Top 100 Australian Books is here. Three Aussie stars pick their fave reads

Omar Musa, Maxine Beneba Clarke and Nadine Garner share the Australian books that shaped their reading life. Find out what they want to do with problematic classics like My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin.

The event was recorded with The Book Show's Sarah L'Estrange at Melbourne Writers Festival for ABC Radio National's Top 100 Australian Books vote which is now open.

In the Top 100 Australian Books you can choose any ten Australian titles from fiction to non-fiction, kids books to cookbooks, history, biography or memoir.

Be part of the countdown and cast your vote for your favourite Australian books here.

Tune in to ABC Radio National for the countdown weekend: Saturday, 17 and Sunday, 18 October.

Guests:

Maxine Beneba Clarke is a poet, a children's book author and illustrator. She's also the author of the memoir The Hate Race and an award winning book of short stories, Foreign Soil. Her latest book is Beautiful Changelings.

Nadine Garner has been on our screens since the 1980s and The Henderson Kids. She's also starred in The Doctor Blake Mysteries, won Best Actress at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards and appeared in many TV roles and on the stage.

Omar Musa is a visual artist, poet, spoken word performer, playwright, novelist, short story writer and rapper. He's the author of two novels, Here Come the Dogs and his latest Fierceland won the 2026 Miles Franklin Literary Award. Listen to his interview on The Book Show with Claire Nichols here.

Books discussed

Omar Musa's favourites:

The Magic Pudding by Norman Lindsay

The Monster that Ate Canberra by Michael Salmon

Tiddalick the Frog Who Caused a Flood by Robert Roennfeldt

Strange Objects by Gary Crew

Obernewtyn by Isabelle Carmody

Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden

Kim Scott's True Country

The Boat by Nam Le

The Year of Living Dangerously by Christopher Koch

Shadow boxing by Tony Birch

The Monkey's Mask by Dorothy Porter

Nadine Garner's favourites:

Playing Beatty Bow by Ruth Park

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung

My Place by Sally Morgan

Dear Sun: The Letters Of Joy Hester And Sunday Reed edited by Janine Burke

Burial Rights by Hannah Kent

Mullaway by Bron Nicolls

Power Without Glory by Frank

The Women of Little Lon: Sex Workers in Nineteenth-century Melbourne by Barbara Minchinton

Maxine Beneba Clarke's favourites:

Tram to Bondi Beach by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Julie Vivas

Possum Magic by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas

Hating Alison Ashley by Robin Klein

My Place by Sally Morgan

Does My Head Look Big in This by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Swallow the Air by Tara June Winch

Rock Flight by Hasib Hourani

Chinese Fish by Grace Yee

Praise by Andrew McGahan

Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas

Candy by Luke Davies

He Died with a Felafel in his Hand by John Birmingham

Unpolished Gem by Alice Pung

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