Trent Dalton
Birth date1979 (age 47–48)
Birth placeIpswich, Queensland, Australia
OccupationWriter
NotableworksBoy Swallows Universe
All Our Shimmering Skies
Love Stories
Lola in the Mirror
SpouseFiona Franzmann
AwardsABIA Awards
Indie Book Awards
MUD Literary Prize
Walkley Awards

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, 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 street-corner interviews with passersby.[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

  • Dalton, Trent (2018). Boy Swallows Universe. hardcover 1st ed. New York: Harper. ISBN 9780062898104.
  • Dalton, Trent (2020). All Our Shimmering Skies. paperback 1st ed. Sydney: HarperCollins Australia. ISBN 9781460753903.
  • Dalton, Trent (2023). Lola in the Mirror. paperback 1st ed. Sydney: 4th Estate. ISBN 9781460759837.
  • Dalton, Trent (2025). Gravity let me go. paperback 1st ed. Sydney: HarperCollins Publishers Australia. ISBN 9781460759851.

Non-fiction

  • Dalton, Trent (2011). Detours: Stories from the Street. paperback ed. Fortitude Valley: Celeste Davidson. ISBN 9780646558677.
  • Dalton, Trent (2018). By Sea & Stars: The Story of the First Fleet. hardcover 1st ed. Sydney: 4th Estate. ISBN 9781460757413.
  • Dalton, Trent (2021). Love Stories. hardcover 1st ed. 4th Estate. ISBN 9781460760932.

Notes

Originally published as a multi-part series in The Australian.

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

YearBookAwardCategoryResultRef.
2018Boy Swallows UniverseDymocks Book of the Year—[24]
2019Australian Book Industry AwardsAustralian Book of the Year[25]
Australian Literary Fiction Book of the Year
Matt Richell Award for New Writer
Audiobook of the Year
Australian Booksellers Association AwardsBookPeople Book of the Year[26]
Colin Roderick Award—
Indie Book AwardsBook of the Year[27]
Debut Fiction
Miles Franklin Award—[28]
MUD Literary Prize—[29]
New South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsUTS Glenda Adams Award for New Writing[30]
People's Choice Award
Queensland Literary AwardsQueensland Premier's Literary Award
The Courier-Mail People's Choice Book of the Year[31]
2020International Dublin Literary Award—[32]

References

  1. ^ Rocca, Jane (2023-12-13). "'My mum is my absolute hero': Author Trent Dalton on the women in his life". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  2. ^ Jodie Richter (11 July 2018). "Meet the man behind the boy who swallowed the universe". Ipswich First. Ipswich City Council.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Divola, Barry (2019-02-11). "Boy Swallows Universe author Trent Dalton mines his childhood to craft a future Aussie classic.". PerthNow. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  5. ^ "How Trent Dalton Channeled Boy Swallows Universe". Style Magazines. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  6. ^ Ludlow, Mark (2023-10-06). "Fastest-selling debut novelist in Australia gets Netflix series". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  7. ^ Love, Wendy. "Trent Dalton". Where I Belong. Museum of Brisbane. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Trent Dalton becomes an Honorary Fellow at University of Southern Queensland". www.artshub.com.au. 2024-09-26. Retrieved 2024-10-02.
  9. ^ "Trent Dalton", profile, The Australian
  10. ^ Nancarrow, Dan (2012-05-25). "'It could happen to you': book shines light on homelessness". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  11. ^ "Boy Swallows Universe". HarperCollins Australia. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  12. ^ "Trent Dalton: Why I Wrote Boy Swallows Universe". HarperCollins Australia. 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  13. ^ "Miles Franklin 2019 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  14. ^ "Awards, Oprah and a TV Deal: Success Continues for Trent Dalton's Boy Swallows Universe". Better Reading. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  15. ^ Quinn, Karl (2022-03-04). "Boy Swallows Universe: Netflix swallows Trent Dalton's bestselling novel for 8-part series". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2022-08-03.
  16. ^ "Boy Swallows Universe". Queensland Theatre Company. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  17. ^ Kembrey, Melanie (2020-09-25). "Why Trent Dalton needed to 'run a mile' from his hit debut novel". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  18. ^ "Boy Swallows Universe Page to Stage Forum Playback". ABC Radio. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  19. ^ Kavanagh, Bec (2020-10-01). "All Our Shimmering Skies by Trent Dalton review – a quest fable follow-up to Boy Swallows Universe". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  20. ^ Brown, Phil (30 June 2021). "Trent Dalton hits the streets for his new book, Love Stories". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  21. ^ Wornes, Hollie. "Trent Dalton in Conversation at City Recital Hall". Broadsheet. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  22. ^ "Quality journalism rewarded at Walkleys". The Courier-Mail. 2011-11-27. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  23. ^ "Trent Dalton". The Walkley Foundation. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  24. ^ ""Dymocks Book of the Year"". Dymocks. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  25. ^ Spring, Alexandra (2 May 2019). "'Extraordinary and beautiful storytelling': Boy Swallows Universe wins ABIA book of the year". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  26. ^ ""'Boy Swallows Universe' wins ABA book of the year; booksellers of the year announced"". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  27. ^ "'Boy Swallows Universe' wins Book of the Year at 2019 Indie Book Awards". Books+Publishing. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  28. ^ "Miles Franklin 2019 longlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2019-05-22. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  29. ^ "Boy Swallows Universe: 2019 MUD Literary Prize Winner - Adelaide Festival". 2019.adelaidefestival.com.au. Retrieved 2025-03-27.
  30. ^ Jefferson, Dee (2019-04-29). "'I wanted to help change the conversation': History of Aboriginal archaeology wins literary prize". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-04-29.
  31. ^ "Finalists announced for Queensland people's choice award". Books+Publishing. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  32. ^ "Boy Swallows Universe". International Dublin Literary Award. 9 November 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  33. ^ "ABIA 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2021-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  34. ^ "Indie Book Awards 2021 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2021-01-20. Retrieved 2021-01-20.
  35. ^ "Indie Book Awards 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. Retrieved 2022-01-26.
  36. ^ "Indie Book Awards 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
  37. ^ "2019 Queensland Literary Awards Shortlist". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 2019-09-30.

Further reading