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