Mom
Nicola Marsh – Two Weeks in the Magnate's Bed
Katherine Scholes – The Hunter's Wife
Maxine Sullivan – Valente's Baby
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Trudi Canavan – The Magician's Apprentice
Greg Egan
Crystal Nights and Other Stories
Oceanic
Kim Falconer – The Spell of Rosette
Pamela Freeman – Full Circle
Christopher Green – "Father's Kill"
Traci Harding – Being of the Field
Deborah Kalin – Shadow Queen
Glenda Larke – The Last Stormlord
Juliet Marillier – Heart's Blood
Ian McHugh – "Once a Month, On a Sunday"
K. J. Taylor – The Dark Griffin
Sean Williams – The Grand Conjunction
Drama
Angela Betzien – The Dark Room
Matt Cameron & Tim Finn – Poor Boy
Joanna Murray-Smith – Rockabye
Richard Tulloch – The Book of Everything
David Williamson – Let the Sunshine
Poetry
Emily Ballou – The Darwin Poems
Judith Beveridge – Storm and Honey
Emma Jones – The Striped World
Jennifer Maiden – Pirate Rain
Geoff Page – 60 Classic Australian Poems
Dorothy Porter – The Bee Hut
Peter Porter – Better Than God
Biographies
Roger Averill – Boy He Cry: An Island Odyssey
Stephen Cummings – Will It Be Funny Tomorrow, Billy?: Misadventures in Music
Jacqueline Kent – The Making of Julia Gillard
Harry M. Miller with Peter Holder – Harry M Miller: Confessions of a Not-So-Secret Agent
Don Walker – Shots
Jonathon Welch – Choir Man
Shirley Walker – The Ghost at the Wedding
George Whaley – Leo 'Rumpole' McKern: An Accidental Actor
Kristin Williamson – David Williamson: Behind the Scenes
Awards and honours
Lifetime achievement
Literary
Fiction
International
National
Children and Young Adult
National
Crime and Mystery
National
Science Fiction and Fantasy
International
National
Poetry
Drama
Non-Fiction
Deaths
14 January – Val Vallis, poet (born 1916)
3 June – Geoffrey C. Bingham, theological and short story writer (born 1919)
3 July – Frank Devine, journalist (born 1931)
6 September – Catherine Gaskin, author (born 1929 in Ireland)
8 September – Rica Erickson, botanical and historical writer (born 1908)
24 November – John West, poet (born 1951)
See also
2009 in Australia
2009 in literature
2009 in poetry
List of years in literature
List of Australian literary awards
References
Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “2009 in Australian literature” as overview of the events of 2009 in literature. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as overview of the events of 2009 in literature. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4615376. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2009, 1916, 1919 and 1931.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “2009 in Australian literature”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow 2009 in Australian literature primary sources, 2009 in Australian literature archive and Australian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “2009 in Australian literature”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “2009 in Australian literature” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.