Australia Day is celebrated on January 26 and commemorates the establishment of the first European settlement at Port Jackson, now part of Sydney, in 1788. It is an opportunity for Australians to come together to celebrate their country and culture. There are reflections on the achievements of the nation and explorations of way to make the country even better in the future.
In these modern times we must also acknowledge the indigenous Aboriginal people of Australia who were about to have their country wrested from them and everything they held sacred lost to them. We cannot change the past but we hope that the future is a positive one and one whereby Aborigine people and their culture is properly protected and promoted.
To commemorate this historical date we at FRA have gathered together 8 Australian Authors for you all to try.
JOHN FLANAGAN
John Flanagan is an Australian fantasy author. He lives in Sydney with his wife. His best-known work is the Ranger’s Apprentice novel series, which is about a boy named Will who is taken as an apprentice Ranger to the grim and mysterious Halt. They meet up with many new people, friends and foes, along their path. Together they set out on mysterious, mind-boggling adventures of a lifetime.
LIANE MORIARTY
Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of six internationally best-selling novels, including Three Wishes, The Last Anniversary, What Alice Forgot, The Hypnotist’s Love Story and the number 1 New York Times bestsellers, The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies.
Liane Moriarty Bibliography US
Liane Moriarty Bibliography UK
TIM WINTON
Born in Karrinyup, Western Australia, Winton wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer, which won The Australian/Vogel Literary Award in 1981, launching his writing career. He has stated that he wrote “the best part of three books while at university”. His second book, Shallows, won the Miles Franklin Award in 1984. It wasn’t until Cloudstreet was published in 1991, however, that his writing career was properly established.
MATTHEW REILLY
Matthew Reilly is the international bestselling author of 12 novels. In 2005, Matthew was the first author to participate in the Australian Government’s ‘Books Alive’ initiative, for which he wrote the short novel Hell Island, featuring Shane Schofield. Over 200,000 copies of that work were given away for free in August of 2005.
Matthew Reilly Bibliography US
Matthew Reilly Bibliography UK
MONICA MCINERNEY
Monica McInerney is a best-selling Australian-born, Dublin-based writer. In 2014 McInerney was voted into the top five of Booktopia’s ‘Australia’s Favourite Novelist’ poll. Her 11th novel, Hello from the Gillespies, was released in October 2014.
Monica McInerney Bibliography US
Monica McInerney Bibliography UK
MARKUS ZUSAK
Markus Frank Zusak, is an Australian writer. He is best known for The Book Thief and The Messenger (US title, I Am the Messenger), two novels for young adults which have been international best-sellers. He won the annual Margaret Edwards Award in 2014 for his contribution to young-adult literature published in the US.
KATE MORTON
Kate Morton is an international bestselling Australian author. Morton has sold more than 10 million books in 38 countries, making her one of Australia’s “biggest publishing exports”. The award-winning author has written five novels: The House at Riverton (The Shifting Fog), The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper, and The Lake House, which was published in October 2015.
AVRIL SABINE
Avril is a fiction writer who lives in Queensland, Australia. She mostly writes young adult speculative fiction, but has been known to dabble in other genres. Along with her family, Avril lives on acreage with various animals. Late at night and early mornings are her most productive times and she’s seen many a sunrise before heading to bed.
Avril is also a regular contributor to both our website and our FB group The Cwts.
Whether you choose to celebrate, commemorate or just let the day pass by, I’m sure these wonderful authors are just a tiny representation of everything that is wonderful about ‘The Land Down Under’ .
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