Wild Dark Shore, Memorial Days, Mad Mabel among winners
Nearly four years ago, Charlotte McConaghy set off on a two-week journey to one of the most remote places in the world with her toddler and a troubled manuscript.
The stakes were high: the journey Macquarie Island A windswept land halfway between Tasmania and Antarctica, accessible only by a grueling once-a-year journey, would make or break his novel.
“I thought, OK, I’ve got to do this. This is my only chance to make this book work. And if this doesn’t work, nothing will,” said McConaghy, 37.
When he finally arrived, the island was almost unreal: dark, silty shores littered with bleached whale bones, penguins bobbing in the waves, giant seal pups gnawing on their boots, and thousands of seabirds creating a deafening wall of sound.
“It was extraordinary. It’s unlike anywhere else I know exists anymore. This abundance of natural wildlife that hasn’t yet learned to fear humans. It was like stepping into a dream.”
His gamble continued to pay off on Thursday night Wild Dark Shore It was named literary fiction book of the year at the 2026 Australian Book Industry Awards.
McConaghy’s third novel has become one of Australian publishing’s biggest recent success stories, selling nearly 35,000 copies domestically in 2025. It won the title of book of the year at the Independent Book Awards and was named Dymocks’ book of the year. New York Times became a bestseller and won the support of Reese Witherspoon’s huge book club.
It is set on the fictional Shearwater Island, where a widowed father and his three children are the final caretakers of a seed bank. Wild Dark Shore It follows the family’s isolated existence in the shadow of climate collapse and the arrival of a mysterious woman washed ashore after a shipwreck.
Considered the night of the Australian book industry, the awards recognize the entire journey behind a successful book; Everything from editing, marketing and design to book sales is taken into account. More than 50 judges from publishing, bookstores, media and libraries selected this year’s winners and they were announced at a ceremony in Sydney.
Children’s literature emerged as one of the biggest success stories of the night. I was once a giant This book, written by Zeno Sworder and about the transformation of a giant tree into a pen that tells the story of his life, claims to be both the book of the year and the illustrated children’s book of the year for ages zero to six.
Sally Hepworth received two awards for her black comedy thriller that broke sales records. Mad Mabelwon both the general fiction and audiobook categories. Geraldine Brooks wins Biography of the Year award Memorial Days, memoir about the pain she felt following the sudden death of her husband, writer Tony Horwitz, in 2019.
One of the most talked about books of the year Cork Tapes – quickly came together after Erin Patterson’s mushroom murder case to bring together three of Australia’s leading non-fiction writers (Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper and Sarah Krasnostein) to take the overall non-fiction award.
New writer award was given to Angie Faye Martin for the first time melaleucaA detective novel about a local police officer’s return to the provincial town of his childhood.
Poet Evelyn Araluen’s acclaimed second collection Decay was named the small publisher’s adult book of the year. The win comes after Araluen said she would no longer work with her publisher, University of Queensland Press, following controversy over her decision to publish a children’s book earlier this year.
International award given to the novel Heart for Valentine A love triangle by Lily King that has spanned decades and become a favorite among online reading communities.
As for McConaghy, the man who helped transform Wild Dark Shore It still looks big. The author said he hopes to return one day with his two children (4-year-old Finn and 2-year-old Hazel) when they are grown.
By then he’s nearly 30,000 words into his fourth novel, and screen adaptations of the first two are in progress. There will be another research trip when McConaghy heads to the UK in July, although this one looks less challenging.
“It feels like such a long time ago now,” he says of his island journey. “I’m kind of ready to get back to the grounded research phase where I can go and go to beautiful wild places.”
Booklist is Jason Steger’s weekly newsletter for book lovers. Get it delivered every Friday.
Melanie Kembrey is National Books Editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
