ACT Book of the Year Award 2026

4:00pm | Theatre

The ACT Book of the Year Awards celebrate literary excellence and recognise the outstanding achievements of ACT authors. The afternoon will commence with a panel discussion featuring the shortlisted authors sharing insights into their creative processes and the stories behind their acclaimed works. Following the panel discussion the Minister for Business, Arts and Creative Industries, Michael Pettersson MLA will announce the recipient of the 2026 ACT Book of the Year.

The Library That Made Me

Chris Hammer, Sophie Gee, Corey Tutt and Phillipa McGuinness | 5:00pm | Level 4

Many of us have fond memories of formative times in libraries – minds opened by the shelves of treasures, research projects unleashed and novels deliciously enjoyed in peace. Let's traverse the importance of the local libraries in our country towns to the great libraries of the world. 

In the Words of Pip Williams

In conversation with Wendy Harmer | 6:30pm | Theatre

Pip Williams is on a roll; she’s been in the thrall of the extraordinary women she found in the archives and brought to dazzling life since her international bestselling books The Dictionary of Lost Words and The Bookbinder of Jericho. She’s now back with newly released The German Ward… and an additional Canberra Writers Festival event by popular demand. Don’t miss this chance to fall under her unique spell of research and imagination. 

The National Library of Australia is proud to be a foundation partner of the Canberra Writers Festival.