2026 in Australian literature
This is a list of historical events and publications of Australian literature during 2026.
Events
Major publications
Literary fiction
- Michael Mohammed Ahmad – Bugger[1]
- Yumna Kassab – Goodbye, My Love[2]
- Fiona Kelly McGregor – The Trap[3]
- Steve Toltz – A Rising of the Lights[4]
- Sarah Walker – The Water Takes[5]
- Chloe Wilson – The Thornbacks[6]
- Michael Winkler – Griefdogg[7]
- Fiona Wright – Kill Your Boomers[8]
Science fiction and fantasy
- John Morrissey – Bird Deity[9]
Poetry
- Beverley Farmer – For the Season : Haikus[10]
- Lulu Houdini – ma-li[11]
- Maria van Neerven – Two Tongues[12]
Non-Fiction
- Tyree Barnett – Stolen Man on Stolen Land[13]
- Bob Carr – Bring Back Yesterday[14]
- Charlotte Grieve – Duty to Warn[15]
- Konrad Marshall – Run For Your Life[16]
Awards and honours
Note: these awards were presented in the year in question.
Lifetime achievement
| Award | Author |
|---|---|
| Patrick White Award | Not yet awarded |
Literary
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| ALS Gold Medal | Not yet awarded | ||
| Colin Roderick Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year | Not yet awarded | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| Stella Prize | Not yet awarded | ||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Evelyn Araluen | The Rot | University of Queensland Press |
Fiction
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not yet awarded | ||
| The Age Book of the Year | Not yet awarded | ||
| ARA Historical Novel Prize | Not yet awarded | ||
| Barbara Jefferis Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year – Debut Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| Miles Franklin Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| Queensland Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Omar Musa | Fierceland | Penguin |
| Voss Literary Prize | Not yet awarded |
Children and Young Adult
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARA Historical Novel Prize | Children and Young Adult | Not yet awarded | ||
| Children's Book of the Year Award | Older Readers | Not yet awarded | ||
| Younger Readers | Not yet awarded | |||
| Picture Book | Not yet awarded | |||
| Early Childhood | Not yet awarded | |||
| Eve Pownall Award for Information Books | Not yet awarded | |||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year | Children's | Not yet awarded | ||
| Young Adult | Not yet awarded | |||
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Children's | Not yet awarded | ||
| Young Adult | Not yet awarded | |||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Children's | Not yet awarded | ||
| Young People's | Not yet awarded | |||
| Queensland Literary Awards | Children's | Not yet awarded | ||
| Young Adult | Not yet awarded | |||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Children's | Zeno Sworder | Once I Was a Giant | Thames and Hudson |
| Young Adult | Margot McGovern | This Stays Between Us | Penguin |
Crime and Mystery
National
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davitt Award | Novel | Not yet awarded | ||
| Young adult novel | Not yet awarded | |||
| Children's novel | Not yet awarded | |||
| Non-fiction | Not yet awarded | |||
| Debut | Not yet awarded | |||
| Readers' choice | Not yet awarded | |||
| Ned Kelly Award | Novel | Not yet awarded | ||
| First novel | Not yet awarded | |||
| True crime | Not yet awarded |
Poetry
| Award | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Not yet awarded | ||
| Anne Elder Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Mary Gilmore Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | ||
| Judith Wright Calanthe Award for a Poetry Collection | Not yet awarded | ||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Eunice Andrada | KONTRA | Giramondo Publishing |
Drama
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Script | Not yet awarded | ||
| Play | Not yet awarded | |||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Emilie Collyer | Super | Currency Press | |
| Patrick White Playwrights' Award | Award | Not yet awarded | ||
| Fellowship | Not yet awarded |
Non-Fiction
| Award | Category | Author | Title | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature | Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| The Age Book of the Year | Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| Indie Book Awards Book of the Year | Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| Illustrated Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | |||
| National Biography Award | Biography | Not yet awarded | ||
| Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Not yet awarded | |||
| New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| New South Wales Premier's History Awards | Australian History | Not yet awarded | ||
| Community and Regional History | Not yet awarded | |||
| General History | Not yet awarded | |||
| Queensland Literary Awards | Non-Fiction | Not yet awarded | ||
| Victorian Premier's Literary Awards[17] | Non-Fiction | Micaela Sahhar | Find Me at the Jaffa Gate: An Encyclopaedia of a Palestinian Family | NewSouth Publishing |
Deaths
- 29 January – Heather Goodall, historian and biographer (born 1950)[18]
- 12 February – Lionel Fogarty, poet (born 1958)[19]
- 9 March – Patricia Clarke, historian, journalist and writer (born 1926)[20]
See also
- 2026 in Australia
- 2026 in literature
- 2026 in poetry
- List of years in Australian literature
- List of years in literature
References
- ^ "Bugger by Michael Mohammed Ahmad". Hachette Australia n. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Goodbye, My Love by Yumna Kassab". Hardie Grant. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "The Trap by Fiona Kelly McGregor". Pan Macmillan. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "A Rising of the Lights by Steve Toltz". Penguin Books. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "The Water Takes by Sarah Walker". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "The Thornbacks by Chloe Wilson". Penguin Books. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Griefdogg by Michael Winkler". Text Publishing. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Kill Your Boomers by Fiona Wright". Hardie Grant. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Bird Deity by John Morrissey". Text Publishing. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "For the Season : Haikus by Beverley Farmer". Giramondo Publishing. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "ma-li by Lulu Houdini". Hachette Australia. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Two Tongues by Maria van Neerven". UQP. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Stolen Man on Stolen Land by Tyree Barnett". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ ""Bring Back Yesterday by Bob Carr". Allen & Unwin. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Duty to Warn by Charlotte Grieve". Hachette Australia. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ "Run For Your Life by Konrad Marshall". Hardie Grant. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Nothover, Kylie (25 February 2026). "'So many stories to tell': First Nations poet wins prestigious literary prize". The Age. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "Vale Emeritus Professor Heather Goodall AM FRSN FASSA". The Royal Society of NSW. 4 February 2026. Retrieved 4 February 2026.
- ^ "Austlit - Lionel Fogarty". Austlit. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Clarke, Patricia". The Australian Women's Register. Retrieved 15 March 2026.