Australian journalist and literary fiction author
Trent Dalton (born 1979)[ 1] is an Australian novelist and journalist. He is best known for his 2018 semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe .
Early life and education
Dalton was born in Ipswich, Queensland , the youngest of four sons.[ 2] [ 3] He spent his early childhood living with his mother and stepfather in Brassall .[ 2] Both sold heroin and spent time in jail.[ 4] When he was seven years old, his mother was sent to prison for two years for smuggling drugs. Dalton spent the following 12 months living with his paternal grandparents.[ 1] After that he lived with his father in a Housing Commission house in Bracken Ridge , a suburb on the northern outskirts of Brisbane .[ 5] [ 6] For a few years in their teens, Dalton and one of his brothers lived with his mother.[ 1]
After high school, Dalton studied journalism for one year at University of Southern Queensland then another year at Queensland University of Technology .[ 7] [ 5] In 2024 Dalton became an honorary fellow at University of Southern Queensland.[ 8]
Career
After being recommended by a QUT tutor, Dalton was hired in 2000 as a writer for Brisbane News , a free weekly magazine.[ 3] [ 6] He then worked as a journalist for The Courier-Mail .[ 3] As of April 2024[update] , he works as a staff writer for The Weekend Australian Magazine .[ 9]
In 2011 Dalton published Detours: Stories from the Street , a book containing profiles of 20 people he had interviewed who were living on the street, or at risk of becoming homeless.[ 6] [ 10]
In 2018 he published the semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe through 4th Estate ,[ 11] [ 12] which was longlisted for the 2019 Miles Franklin Award .[ 13] In May 2019 the television adaptation rights for Boy Swallows Universe were secured by Anonymous Content , Chapter One and Hopscotch Features .[ 14] A seven-episode limited series was commissioned by Netflix and released in January 2024.[ 15] The Queensland Theatre Company also developed a play from the novel,[ 16] [ 17] which premiered in September 2021 at the Brisbane Festival .[ 18]
In 2020 Dalton published his second novel, All Our Shimmering Skies , which is also centred around words and storytelling.[ 19] In 2021, Dalton published Love Stories , a collection of love stories gathered from interviews with people.[ 20]
Dalton's third novel, Lola in the Mirror , was released in October 2023.[ 21]
Personal life
Dalton has two daughters with his wife Fiona.[ 3]
Works
Fiction
Non-fiction
Awards
Journalism awards
Walkley Awards
2011: Winner: Social Equity Journalism for "Home is where the hurt is"[ 22]
2015: Winner: Feature Writing Short (under 4000 words) for "The Ghosts of Murray Street"[ 23]
2020: Shortlisted: Feature Writing Long (over 4000 words) for "Back From The Black"[citation needed ]
Literary prizes
References
^ a b c Rocca, Jane (13 December 2023). " 'My mum is my absolute hero': Author Trent Dalton on the women in his life" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 16 December 2023 .
^ a b Jodie Richter (11 July 2018). "Meet the man behind the boy who swallowed the universe" . Ipswich First . Ipswich City Council.
^ a b c d Purdon, Fiona (29 June 2018). " 'We just knew him as Slim … we didn't know he escaped from Boggo Rd prison' " . The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ Divola, Barry (11 February 2019). "Boy Swallows Universe author Trent Dalton mines his childhood to craft a future Aussie classic" . PerthNow . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ a b "How Trent Dalton Channeled Boy Swallows Universe" . Style Magazines . 13 January 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ a b c Ludlow, Mark (6 October 2023). "Fastest-selling debut novelist in Australia gets Netflix series" . Australian Financial Review . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ Love, Wendy. "Trent Dalton" . Where I Belong (Podcast). Museum of Brisbane. Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ "Trent Dalton becomes an Honorary Fellow at University of Southern Queensland" . www.artshub.com.au . 26 September 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024 .
^ "Trent Dalton" , profile, The Australian
^ Nancarrow, Dan (25 May 2012). " 'It could happen to you': book shines light on homelessness" . Brisbane Times . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ "Boy Swallows Universe " . HarperCollins Australia . Retrieved 16 May 2019 .
^ "Trent Dalton: Why I Wrote Boy Swallows Universe " . HarperCollins Australia . 26 June 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2019 .
^ "Miles Franklin 2019 longlist announced" . Books+Publishing . 22 May 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019 .
^ "Awards, Oprah and a TV Deal: Success Continues for Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe " . Better Reading . 23 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019 .
^ Quinn, Karl (4 March 2022). "Boy Swallows Universe : Netflix swallows Trent Dalton's bestselling novel for 8-part series" . Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 3 August 2022 .
^ "Boy Swallows Universe " . Queensland Theatre Company . Retrieved 25 September 2020 .
^ Kembrey, Melanie (25 September 2020). "Why Trent Dalton needed to 'run a mile' from his hit debut novel" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 25 September 2020 .
^ "Boy Swallows Universe Page to Stage Forum Playback" . ABC Radio . 22 March 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021 .
^ Kavanagh, Bec (1 October 2020). "All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton review – a quest fable follow-up to Boy Swallows Universe" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ Brown, Phil (30 June 2021). "Trent Dalton hits the streets for his new book, Love Stories" . The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ Wornes, Hollie. "Trent Dalton in Conversation at City Recital Hall" . Broadsheet . Retrieved 10 October 2023 .
^ "Quality journalism rewarded at Walkleys" . The Courier-Mail . 27 November 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2020 .
^ "Trent Dalton" . The Walkley Foundation . Retrieved 14 October 2020 .
^ a b c Spring, Alexandra (2 May 2019). " 'Extraordinary and beautiful storytelling': Boy Swallows Universe wins ABIA book of the year" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 11 January 2024 .
^ "ABIA 2021 shortlists announced" . Books+Publishing . 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021 .
^ " 'Boy Swallows Universe' wins Book of the Year at 2019 Indie Book Awards" . Books+Publishing . 19 March 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019 .
^ "Indie Book Awards 2021 shortlists announced" . Books+Publishing . 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021 .
^ "Indie Book Awards 2022 shortlists announced" . Books+Publishing . Retrieved 26 January 2022 .
^ "Indie Book Awards 2024 shortlists announced" . Books+Publishing. 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024 .
^ "Boy Swallows Universe " . International Dublin Literary Award . 9 November 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2020 .
^ Sly, David (21 February 2020). "For a group of Adelaide philanthropists, the value of supporting Australian literature is as clear as MUD" . The Adelaide Review . Retrieved 11 August 2021 .
^ a b Perkins, Cathy (Summer 2019). "Excellence in Literature and History" (PDF) . SL Magazine . 12 (4). State Library of New South Wales : 52– 55.
^ "2019 Queensland Literary Awards Shortlist" . State Library of Queensland . Retrieved 30 September 2019 .
^ "Finalists announced for Queensland people's choice award" . Books+Publishing . 2 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019 .
^ "Short List 2019" . the voss literary prize . 14 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019 .
Further reading
External links