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Matthew Condon Matthew Condon i(A2790 works by) (a.k.a. Matt Condon; Matthew Steven Condon)
Born: Established: 1962 Brisbane, Queensland, ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Brisbane-born Matthew Condon has lived in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and France. He was educated at the University of Queensland and undertook further studies at the Goethe Institute, Bremen, Germany. Condon began his journalism career with the Gold Coast Bulletin in 1982 and subsequently worked for leading newspapers and journals including Brisbane's Courier-Mail, the Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's Sunday Age.

His novels include a trilogy about police and political corruption in Queensland, the volumes of which have been nominated for a wide range of awards: the third volume won the Australian Book Industry Award for Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year. His other awards include winning the Queensland Premier's Award (short story) for The Lulu Magnet.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Matthew Condon's papers are held by the National Library of Australia, MS9297. Further details available on the National Library's website, http://nla.gov.au/nla.ms-ms9297
  • Other works not individually indexed include:

    The Night Dragon  (2019)

Personal Awards

2019 recipient Order of Australia Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)

For service to the community.

2004 recipient Asialink Arts Exchanges Program To undertake research in Japan for a book about the journalist Wilfred Burchett.
1990 Australia Council Grants, Awards and Fellowships Literature Board Fellowship

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon The Night Dragon St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2019 15422518 2019 single work biography

'‘He takes you in the middle of the night, like an angel, and you’re gone for good.’ — Witness at Vincent O’Dempsey’s committal hearing for murder, 2015.

'In 2017, Vincent O’Dempsey was sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murders of Barbara McCulkin and her two young daughters. It took over 40 years to bring him to justice. Feared for decades by criminals and police alike, O’Dempsey associated with convicted underworld figures and has been linked to a string of haunting cold cases, including the deadly Whiskey au Go Go nightclub firebombing that killed 15 innocent people.

'Award-winning investigative journalist Matthew Condon has interviewed dozens of ex-cons, police and witnesses to put together a compelling picture of the calculating killer who spent his life evading the law before he was finally brought to justice.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2019 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
y separately published work icon Little Fish Are Sweet St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2016 10526256 2016 single work autobiography

'I recall meeting Lewis on a number of occasions in company with Tony Murphy. I recall conversation getting around to payments of money with Murphy and Lewis. Lewis thanked me on several occasions and said ‘Little fish are sweet’. – Jack ‘The Bagman’ Herbert in evidence to the Fitzgerald Inquiry 1988.

'Little Fish Are Sweet is Matthew Condon’s extraordinary personal account of writing the Three Crooked Kings trilogy. When Condon first interviewed disgraced former police commissioner Terry Lewis, he had no idea that it would be the start of a turbulent six-year journey. As hundreds of people came forward to share their powerful and sometimes shocking stories, decades of crime and corruption were revealed in a new light.

'Risking threats and intimidation, Condon tirelessly pursued his investigations into a web of cold murder cases and past conspiracies. What he discovered is much more sinister than anyone could have imagined.' (Publication summary)

2017 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
y separately published work icon All Fall Down St Lucia : University of Queensland Press , 2015 8929883 2015 single work biography crime

'The gripping finale to Three Crooked Kings and Jacks and Jokers brings to a close Matthew Condon's best-selling true-crime trilogy.

'In 1983, the soon-to-be-knighted Police Commissioner Terry Lewis continues to turn a blind eye to the operation of The Joke, a highly organised system of graft payments from illegal gambling, prostitution and illicit drugs. As the tentacles of this fraudulent vice network spread, the fabric holding together the police, judiciary and political system starts to unravel. All Fall Down offers an unprecedented insight into the Fitzgerald Inquiry and Lewis's subsequent years in prison, and explores the real story behind the dramatic exit of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Drawing from interviews with key players who have, until now, been afraid to speak publicly, All Fall Down celebrates the bravery of those unsung heroes who risked everything to expose the truth.

'This epic trilogy provides the definitive account of an unforgettable period in Queensland's history. The devastating consequences of those decades of corruption still reverberate today.' (Publication summary)

2016 winner Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Small Publishers' Adult Book of the Year
2016 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards The Courier-Mail People's Choice Queensland Book of the Year
2016 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance
Last amended 27 Jan 2019 11:13:14
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