Rachel Morton's 'The Sun Was Electric Light' wins the 2026 Barbara Jefferis Award

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Rachel Morton's 'The Sun Was Electric Light' has won the 2026 Barbara Jefferis Award! 🎉⁠

The Barbara Jefferis Award is offered biennially for “the best novel written by an Australian author that depicts women and girls in a positive way or otherwise empowers the status of women and girls in society”.⁠

Barbara Jefferis was a feminist, a founding member of the Australian Society of Authors, its first woman President and, in the words of Thomas Keneally, “a rare being amongst authors, being both a fine writer but also organisationally gifted. She was a professional and internationally published writer long before most of us dreamed of such things”.⁠

In 2026, the Award prize pool is valued at $55,000, with $50,000 for the winner and $5,000 to be shared among the short-listed authors, making this one of the most generous literary awards in Australia.⁠

Judged by Award Chair Jaclyn Crupi, author Lucy Treloar and author Tara June Winch, the panel said of Morton's The Sun Was Electric Light:

Rachel Morton's debut novel, The Sun Was Electric Light - a beautiful, elusive work of existential depth and complexity - left us marvelling at its subtle power and quiet message of hope.

A huge congratulations to Rachel on this monumental achievement!

To read more from the judges, click here!