Colin Roderick Award
The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award[1] is presented annually by the Foundation for Australian Literary Studies at Queensland's James Cook University for "the best book published in Australia which deals with any aspect of Australian life".[2] It was first presented in 1967 and now has a prize of A$50,000. Starting in 1980, the H. T. Priestley Memorial Medal has also been bestowed upon the award winner.
The Award was founded by Colin Roderick, an Australian "writer, editor, academic and educator".[3]
Award winners
[edit]2020s
[edit]- 2025: Khin Myint, Fragile Creatures : A Memoir[4]
- 2024: Melissa Lucashenko, Edenglassie[5]
- 2023: Sarah Holland-Batt, The Jaguar[6]
- 2022: Emily Bitto, Wild Abandon[7]
- 2021: Sofie Laguna, Infinite Splendours[8]
- 2020: Sally Young, Paper Emperors: The rise of Australia’s newspaper empires[9]
2010s
[edit]- 2019: Robert Drewe, The True Colour of the Sea[10]
- 2018: Jock Serong, On the Java Ridge[11]
- 2017: Josephine Wilson, Extinctions[12]
- 2016: Gail Jones, A Guide to Berlin[12]
- 2015: Not Awarded[12]
- 2014: Michael Wilding, Wild Bleak Bohemia : Marcus Clarke, Adam Lindsay Gordon and Henry Kendall - A Documentary[12]
- 2013: Ashley Hay, The Railwayman's Wife & Stephen Edgar, Eldershaw[12]
- 2012: Thomas Keneally, The Daughters of Mars[12]
- 2011: Gillian Mears, Foal's Bread[12]
- 2010: Karen Kissane, Worst of Days: Inside the Black Saturday Firestorm[12]
2000s
[edit]- 2009: Michael Cathcart, The Water Dreamers
- 2008: Graham Freudenberg, Churchill and Australia & James Boyce, Van Diemen's Land
- 2007: Malcolm Knox, Jamaica[12]
- 2006: Deborah Robertson, Careless[12]
- 2005: Peter Temple, The Broken Shore[12]
- 2004: Alan Wearne, The Lovemakers & Tim Winton, The Turning[12]
- 2003: Thomas Keneally, The Tyrant's Novel[12]
- 2002: Don Watson, Recollections of a Bleeding Heart: A Portrait of Paul Keating PM[12]
- 2001: Peter Rose, Rose Boys[12]
- 2000: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang[12]
1990s
[edit]- 1999: Christopher Koch, Out of Ireland[12]
- 1998: Robert Dessaix, (And So Forth)[12]
- 1997: Peter Edwards, A Nation at War[12]
- 1996: Tim Flannery, Roger Martin and Alexandra Szalay, Illustrator Peter Schouten, Tree Kangaroos[12]
- 1995: Judy Cassab, Diaries[12]
- 1994: Patrick Buckridge, The Scandalous Penton: A Biography of Brian Penton[12]
- 1993: Cassandra Pybus, Gross Moral Turpitude: The Orr Case Reconsidered[13]
- 1992: Ruth Park, A Fence Around the Cuckoo[12]
- 1991: Joan Dugdale, Struggle of Memory[12]
- 1990: Roland Griffiths-Marsh, Sixpenny Soldier[12]
1980s
[edit]- 1989: Chris Symons, John Bishop: A Life for Music[12]
- 1988: Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda[12]
- 1987: Nancy Phelan, Home Is the Sailor and the Best of Intentions[12]
- 1986: Fr Tom Boland, James Duhig[12]
- 1985: John Gunn, The Defeat of Distance: Qantas 1919-1939[12]
- 1984: Alan Gould, The Man Who Stayed Below[12]
- 1983: Dudley McCarthy, Gallipoli to the Somme[12]
- 1982: Geoffrey Serle, John Monash: A Biography[12]
- 1981: Gavin Souter, A Company of Heralds[12]
- 1980: Allan Grocott, Convicts, Clergymen and Churches[12]
1970s
[edit]- 1979: Thea Astley, Hunting the Wild Pineapple[12]
- 1978: Leslie Rees, History of Australian Drama[12]
- 1977: Alan Marshall, The Complete Stories of Alan Marshall[12]
- 1976: Gavin Souter, Lion and Kangaroo[12]
- 1975: Denis Murphy, TJ Ryan[12]
- 1974: David Malouf, Neighbours in a Thicket : Poems[12]
- 1973: Dorothy Green, Ulysses Bound: Henry Handel Richardson and Her Fiction[12]
- 1972: Sir Keith Hancock, Discovering Monaro[12]
- 1971: Geoffrey Serle, The Rush to Be Rich[12]
- 1970: Margaret Lawrie, Myths and Legends of Torres Strait[12]
1960s
[edit]- 1969: Francis Webb, Collected Poems[12]
- 1968: Gavin Souter, A Peculiar People[12]
- 1967: Douglas Stewart, Collected Poems 1936–1967[12]
Shortlisted works
[edit]2020s
[edit]| Year | Author | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Trent Dalton | Lola in the Mirror | Shortlisted | [14] |
| Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham | Life as We Knew It: the Extraordinary Story of Australia's Pandemic | |||
| Kate Grenville | Restless Dolly Maunder | |||
| Rebecca Lim | Two Sparrowhawks in a Lonely Sky | |||
| Amanda Lohrey | The Conversation | |||
| Rachelle Unreich | A Brilliant Life | |||
| Alexis Wright | Praiseworthy | |||
| Melissa Lucashenko | Edenglassie | Winner | [5] | |
| Bradley Christmas | Saltwater Boy | Longlisted | [15] | |
| Sally Hepworth | Darling Girls | |||
| Red Room Poetry | A Line in the Sand: 20 years of Red Room Poetry | |||
| Allison Tait | The First Summer of Callie McGee | |||
| Ellen van Neerven | Personal Score | |||
| Sally Young | Media Monsters: the Transformation of Australia's Newspaper Empires | |||
| 2025 | Garry Disher | Sanctuary | Shortlisted | [16] |
| Jane Godwin | Look Me in the Eye | |||
| Gail Jones | One Another | |||
| Leah Kaminsky | Disorders of the Blood | |||
| Khin Myint | Fragile Creatures | Winner | [17] | |
| Lainie Anderson | The Death of Dora Black | Longlisted | [18] | |
| Robbie Arnott | Dusk | |||
| Danielle Binks | Six Summers of Tash Leopold | |||
| Darren McCullum | The Wobbly Bike | |||
| John Wayne Parr | The Fighter | |||
| 2026 | Evelyn Araluen | The Rot | Shortlisted | [19] |
| Aaron Fa'Aoso & Michelle Scott Tucker with Lyn White | Spirit of the Crocodile | |||
| Glen Farmer Illortaminni | Tiwi in Paris | |||
| Natalie Harkin | Apron-Sorrow / Sovereign-Tea | |||
| Raaza Jamshed | What Kept You? | |||
| Hannah Kent | Always Home, Always Homesick: A Memoir | |||
| Tony Birch | Pictures of You | Longlisted | [20] | |
| Nicole Crowe | The Washup | |||
| Garry Disher | Mischance Creek | |||
| Megan Morais, Lucy Nampijinpa Martin, Peggy Nampijinpa Martin, Marilyn Nampijinpa Martin, Leah Nampijinpa Martin, Helen Napurrurla Morton, Janet Nakamarra Long, Maisie Napaljarri Kitson, Maureen Nampijinpa O’Keefe, Clarrie Kemarr Long, Jeannie Nampijinpa Presley, Marjorie Nampijinpa Brown, Selina Napanangka Williams, Myfany Turpin |
Yawulyu: Art and Song in Warlpiri Women’s Ceremony | |||
| Omar Musa | Fierceland | |||
| Leonie Norrington, Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs, Djawa Burarrwanga and Djawundil Maymuru | A Piece of Red Cloth | |||
| Josephine Rowe | Little World | |||
| Grace Yee | Joss: a History |
References
[edit]- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award". James Cook University Australia - Foundation for Australian Literary Studies. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
- ↑ "Awards". James Cook University. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ↑ Colin Roderick, austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
- ↑ ""Debut author Khin Myint wins 2025 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award"". James Cook University. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
- 1 2 ""'Edenglassie' honoured with 2024 Roderick Literary Award"". James Cook University. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ↑ "2023 Long and Short Lists". www.jcu.edu.au. 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ↑ "Bitto wins 2022 Margaret and Colin Roderick Award". Books+Publishing. 2022-10-31. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
- ↑ "Laguna wins 2021 Colin Roderick Literary Award". Books+Publishing. 2021-10-15. Archived from the original on 2021-10-14. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ↑ "Young wins 2020 Colin Roderick Award for 'Paper Emperors'". Books+Publishing. 2020-09-17. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ↑ "Drewe wins 2019 Colin Roderick Literary Award for 'The True Colour of the Sea'". Books+Publishing. 2019-11-01. Archived from the original on 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- ↑ "'On the Java Ridge' wins 2018 Colin Roderick Award | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 "Colin Roderick Award - Other Winners". James Cook University. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
- ↑ ""Lit Bits"". The Canberra Times, 7 August 1994, p22. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2024 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2024 longlist announced". 9 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2025 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-08-06.
- ↑ "Myint wins 2025 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award". Books+Publishing. 11 September 2025. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
- ↑ ""10 Books Compete for 2025 Roderick Literary Award"". MirageNews. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2026 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing.
- ↑ "Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 2026 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 20 July 2026.