We are thrilled to announce the shortlist for our Members Book Awards for 2026 (in order of authors’ surnames):
Fiction
The Body at Bones ♦ Jude Chapman
Turnabouts ♦ Helen Lyne
Murder and Masquerade ♦ Catherine McCullagh
Foreign Attachments ♦ Roslyn McFarland
Louisa ♦ Gwen Wilson
The Girl who Climbed on Rooves ♦ Sue Woolfe
Non-Fiction
The Steering Wheel ♦ Caroline Anne Butt
Bounty ♦ Elizabeth Lancaster
Raven Mother ♦ Jane Messer
Poetry
Seang (Hungering) ♦ Anne Casey
Landfall in New Zealand ♦ Pip Griffin
Through a Glass Darkly ♦ Libby Hathorn
On Wonder ♦ Vanessa Proctor
Barefoot Poetess ♦ Paris Rosemont
Precipice ♦ Julie Thorndye
Children and Young Adult
Guess How I Was Born ♦ Susanne Gervay
Parrot Palace ♦ Susanne Gervay
Seeking Treasure with Bodhi ♦ Karen Hendriks
Vesper Jones and Marshmallow ♦ Karen Hendriks
What a lineup of books, such a high standard and variety of subjects! Congratulations to the shortlisted authors who all deserve to win!
Come along on Wednesday 11 November to our Literary Event to find out the results. Awards will be, per category: One Winner Trophy and Certificate, two Highly Commended Certificates and one Commended Certificate (subject to judges’ decision). You will also hear the judges’ reports and comments on entries.
The judges this year are:
Fiction: Margaret Wick
Non-Fiction: Carmel Bendon
Poetry: Marcelle Frieman
Children and Young Adult: Gail Erskine