Andrew McGahan, the award-winning Australian author of 10 novels, died February 1, the Guardian reported. He was 52 and had pancreatic cancer. His agent, Fiona Inglis of Curtis Brown, said, "There are few writers of the modern era as diverse as Andrew McGahan... his politeness and reserve hid a self-sufficiency and confidence" and he was "never afraid to speak his mind."
Allen & Unwin described him as "an exceptionally talented writer, a loyal friend, and a most genuine, humble man." Annette Barlow, his publisher, said: "I will remember him for his fierce and intense intelligence, his kindness and generosity, his fascination with the natural world and his bravery in facing his diagnosis. He truly was the best of men."
The White Earth (2004) was his biggest success, winning the Miles Franklin Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize, and was named by both the Age and the Courier-Mail as the book of the year. He followed that work with the Queensland Premier's prize-shortlisted Underground and Aurealis award-winning Wonders of a Godless World, "before publishing the first of what would be a four-part series, the Ship Kings, which also won multiple awards," the Bookseller noted.
At the time of his death, he was putting the final touches on a new novel, The Rich Man's House, which will be published this year by Allen and Unwin, along with his collection of children's short stories, Treasures of the Deep, which is set in the Ship Kings universe.