Best Australian Books of the 21st century (The Conversation)
This is one of the 759 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.
About this list
The Conversation, 43 Books
As no Australian works appeared in the New York Times list of the Best Books of the 21st century the Conversation took action: "The Conversation’s Books & Ideas team, seeking to right a wrong (and just very curious), asked 50 Australian literary experts to each share their favourite Australian books of this century"
All the experts are named and also give a synopsis on their choices.
Actual number of works came to 43 as a couple of books were chosen more than once.
This list was originally published in 2024 and was added to this site over 1 year ago.
| Rank | Book | Authors | Year | Country | Language | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5355 | Praiseworthy | Alexis Wright | 2024 | Australian | English | |
| 3123 | Carpentaria | Alexis Wright | 2006 | Australian | English | |
| 4382 | How To End A Story | Helen Garner | 2021 | Australian | English | |
| 8188 | Questions Of Travel | Michelle de Kretser | 2012 | Australian | English | |
| 7908 | That Deadman Dance | Kim Scott | 2010 | Australian | English | |
| 9799 | Blak Work | Alison Whittaker | 2018 | Australian | English | |
| 8754 | Breakfast At Midnight | Louis Armand | 2012 | Unknown | English | |
| 9065 | The Tribe | Michael Mohammed Ahmad | 2014 | Australian | English | |
| 10877 | West Girls | Laura Elizabeth Woollett | 2023 | Unknown | English | |
| 9799 | Axiomatic | Maria Tumarkin | 2018 | Australian | English | |
| 11017 | Salute | Ken Bolton | Unknown | Unknown | ||
| 9373 | Their Brilliant Careers | Ryan O’Neill | 2016 | Australian | English | |
| 8630 | The 13 Storey Treehouse | Andy Griffiths | 2011 | Australian | English | |
| 8519 | Into The Woods | Anna Krien | 2010 | Australian | English | |
| 5462 | The Animals In That Country | Laura Jean McKay | 2020 | Australian | English | |
| 10381 | Another Day In The Colony | Chelsea Watego | 2021 | Unknown | English | |
| 6544 | Collected Poems | Les A. Murray | 1991 | Australian | English | |
| 4662 | The Swan Book | Alexis Wright | 2013 | Australian | English | |
| 10134 | Change Machine | Jaya Savige | 2020 | Australian | English | |
| 9234 | Panthers And The Museum Of Fire | Jen Craig | 2015 | Australian | English | |
| 10381 | Tiger Daughter | Rebecca Lim | 2021 | Australian | English | |
| 10381 | The Airways | Jennifer Mills | 2021 | Unknown | English | |
| 7709 | Moral Hazard | Kate Jennings | 2002 | Australian | English | |
| 8910 | The Night Guest | Fiona McFarlane | 2013 | Australian | English | |
| 10877 | Anam | André Dao | 2023 | Unknown | English | |
| 10616 | Madukka The River Serpent | Julie Janson | 2022 | Unknown | English | |
| 9799 | The Shepherd's Hut | Tim Winton | 2018 | Australian | English | |
| 3065 | The Secret River | Kate Grenville | 2005 | Australian | English | |
| 10381 | Rogue Forces | Mark Willacy | 2021 | Unknown | English | |
| 6680 | A Fraction Of The Whole | Steve Toltz | 2008 | Australian | English | |
| 9799 | No Friend But The Mountains | Behrouz Boochani | 2018 | Unknown | Persian | |
| 10877 | The Vitals | Tracy Sorensen | 2023 | Unknown | English | |
| 10877 | The Pole And Other Stories | J. M. Coetzee | 2023 | South African | English | |
| 9048 | The Sun Walks Down | Fiona McFarlane | 2022 | Australian | English | |
| 4540 | Rules Of Summer | Shaun Tan | 2013 | Australian | English | |
| 8297 | Alec: The Years Have Pants | Eddie Campbell | 2008 | British | English | |
| 7976 | Kayang And Me | Kim Scott | 2005 | Australian | English | |
| 9065 | A Million Windows | Gerald Murnane | 2014 | Australian | English | |
| 10381 | Human Looking | Andy Jackson | 2021 | Unknown | English | |
| 8213 | Landscape Of Farewell | Alex Miller | 2007 | Australian | English | |
| 9234 | The Natural Way Of Things | Charlotte Wood | 2015 | Australian | English | |
| 8519 | Sourdough And Other Stories | Angela Slatter | 2010 | Australian | English | |
| 9955 | Songspirals | Gay'wu Group of Women | 2019 | Unknown | English |