Call for Entries
Submissions are now open for the 2026 MARION Book Awards
The ACT Literary Awards are held annually to recognise and celebrate the achievements of writers from the ACT and surrounding regions. These honours also include the Finding Beauty Poetry Prize, the Anne Edgeworth Fellowship Award, the MARION Fellowship, and The Marion Halligan Award. The MARION Book Awards celebrate the excellence and talent of writers in and around the ACT region.
“The MARION awards are an opportunity to celebrate the voices and stories emerging from the ACT and surrounding regions. Each year we recognise writers whose work reflects the creativity, insight and imagination that make our literary community so vibrant.”
ACT Literary Awards
Key Dates
Monday 16 February – Call for entries opens
Monday 16 March – Online submissions close at 4PM
Friday 20 March – Deadline for receipt of physical books 4PM
Wednesday 3 June – Shortlist announced
Thursday 2 July – ACT Literary Awards Night
Award winners will be announced in July at the 2026 ACT Literary Awards event.
The 2026 MARION Book Awards are open to books published in 2025. Terms and conditions apply.
Award Categories
Children’s books
(including picture books, middle-grade, and young adult fiction)Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
