2005 in Australian literature

This article presents a list of the historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2005.

• Morag Fraser is appointed as a judge of the Miles Franklin Award, following the resignation of three judges in late 2004^[1]
• Murray Bail is accused of plagiarism over several passages in his novel Eucalyptus. Bail later accepts the breach and intends adding an acknowledgment in future editions^[2]
• The Victorian town of Shepparton unveils a statue of Joseph Furphy, author of Such is Life^[3]
• Collins Booksellers, Australia's third largest national bookseller, goes into voluntary administration^[4]

• Diane Armstrong – Winter Journey^[5]
• Anne Bartlett – Knitting^[6]
• Geraldine Brooks – March
• Brian Castro – The Garden Book
• J. M. Coetzee – Slow Man
• Gregory Day – The Patron Saint of Eels
• Robert Drewe – Grace^[7]
• Arabella Edge – The God of Spring^[8]
• Delia Falconer – The Lost Thoughts of Soldiers^[9]
• Kate Grenville – The Secret River
• Sonya Hartnett – Surrender
• Wendy James – Out of the Silence
• Nicholas Jose – Original Face^[10]
• Stephen Lacey – Sandstone^[11]
• Steven Lang – An Accidental Terrorist^[12]
• Carolyn Leach-Paholski – The Grasshopper Shoe^[13]
• Andrew McCann – Subtopia^[14]
• Roger McDonald – The Ballad of Desmond Kale
• Alex Miller – Prochownik's Dream
• Joanna Murray-Smith – Sunnyside^[15]
• Eva Sallis – The Marsh Birds^[16]
• Elizabeth Stead – The Book of Tides^[17]
• Carrie Tiffany – Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living
• Ian Townsend – Affection^[18]
• Christos Tsiolkas – Dead Europe^[19]
• Brenda Walker – The Wing of Night
• Tim Winton – The Turning

• Randa Abdel-Fattah – Does My Head Look Big in This?
• Isobelle Carmody – Alyzon Whitestarr
• Kate Constable – The Tenth Power^[20]
• Gary Crew – The Lace Maker's Daughter^[21]
• Mem Fox – Hunwick's Egg
• Morris Gleitzman – Once
• Kerry Greenwood – The Rat and the Raven^[22]
• Sonya Hartnett – Surrender
• Barry Jonsberg – It's Not All About You, Calma!^[23]
• Justine Larbalestier – Magic or Madness
• Victor Kelleher – Dogboy^[24]
• Mardi McConnochie – Fivestar^[25]
• Garth Nix – Drowned Wednesday
• Penni Russon – Breathe^[26]
• Scott Westerfeld
  • Pretties
  • Touching Darkness
  • Uglies
• Markus Zusak – The Book Thief

• Robert G. Barrett – Crime Scene Cessnock^[27]
• John Birmingham – Designated Targets: World War 2.2^[28]
• Peter Corris – Saving Billie^[29]
• Colin Cotterill – Thirty-Three Teeth^[30]
• Michelle de Kretser – The Hamilton Case
• Garry Disher – Snapshot^[31]
• Greg Flynn – The Berlin Cross^[32]
• Robert Gott – A Thing of Blood^[33]
• Kerry Greenwood – Death by Water^[34]
• Gabrielle Lord – Dirty Weekend^[35]
• P. D. Martin – Body Count^[36]
• Chris Nyst – Crook as Rookwood
• Leigh Redhead – Rubdown^[37]
• Matthew Reilly – Seven Ancient Wonders^[38]
• Michael Robotham – Lost
• Heather Rose – The Butterfly Man^[39]
• Steve J. Spears – Innocent Murder^[40]
• Peter Temple – The Broken Shore

• Lilian Darcy – The Father Factor^[41]
• Marion Lennox – Bride by Accident^[42]

• K. A. Bedford – Eclipse^[43]
• Damien Broderick – Godplayers^[44]
• Cecilia Dart-Thornton – The Well of Tears^[45]
• Marianne de Pierres – Crash Deluxe
• Sara Douglass – Darkwitch Rising^[46]
• Greg Egan – "Riding the Crocodile"
• Kate Forsyth – The Shining City^[47]
• Catherine Jinks – Evil Genius^[48]
• Juliet Marillier – Blade of Fortriu^[49]
• Sean Williams
  • Ascent (with Shane Dix)^[50]
  • The Blood Debt^[51]
  • The Hanging Mountains^[52]

• Chris Aronsten – Human Resources^[53]
• Jane Brodie – A Single Act^[54]
• Catherine Lazaroo – Asylum^[55]

• Alan Gould – The Past Completes Me: Selected Poems 1973-2003^[56]
• John Kinsella – The New Arcadia^[57]
• Jennifer Maiden – Friendly Fire
• Jaya Savige – Latecomers^[58]

• R.J.B. Bosworth – Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Dictatorship 1915-1945^[59]
• Richard Broome – Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800^[60]
• Helen Ennis – Margaret Michaelis: Love, Loss and Photography^[61]
• Pamela Freeman – The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop's Early Years^[62]
• Tom Keneally – A Commonwealth of Thieves: The Improbable Birth of Australia
• Maria Nugent – Botany Bay: Where Histories Meet^[63]

• John Baxter – We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light^[64]
• Richie Benaud – My Spin on Cricket^[65]
• Eric Campbell – Absurdistan: A Bumpy Ride Through Some of the World's Scariest, Weirdest Places^[66]
• Maryanne Convoy – Morris West: Literary Maverick^[67]
• Peter C. Doherty – The Beginner's Guide to Winning the Nobel Prize: A Life in Science^[68]
• Graham Freudenberg – A Figure of Speech: A Political Memoir^[69]
• Gavin Fry – Albert Tucker^[70]
• Aneurin Hughes – Billy Hughes: Prime Minister and Controversial Founding Father of the Australian Labor Party^[71]
• Sandy McCutcheon – The Magician's Son^[72]
• William McInnes – A Man's Got to Have a Hobby: Long Summers with My Dad^[73]
• Brenda Niall – Judy Cassab: A Portrait^[74]
• Barry Pearce – Jeffrey Smart^[75]
• Jacob G. Rosenberg – East of Time^[76]
• Mandy Sayer – Velocity^[77]
• Craig Sherborne – Hoi Polloi^[78]
• Steve Waugh – Out of My Comfort Zone^[79]
• Elisabeth Wynhausen – Dirt Cheap: Life at the Wrong End of the Job Market^[80]

• 11 April – John Brosnan, sf and cinema writer (born 1947)^[97]
• 10 May – Percy Trezise, children's writer (born 1923)^[98]
• 13 May – Shelton Lea, poet (born 1946)^[99]
• 29 August – Margaret Scott, poet and novelist (born in Bristol, England, 1934)^[100]
• 8 September – Donald Horne, social and political commentator (born 1921)^[101]
• 14 October – Barney Roberts, poet and short story writer (born 1920)^[102]
• 18 October – Philip Martin, poet (born 1931)^[103]
• 1 November –
  • Jenny Boult, poet (born 1951)^[104]
  • Michael Thwaites, poet (born 1915)^[105]
• 22 December – Bill Scott, poet and children's writer (born 1923)^[106]

• 2005 in Australia
• 2005 in literature
• 2005 in poetry
• List of years in Australian literature
• List of years in literature

Note: all references relating to awards can, or should be, found on the relevant award's page.