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Colin Roderick Award

Australian literary award

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated September 14, 2026

The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award 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". 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".

01Award winners

2020s

2010s

2000s

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

02Shortlisted works

2020s

The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award shortlists
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2024 Trent Dalton Lola in the Mirror Shortlisted
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
Bradley Christmas Saltwater Boy Longlisted
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
Jane Godwin Look Me in the Eye
Gail Jones One Another
Leah Kaminsky Disorders of the Blood
Khin Myint Fragile Creatures Winner
Lainie Anderson The Death of Dora Black Longlisted
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
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
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
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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Colin Roderick Award”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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