Explore the 2026 Program

Long weekend reading guide

There is no greater gift to a reader than a few days off to dedicate to a good book. Whether you like spending your time diving deep into a chunky novel or non-fiction book or want something fast-paced like crime fiction or an anthology, there are so many great new releases to consider. Here's what we recommend picking up this long weekend.

Fiction

Endling by Maria Reva

This Booker Prize–longlisted book is a bit of a wolf in sheep's clothing, easing readers into a story about endangered snails and chaotic road trips before revealing deeper themes of misogyny, violence and war in contemporary Ukraine. If you're looking for something complex to sink your teeth into, this one is for you.

Muckle Flugga by Michael Pedersen

Father and son Ouse couldn't have predicted how the presence of a lodger on their lighthouse outcropping would disrupt their carefully calibrated life. In a similar vein to Endling, poet Michael Pedersen's debut novel has a mythical, whimsical exterior of a delightfully isolated Scottish island wrapped around a heartrending story of love, family and identity.

Love edited by Shirley Le

If reading has to fit into your life in little bursts of free time, then an anthology is the perfect solution! Love, the latest anthology released from Western Sydney institution Sweatshop Literacy Movement, edited by writer Shirley Le, collects stories, poems and essays that cover a huge breadth of experiences with the universal human feeling of love.

Black River by Ruby Jean Cottle

Looking for a true escape over the long weekend? Try this debut young adult fantasy from Ruby Jean Cottle which reimagines the beloved vampire genre with a story set in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Get a jumpstart on the trilogy before Ruby Jean releases the sequel in September this year!

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

Maybe you need something to get your heart racing as the weather cools this autumn. The latest from Southern noir crime writer S.A. Cosby is a twisty family drama with touches of underground criminal activity and a long-cold missing person case.

Flashlight by Susan Choi

Alternatively, this family drama has been grabbing attention all over the world after its 2025 Booker Prize shortlisting and recent 2026 Women's Prize for Fiction longlisting. Starting with the mysterious disappearance of Louisa's father in Japan, the story spans time and space to trace the reverberations of family and shared trauma. A long weekend is the perfect time to dive deep into a family epic like this one.

Non-fiction

Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha

It's never a bad time of year to pick up a poetry collection. Forest of Noise, the second collection by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, are quiet but powerful recollections of wartime written over the last few years after Mosab and his family had to flee their home. The poems are careful, reflective, providing great insight into suffering and human resilience.

The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh

If regular, everyday life doesn't provide you the headspace for learning something new, then the long weekend will be a perfect opportunity to dive into a topic you've been meaning to read up on. Consider The Great Derangement (or any of his other monumental non-fiction works) by Amitav Ghosh. Here, Amitav grapples with the enormity of climate change and our seeming inability to do anything about it.

Walking Sydney by Belinda Castles

In this hybrid essay and interview collection, Belinda Castles walks all over Sydney with writers to draw connections between their everyday and their imaginations. Whether it's along the beaches, through the outer suburbs or even through the site of Sydney Writers' Festival, Carriageworks in Eveleigh, these walks provide insight and stories from a variety of perspectives. You could even take some inspiration and walk a few of these paths in your time off!

Gather Up Your World in One Long Breath by S. Shakthidharan

Just longlisted for the ALS Gold Medal, this memoir of acclaimed playwright S. Shakthidharan tells the remarkable story of his family's migration from Sri Lanka to Sydney and the literal house they brought with them. In painting this portrait of his family, S. reveals the depths of himself with tenderness and fearlessness.

These are the books on our pile for the long weekend. Wishing you all a restful holiday and happy reading!