2026 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award Longlist

We're excited to announce that Evelyn Araluen's The Rot and Tony Birch's Pictures of You have been longlisted for the 2026 Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award! Congratulations to Evelyn and Tony for this incredible achievement.

Of The Rot, the judges said:
"[The Rot] is both a poetic cry for help and a movement toward justice within a world that seems governed by ‘the intimate machines of empire.’ These are poems that skilfully speak about the textures of contemporary life as well as the colonial logic of extraction that continues to cast a shadow over the country."

Of Pictures of You, they said:
"This precisely pitched collection of short stories arranges previous favourites with newer tales into a sequenced and varied study of life experiences – grief, joy, struggle, friendship and families."

In 2026, the $50,000 award continues to recognise the best Australian book of the year that deals with any aspect of Australian life (and can be in any field or genre of writing, verse or prose).

The Foundation is pleased to announce that The Margaret and Colin Roderick Literary Award prize value remains at $50,000. This significant increase, which was implemented in 2024, was made possible by a generous annual contribution from the trust of the late Margaret Roderick. This contribution firmly places the award among the largest and most prestigious prizes for writing in Australia.

The Foundation for Australian Literary Studies presents the award annually at an event in Townsville. The author of the winning book will receive $50,000 in prize money and be presented with the silver H.T. Priestley Memorial Medal.

Shortlist for 2026 Awards: late July 2026
2026 Winner Announced: early September 2026

Click here to learn more about the award and its previous winners.