Launching ABC Radio National’s 2026 Top 100 Books countdown at SWF

The Bookshelf comes to you from a sold out session at Sydney Writers’ Festival, for a conversation that brings together an exceptional line-up: acclaimed novelist and poet Tony Birch, Miles Franklin Award-winning author Siang Lu, and internationally celebrated writer Lily King. Together, with Cassie, Kate and special guest Claire Nichols from The Book Show, they mark the launch of ABC Radio National’s 2026 Top 100 Books countdown, this year turning the spotlight on the very best of Australian writing, fiction and non-fiction, across all time.

~ ABC RADIO NATIONAL TOP 100 AUSTRALIAN BOOKS COUNTDOWN

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/radionational/top-100-books-2026/106621398

~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY LILY KING

• Colleen McCullough, The Thorn Birds
• Shirley Hazzard, The Transit of Venus; The Evening of the Holiday
• Kate Grenville, The Idea of Perfection
• Christina Stead, The Man Who Loved Children

~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY TONY BIRCH

• William Dick, A Bunch of Ratbags
• Ruth Park, works
• Colin Johnson, Wild Cat Falling
• Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright
• Frank Hardy, Power Without Glory
• Peter Carey, American Dreams; Crabs
• Pi O, 24 Hours: Ulysses in Fitzroy

~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY SIANG LU

• Nam Le, The Boat
• Michael Winkler, Grimmish
• Peter Carey, The True History of the Kelly Gang
• Helen Garner, Monkey Grip
• Charlotte Wood, Stone Yard Devotional

~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY CASSIE MCCULLAGH

• Miles Franklin, My Brilliant Career
• Peter Temple, Broken Shore
• Peter Carey, The Fat Man in History

~  BOOKS MENTIONED BY KATE EVANS

• Ethel Turner, Seven Little Australians
• Florence James and Dymphna Cusack, Come in Spinner
• Peter Carey, Illywhacker; Oscar and Lucinda

~ BOOKS MENTIONED BY CLAIRE NICHOLS

• The Australian Women's Weekly Birthday Cake Book
• Mem Fox, Wilfrid Gordon McDonald
• Kim Scott, works
• Tim Winton, works
• Josephine Wilson, Extinctions

~ OTHER BOOKS MENTIONED 

• Tim Winton, Cloudstreet
• Trent Dalton, Boy Swallows Universe
• Charlotte McConaghy, Wild Dark Shore
• Sally Morgan, My Place
• Archie Roach, Tell Me Why
• Jimmy Barnes, Working Class Boy
• Ruby Langford Ginibi, Don’t Take Your Love to Town
• Thea Astley, works
• Helen Garner, The Children's Bach; The Spare Room
• Melina Marchetta, Looking for Alibrandi
• Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North; Question 7
• Madeleine St John, Ladies in Black
• Shankari Chandran, Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
• Ruth Park, Playing Beatie Bow
• Andrew McGahan, Praise
• Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
• Robbie Arnott, Limberlost
• Hannah Kent, Burial Rites
• Norman Lindsay, The Magic Pudding
• A.B. Facey, A Fortunate Life
• David Malouf, Johnno 
• Jane Harper, The Dry

~ CREDITS

• Presenter, Kate Evans, Cassie McCullagh, Claire Nichols
• Producer, Kate Evans, Sarah Corbett
• Sound, Harvey O'Sullivan
• Arts Editor, Rhiannon Brown