Charlotte Wood

Charlotte Wood (born 1965) is an Australian novelist. The Australian newspaper described Wood as "one of our [Australia's] most original and provocative writers".

Early life and education

Wood was born in Cooma, New South Wales. She has a PhD from the University of New South Wales; previous degrees are a Master of Creative Arts from UTS and a BA from Charles Sturt University.

Career

She is the author of seven novels – Pieces of a Girl (1999), The Submerged Cathedral (2004), The Children (2007), Animal People (2011), The Natural Way of Things (2015), The Weekend (2019), and Stone Yard Devotional (2023). She has also written a book about creativity, The Luminous Solution (2021), a collection of interviews with Australian writers, The Writer's Room (2016), and a collection of personal reflections on cooking, Love & Hunger (2012). She was also editor of an anthology of writing about siblings, Brothers & Sisters (2009).

Her books have been critically well received and frequently mentioned in prize lists. In 2016 The Natural Way of Things won the Stella Prize, the Indie Book Awards Novel of the Year and Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for various other prizes including the Miles Franklin and Barbara Jefferis. Animal People was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards in 2013 and longlisted for the 2012 Miles Franklin Award. She has a background in journalism and has also taught writing at a variety of levels.

In 2014, she was appointed Chair of Arts Practice, Literature, at the Australia Council for the Arts, a three-year appointment.

She currently lives in Sydney.

In May 2016, it was announced that Wood won the Writer in Residence Fellowship at the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre. As an Honorary Associate, Wood has been working with health specialists to offer literary views on the complex topic of ageing.

In 2024, her novel Stone Yard Devotional was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Awards and honours

1999 – Jim Hamilton Prize, winner, Pieces of a Girl

2000 – Dobbie Award, shortlisted, Pieces of a Girl

2005 – Miles Franklin Award, shortlisted, The Submerged Cathedral

2005 – Commonwealth Writers' Prize, Asia Pacific region, shortlisted, The Submerged Cathedral

2007 – Australian Book Industry Awards, literary fiction, shortlisted, The Children

2012 – Miles Franklin Award, longlisted, Animal People

2012 – Kibble Prize, shortlisted, Animal People

2013 – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, shortlisted, Animal People

2013 – People's Choice Award, NSW Premier's Literary Awards, winner, Animal People

2016 – Writer in Residence Fellowship at the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre

2016 – Stella Prize, winner, The Natural Way of Things

2016 – Voss Literary Prize, shortlisted, The Natural Way of Things

2019 – Member of the Order of Australia, 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her "significant service to literature"

2019 – The Australian Financial Review, 100 Women of Influence award for Arts, Culture and Sport

2020 – Stella Prize, shortlisted, The Weekend

2020 – Miles Franklin Award, longlisted, The Weekend

2020 – ALS Gold Medal, shortlisted, The Weekend

2021 – Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, shortlisted for The Weekend

2024 – Victorian Premier's Prize for Fiction, shortlisted for Stone Yard Devotional

2024 – Miles Franklin Award, longlisted, Stone Yard Devotional

2024 – Booker Prize, shortlisted, Stone Yard Devotional

2024 – Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, shortlisted for Stone Yard Devotional

2024 – Barbara Jefferis Award, shortlisted for Stone Yard Devotional

2025 – International Dublin Literary Award, longlisted for Stone Yard Devotional

Interviews

First Tuesday Book Club

ABC Radio National – Life Matters

ABC Radio National – The Book Show

Readings Booksellers Website

BBC World Service - World Book Club