Malcolm Knox (author)

Malcolm Knox
OccupationsJournalist, author, novelist
Known forA Private Man
Jamaica (2007)
The First Friend (2024)
Writing career
GenresLiterature, non-fiction, essay

Malcolm Knox is an Australian journalist and author of fiction and non-fiction. He is known for his investigative and sports journalism; his novels A Private Man (2005), Jamaica (2007), and The First Friend (2024); and various essays and book reviews. He won his third Walkley Award in 2019. His latest novel is The Second Child, published in September 2026.

Early life and education

Malcolm Knox grew up in Sydney and studied in Sydney and Scotland.[1]

Career

Journalism

Knox has held a number of positions at Sydney Morning Herald, including chief cricket correspondent (1996–99), assistant sport editor (1999–2000), and literary editor (2002–06).[1] As literary editor, he broke the story of the fake Jordanian memoirist, Norma Khouri, which won him a Walkley Award (Investigative Journalism category) in 2004 (together with Caroline Overington).[2][3]

In 2006, Knox was appointed as an editorial consultant at Pan Macmillan.[3]

Since 2011, Knox became a sports columnist. In 2019, Knox and Nigel Gladstone wrote a piece in The Sun-Herald showing that Cricket Australia's participation figures were inflated.[4]

Book reviews

His 2008 article in The Monthly, "In the giant green cathedral", explored the world of surf writing, both fiction and non-fiction, in particular Tim Winton's 2008 novel Breath.[5]

Fiction

Novels

Knox has published several novels. His debut novel, Summerland (2000),[6]> is a mystery novel, set among the wealthy elite of Sydney's northern beaches[7] It explores themes of Australian identity and masculinity.[6]

He followed this with further novels in 2004, A Private Man, then Jamaica (2007), The Life (2011), and The Wonder Lover (2015).[6] His next novel, Bluebird (2020), is focused on various characters' midlife crises, based in coastal New South Wales communities.[8]

His 2024 novel, The First Friend (Allen & Unwin), is a satirical novel employing black comedy scenarios,[8] which brought comparison with Armando Iannucci.[9] It is set in Georgia during the Soviet period in 1938, centred on the relationship between the newly-appointed head of the NKVD secret police, Lavrentiy Beria, and his fictional former childhood friend, now his chauffeur, Vasil Murtov.[8]

In his second Soviet-era novel, The Second Child, published by Allen & Unwin in Australia on 1 September 2026, Murtov's daughter, Melor, becomes Beria's adoptive daughter and confidant. Set in the closing phase of World War II, the story has close parallels with Donald Trump's second term as President of the United States, and Knox compares Trump with Stalin: "Stalin was exactly the same as Trump, wanting to put his name on everything, creating this cult of personality, this striving for permanence".[9]

Scriptwriting

In 2017, Knox was commissioned to co-write the Stan Original series Romper Stomper.[10] He also wrote for the 2019 series Les Norton, which aired on ABC Television in 2019.[11]

Other roles

Knox served as a board director of the Copyright Agency (2008–2016) and of the Chappell Foundation (2017–2021), acting as honorary secretary at the latterfrom 2019 to 2021. He has also been a board director for the Australian Society of Authors.[12]

Awards and nominations

Selected works

Novels

  • Summerland. 2000.[3]
  • A Private Man (2004) (released in the UK as Adult Book (2005))
  • Jamaica (2007)
  • The Life (2011)
  • The Wonder Lover (2015)
  • Bluebird (2020)
  • The First Friend (2024)
  • The Second Child (2026)

Non-fiction

  • Taylor And Beyond (2000)
  • I Still Call Australia Home: The Qantas Story 1920–2005 (2005)
  • 1788 Words or Less: A short short history of Australia (2005)
  • Secrets of the Jury Room (2006); also serialised on ABC Radio[3]
  • Scattered: The Inside Story of Ice in Australia (2008)
  • On Obsession (2008)
  • The Greatest: The players, the moments, the matches 1993–2008 (2009)
  • The Captains: The story behind Australia's second most important job (2010)
  • Fierce Focus: Greg Chappell (2011)
  • Bradman's War: How the 1948 invincibles turned the cricket pitch into a battlefield (2012)
  • Never a Gentlemen's Game (2012)
  • Boom: The Underground History of Australia, from Goldrush to GFC (2013)
  • "Duopoly money : Coles, Woolworths and the price we pay for their domination". The Monthly, August 2014[22] (also titled "Supermarket Monsters: The Price of Coles' and Woolworths' Dominance" online)
  • The Keepers: The players at the heart of Australian cricket (2015)
  • Phillip Hughes: The Official Biography (co-authored with Peter Lalor) (2015; about Phillip Hughes)

References

  1. 1 2 "Malcolm Knox: Board of Directors Profile". Copyright Agency Limited. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Walkley for expose of literary hoax as Herald writers shine at awards". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 December 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Colin Roderick Award". 19 September 2008. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Malcolm Knox and Nigel Gladstone". The Walkley Foundation. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  5. ↑ Knox, Malcolm (7 May 2008). "In the giant green cathedral". The Monthly. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Rabalais, Kevin (June–July 2015). "Kevin Rabalais reviews 'The Wonder Lover' by Malcolm Knox". Australian Book Review (372). Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Knox, Malcolm (2001). Summerland. Vintage. ISBN 978-1-74051-052-3. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 Marsh, Walter (5 September 2024). "The First Friend review – one of history's greatest monsters reimagined in jet-black satire". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 Knox, Malcolm (30 August 2026). "Malcolm Knox: 'Trump's name will turn to dust, just as every other dictator's name has'" (Interview). Interviewed by Marsh, Walter. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Groves, Don (31 July 2017). "Stan commissions 'Romper Stomper' series". IF Magazine. Archived from the original on 31 August 2026. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Knox, David (19 December 2018). "Larrikin drama Les Norton for ABC". TV Tonight. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  12. ↑ "Who We Are".
  13. ↑ "Author Profile: Malcolm Knox". Australian Literary Management. Archived from the original on 28 October 2002. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  14. ↑ "Previous Winners Database: Malcolm Knox". Walkley Awards. Archived from the original on 28 July 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  15. ↑ "Media Release: Graham Perkin Award". The Age. 18 March 2005. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "Malcolm Knox Profile". Random House. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "Previous Winners". Ned Kelly Awards. Archived from the original on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  18. ↑ "Malcolm Knox Profile". Griffith Review. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "Award Winners". The Monthly. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  20. ↑ "Knox longlisted for 2025 Walter Scott Prize". Books+Publishing. 19 February 2025. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
  21. ↑ "ARA Historical Novel Prize shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 24 September 2025. Retrieved 19 October 2025.
  22. ↑ "Duopoly money : Coles, Woolworths and the price we pay for their domination". The Monthly. 103: 20–31. August 2014. <

Further reading

  • Rivett, Adam (June 2011). "Green cathedrals". Australian Book Review (332): 62. (a critical review of his work)
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